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RUSSIAN AND SOVIET MILITARY PARADES (1918 – 2015). THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (9 DVDs)

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DISC 1

A HISTORY OF MILITARY PARADES ON RED SQUARE (1918 – 2010)

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This DVD presents excerpts from military parades, which took place on Moscow’s Red Square between 1918 and 2010, accompanied by an audio background of different Soviet and Russian martial music  (no dialogue).  The dates of the excerpts covered are:
 
01 May 1918;  11 August 1918; 07 November 1918; 07 March 1919; 01 May 1919; 27 June 1920; 01 May 1922; 11 May 1922;
07 November 1922; 07 November 1924; 23 February 1925; 01 May 1925; 07 November 1927; 01 May 1929; 01 May 1930;
07 November 1930; 09 February 1934; 01 May 1935; 01 May 1937; 07 November 1937; 07 November 1940; 01 May 1941;
07 November 1941; 01 May 1945; 24 June 1945; 12 August 1945; 01 May 1946;  08 September 1946; 01 May 1952;
07 November 1952; 01 May 1953; 01 May 1954; 07 November 1957; 01 May 1961; 07 November 1961; 01 May 1963;
07 November 1964; 09 May 1965; 07 November 1967; 09 May 1985; 09 May 1990; 07 November 1990; 09 May 1995;
09 May 1997; 09 May 2000; 09 May 2005; 09 May 2008; 09 May 2010
 

DVD-R HAS MUSICAL BACKGROUND ONLY. LENGTH OF FEATURE FILM: 84 mins

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DISC 2

RUSSIAN AND SOVIET MILITARY PARADES (1939 - 1967) 

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This DVD presents excerpts from six military parades executed by units of the Red Army in Moscow.  Most of the extraneous materials (e.g., speeches) have been edited out.  The excerpts include: 

·         Red Square Parade  (1939)  - 16 mins.; 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1941) - 7 mins.;  English subtitles

·         Red Square Parade  (1945) - 42 mins.; . 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1963) - 35 mins.

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1965) - 23 mins.

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1967) - 55 mins.

 

TOTAL DURATION:  178 mins.

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DISC 3

RUSSIAN AND SOVIET MILITARY PARADES (1984 - 1990) 

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This DVD presents excerpts from six military parades executed by units of the Red Army in Moscow.  Most of the extraneous materials (e.g., speeches) have been edited out.  The excerpts include:

 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1974)  - 40 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1975) - 33 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1978) - 40 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1979) - 38 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1980) - 23 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1981) - 23 mins. 

 

TOTAL DURATION:  197 mins.

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DISC 4

RUSSIAN AND SOVIET MILITARY PARADES (1974 - 1981) 

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This DVD presents excerpts from six military parades executed by units of the Red Army in Moscow.  Most of the extraneous materials (e.g., speeches) have been edited out.  The excerpts include:

 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1984)  - 37 mins.  

·         Victory Day Parade  (1985) - 51 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1985) - 37 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1986) - 37 mins. 

·         October Revolution Day Parade  (1987) - 42 mins.

·         Victory Day Parade  (1990) - 43 mins. 

 

TOTAL DURATION:  247 minutes

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DISC 5

RUSSIAN AND SOVIET MILITARY PARADES (2009 - 2012) 

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This DVD presents excerpts from three military parades executed by units of the Red Army in Moscow.  Most of the extraneous materials (e.g., speeches) have been edited out.  The excerpts include:

 

         Victory Day Parade  (2009)  - 47 mins.

         Victory Day Parade  (2011) - 58 mins. 

 ·       Victory Day Parade  (2012) - 53 mins. 

 

TOTAL DURATION:  158 minutes

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DISC 6

VICTORY DAY PARADE IN MOSCOW 2008

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VICTORY DAY PARADE - 2008:

Originally filmed in high definition, but since compressed for view on all TVs, what very little of the quality lost is amply made up for by the incredibly brilliant and vibrant colors of the scenery and soldiers of the Russian Federation on parade in Red Square on 09 May 2008, commemorating the defeat of Fascist Germany in the Second World War.  Once scorned and rejected in post-communist Russia, a spirit of pride and nostalgia for the USSR is very much reflected in both the uniforms and paraphenalia of the marching soldiers, as well as in the language of the defense minister, who addresses them as "tovarishchi" (comrades).  One may argue that this use of past symbols and language is just symbolic; reflecting the spirit of the first victory parade and its atmosphere in 1945.  Nonetheless, neither the current Russian president nor Putin, the so-called "advisor", who once ruled Russia and encourage this rebirth of Soviet nostalgia, seem to be upset at the many references to the Communist party in this parade.  Wonderful military displays of all the branches; stirring.  DON'T MISS IT!    (approx. 58 mins.; In Russian; excellenct quality).

THE FIRST SOVIET NEWSREELS  (1922):

This follow-up film neither compares in quality nor in color brilliance (black and white, in fact), but it is an interesting add-on, which shows some of the first newsreels about life in the post-civil war USSR.  Silent film with music has Russian captions, but, like the first film, even if you don't understand Russian, it's worth watching. 

(approx. 13 mins.; silent with Russian subs).

DVD-R IS APPROXIMATELY 71 MINUTES; excellent quality (the main film).

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DISC 7

VICTORY DAY PARADE IN MOSCOW 1945 and 2010

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VICTORY DAY PARADE - 2010:

Originally filmed in high definition, but since compressed for view on all TVs, what very little of the quality lost is amply made up for by the incredibly brilliant and vibrant colors of the scenery and soldiers of the Russian Federation on parade in Red Square on 09 May 2010, commemorating the defeat of Fascist Germany in the Second World War. 

Once scorned and rejected in post-communist Russia, a spirit of pride and nostalgia for the USSR is very much reflected in both the uniforms and paraphenalia of the marching soldiers, as well as in the language of the defense minister, who addresses them as "tovarishchi" (comrades).  One may argue that this use of past symbols and language is just symbolic; reflecting the spirit of the first victory parade and its atmosphere in 1945.  Nonetheless, neither the current Russian president nor Putin, the so-called "advisor", who once ruled Russia and encourage this rebirth of Soviet nostalgia, seem to be upset at the many references to the Communist party in this parade. 

Wonderful military displays of all the branches; stirring.  Includes representative armed forces from the former USSR, as well as from Poland, Great Britain, France and the United States.  Some period uniforms from the original parade (1945) are included, too.  DON'T MISS IT! (approx. 74 mins.; in Russian, excellent quality). 

PARADE COMMEMORATING THE 24th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION (1941):

In early October, 1941, the "Bolshoi Drap" ("the big skidaddle") began in Moscow, with widespread panic becoming the order of the day.  Autumn mud would hold up the German advance on Moscow, but not stop it.  When the snows came in force in November, the Germans were able to commence with their advance and Moscow looked as if it would soon be occupied for sure.  By December, the Germans got as close to Moscow as they were ever going to get during the Great Patriotic War:  advance units of the Wehrmacht actually spotted the spires of the Kremlin, quite a bit less than 20 miles away.  It was the low-point of the War for the Soviet Union and few thought the USSR would be around as an existing state in 1942.

By 07 November, the height of the panic in Moscow was subsiding, but the Germans were still dangerously close to finishing the war right then and there.  While most of the Soviet government packed up and left by train for Kuibyshev, Stalin made one of the few, very wise decisions of his dictatorship:  he did not run away.  Staying in Moscow, he stated that the troops would fight harder for a live city than a dead one -- a policy he was to insist upon at Stalingrad a year later, much to the horror and misery of its inhabitants who were not evacuated.

On 07 November, Stalin took time out from the War to preside over the yearly parade commemorating the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.  It was not a happy affair:  German troops were still perilously close to Moscow; Red Army units were barely holding on; there were only 400 tanks left to defend the city against the powerful Wehrmacht.  But it was at this parade that Stalin did a great service to the USSR:  in his speech, he pointed out to the soldiers that "their cause was just and they were fighting for the liberation of the homeland and of all Europe."  It made a difference  (though the Siberian units which showed up a month later helped more). 

Watch the soldiers in this parade closely:  when they left the view of the camera, they did not go back to their barracks; they went straight off to the front lines from Red Square.  Most never came back.

The film is not of particularly good quality, but I am including it as a background to the main film ... to show how close the USSR came to being extinct in 1941  (approx. 7 minutes).

VICTORY DAY PARADE - 1945:

And, of course, this DVD would not be complete without the original Victory Day Parade over Fascist Germany and their Allies, which took place in Red Square in June 1945.  Very much a different mood from the 1941 parade, this is the Soviet Armed Forces at the peak of their power.  They had just annihilated the most powerful armed force the world had ever seen since the days of the Roman Empire and had arisen like a Phoenix from the humiliating defeats of 1941 to become one of the world's superpowers.

There are two parts to this section:  the first is in black and white; the second is an "abbreviated" version in color.  Unfortunately, the quality is not very good on either part; but how could I not include this film when the theme of this year's Victory Parade in Moscow is the 65th anniversary of the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany?!?!  (approx. 68 minutes combined).

DVD-R IS IN RUSSIAN WITH NO SUBTITLES.  APPROXIMATELY 149 MINUTES TOTAL.

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DISC 8

THE VICTORY DAY PARADE IN MOSCOW (2014).

VICTORY DAY PARADE  (2014)

Originally filmed in high definition, but since compressed for view on all TVs, what very little of the quality lost is amply made up for by the incredibly brilliant and vibrant colors of the scenery and soldiers of the Russian Federation on parade in Red Square on 09 May 2014, commemorating the defeat of Fascist Germany in the Second World War.  Once scorned and rejected in post-communist Russia, a spirit of pride and nostalgia for the USSR is very much reflected in both the uniforms and paraphernalia of the marching soldiers.  There is no mistaking the praise of both the Soviet Union and its successor, the Russian Federation, in this gathering. Spectacular pageantry!

Approx. 62 mins.  In Russian with no subtitles.  Excellent quality, in spite of the transformation of an HD recording into standard DVD format (see video sample).

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THE RED ARMY  (1939)

This film, narrated in the English language and put out shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, is anything but hostile to the the Soviet Union and its Red Army. On the contrary, it provides a fascinating look at the Soviet armed forces and includes highlights of recruit training, military maneuvers, and even a performance by the Red Army Ensemble (conducted by the soon-to-be-famous Professor Alexandrov).  The film concludes with a military parade in Red Square.

Approx. 22 mins.  In English.  Softness in the picture (see video sample).

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I SERVE THE SOVIET UNION  (1967)

Unfortunately, this film is a bit disappointing.  It's an English-language excerpt of the abovementioned film commemorating the 1967 Soviet military exercise, which took place shortly before the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.  The exercise involved more than 500,000 soldiers and pitted "western" troops against Soviet forces in a battle for Soviet territory.  The filming of the event was co-opted by the U.S. Department of Defense for use in basic training (as I remember only too well and which I'm sure former veterans will probably recall, too).  The film was meant to both enlighten, awe and scare American recruits into developing a respect and wariness for their Warsaw Pact enemies.  However, while the audio is good enough (and accurate, though also loaded with anti-Soviet propaganda), the print is washed out, had a very strong red tint to it (which we removed a lot of) and is not especially good in its visual quality.  Nevertheless, a more than interesting supplement to the subject matter on this DVD.

Approx. 33 mins.  In English.  

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DISC 9

THE VICTORY DAY PARADE IN MOSCOW (2015) * partial, switchable English subtitles *

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Originally filmed in high definition, but since compressed for view on all TVs, what very little of the quality lost is amply made up for by the incredibly brilliant and vibrant colors of the scenery and soldiers of the Russian Federation on parade in Red Square on 09 May 2015, commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the defeat of Fascist Germany in the Second World War.  Once scorned and rejected in post-communist Russia, a spirit of pride and nostalgia for the USSR is very much reflected in both the uniforms and paraphernalia of the marching soldiers, as well as in the language of the defense minister, who addresses them as "tovarishchi" (comrades), but who doesn't fail to cross himself in his car prior to an inspection of the assembled troops.  There is no mistaking the praise of both the Soviet Union and its successor, the Russian Federation, in this gathering; and while Putin acknowledges the role of the West in the defeat of German and Japanese militarism, he also doesn't fail to point out that the formation of "new, military cliques" are causing regional mistrust and divisions.  Spectacular pageantry --- with a lot less talk than usual --- and even the participation of an old enemy in the parade:  Red China!  Partially subtitled, so you don't miss a minute of Vlad's subtle suggestions that the United States and NATO are the root of all evil in the world. 

DVD-R is in Russian with some partial, switchable subtitles in English.  Approx. 80 mins. total.

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