10 great Soviet action films: from "Elusive Avengers" to "Fan"

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Clashes with pirates, war with fascists and the first films about martial arts.

10. Solo swimming

• USSR, 1985.
• Action, drama.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 7.

In the midst of the Cold War, during an exercise, a group of American military men decide to hit a cruise ship with a rocket, and then shift the blame for the deaths to the USSR. But their plan is thwarted, and a group of Soviet paratroopers is sent to the island where the conspirators are hiding.

The main role in this film was played by the famous Mikhail Nozhkin. Many people know him not only as an actor, but also as an author-performer. In "Solo Voyage" he also wrote the lyrics for all the songs.

9. Fan

• USSR, 1989.
• Action, crime.
• Duration: 81 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Yegor Larin, nicknamed the Kid, has been engaged in karate since his youth. Participation in a robbery and subsequent military service lead him into clandestine battles. During the next contractual duel, the Kid defeats the enemy despite the fact that he had to "lie down".

This film does not feature complex choreography in the style of Bruce Lee. But "Kid" impresses with realistic and brutal fights. The leading actor Alexei Serebryakov performed all the tricks himself, although he had not been involved in martial arts before.

8. Invincible

• USSR, 1983.
• Action movie.
• Duration: 69 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

In the early 1920s, former Red Army soldier Andrei Khromov dreamed of creating a new type of wrestling. He travels to Central Asia to study local martial arts. Soon he has to use new knowledge to fight criminals.

Another Soviet film about martial arts. The picture clearly copies the atmosphere and even plot moves from classic Hong Kong action films. In fact, the story is based in part on true events. The prototype of Khromov was the creator of sambo, Anatoly Kharlampiev.

7. Pirates of the XX century

• USSR, 1979.
• Action, adventure, crime.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

A Soviet dry cargo ship leaves for Vladivostok with a large batch of opium for the pharmaceutical industry. On the way, the team rescues the victim from the sunken ship. He turns out to be a pirate. At night, the villain's accomplices seize the cargo and crew members.

The large-scale picture based on the script by Stanislav Govorukhin captivated the Soviet audience. Within a year, from the start of distribution, the film was watched by Pirates of the 20th century. How the highest-grossing film of the 1980s was shot by over 87 million people. The exciting plot, well-staged fights, and the charismatic Nikolai Eremenko, the youngest, in the lead role, played a role.

6. Before dawn

• USSR, 1989.
• Action, military.
• Duration: 85 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

In the summer of 1941, a group of criminals is sent in a train carriage to the place of detention. Suddenly, the structure is attacked by fascist aircraft, and the survivors are finished off by the landing. Only three people manage to escape: a young lieutenant of the NKVD, a thief and a repressed party worker. Together they fight back the invaders.

Yaropolk Lapshin's painting ("Lasted, Lasted, Enchantment …") very vividly shows the changes of the heroes in the face of a common enemy. The characters are strikingly different in political views and initially despise each other. But it turns out that even a criminal is capable of a heroic act, and the repressed sincerely loves his country.

5. In the area of special attention

• USSR, 1977.
• Action movie.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

During the exercises, a sabotage group of four people is sent to the rear of the conditional enemy. In circumstances that are as close as possible to combat, they must detect and capture a disguised enemy command post.

This film will delight those who do not like excessive cruelty. Since this is a training exercise, there are no real shootings and killings. The leading roles were played by the famous Boris Galkin and Mihai Volontir. The film has a sequel - "Return move".

4. Elusive Avengers

• USSR, 1966.
• Action, adventure.
• Duration: 74 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

Four young heroes vowed to take revenge on a gang of Cossack anarchists for the murder of the father of two of them. The chance appears years later: one of the avengers infiltrates the detachment under the guise of the son of an old friend of the chieftain.

This famous film is based on Pavel Blyakhin's story "The Red Devils" in 1922 and the film adaptation of the same name, released a year later. Interestingly, in the original one of the young avengers is the Chinese Yu-Yu. In the first film he was replaced by the dark-skinned Tom Jackson, and in "The Elusive …" the character turned into the gypsy Yashka.

3. At home among strangers, a stranger among friends

• USSR, 1974.
• Action, drama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

After the Civil War, five former Red Army soldiers are preparing to send requisitioned gold to Moscow. But the composition is robbed by a gang of former white officers. Suspicion of treason falls on one of the Chekists, Yegor Shilov. Now he must return the gold and prove his honesty.

Nikita Mikhalkov drew inspiration for his first directorial project from the paintings of Sergio Leone. As a result, he came out with a large-scale and exciting Soviet analogue of a real western.

2. Cold summer of fifty-third …

• USSR, 1987.
• Drama, crime, action.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Two former political prisoners live in a remote village in the North. In the spring of 1953, the Soviet government pardons a huge number of convicts, including criminals. Now the heroes have to fight a gang that has captured the village.

The darkest film in the collection. Director Alexander Proshkin decided to show a lot of cruelty on the screen in order to emphasize the defenselessness of ordinary people in front of criminals. It was in this film that the great Anatoly Papanov played his last role.

1. White sun of the desert

• USSR, 1969.
• Action, adventure, drama.
• Duration: 84 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

After the end of the Civil War, the Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov returns home through the desert. He meets the red commander Rakhimov, who asks the hero to guard the wives of the bandit Abdullah, since her husband wants to kill them. So Sukhov enters into a confrontation with the Basmachi.

To get into distribution, the film had to overcome many obstacles: the management was constantly dissatisfied with the material and made changes. But everything was decided thanks to Brezhnev, who watched the film at his dacha and was completely delighted. In 1970, "White Sun of the Desert" took the second line in the list of leaders in Soviet distribution, yielding only to "Osvobozhdenie" by Yuri Ozerov.