The War Symphonies: Shostakovich Against Stalin

2003 Documentary ★ 7.5/10

Released 5/10/2003 (Czech Republic)

📖 Storyline

During the Interwar period and World War Two, Joseph Stalin dictated the Soviet Union in a bloody manner. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich couldn't agree at all with the policies that the tyrant used, but speaking out loud was impossible. It would have cost him his life. Shostakovich found another way: art. This documentary shows how Shostakovich used his Fourth to Ninth Symphony as a silent protest against the crimes of Stalin. —Arnoud Tiele (imdb@tiele.nl)During the Interwar period and World War Two, Joseph Stalin dictated the Soviet Union in a bloody manner. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich couldn't agree at all with the policies that the tyrant used, but speaking out loud was impossible. It would have cost him his life. Shostakovich found another way: art. This documentary shows how Shostakovich used his Fourth to Ninth Symphony as a silent protest against the crimes of Stalin. —Arnoud Tiele (imdb@tiele.nl)

🎭 Cast & Crew

Director Larry Weinstein

Main Star Valery Gergiev, Character: Self - Conductor "Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9" and "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District"

Supporting Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (as Themselves - Orchestra "Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9"), Flora Litvinova (as Self - Friend), Graham Haley (as Shostakovich), Dmitri Shostakovich (as Self), Dmitri Tolstoy (as Self - Composer), Joseph Stalin (as Self), Bulat Minzhilkiev (as Boris - Opera "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District"), Irina Loskutova (as Katerina - Opera "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District"), Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (as Themselves - Orchestra (Opera "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District")), Karen Khachaturyan (as Self - Composer), Abram Gozenpud (as Self - Musicologist), Mariana Sabinina (as Self - Musicologist), Mariya Konniskaya (as Self - Friend), Natan Perelman (as Self - Friend), Vladimir Rubin (as Self - Composer), Ilya Musin (as Self - Conductor), Galina Shostakovich (as Self - Daughter)

ℹ️ Details

IMDb Rating 7.5/10 (138 votes)

Reviews 3

Release Date 5/10/2003 (Czech Republic)

Format Documentary

Filmed In Czech Republic

Country Czech Republic

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