Kolomenskoe on the screen

The exhibition features more than 100 objects and 10 interactive zones, where you can find out about the stories of the creation of 20 films. The exhibition not only introduces the filming process that took place on the territory of Kolomenskoe, but also allows you to trace the evolution of the filming process from the beginning of XX century to the present day, from the script writing to the film promoting. In here, you can even embody yourself as a film participant.

Kolomenskoe territory harmoniously combines architectural monuments of XVI-XIX centuries, protected corners of nature and man-made landscapes. This amazing architectural composition of stone and wooden buildings has been in demand by cinematographers since the beginning of XX century. In 1923, a museum was founded in Kolomenskoe. In addition to preserving and educational activities, it took on the important task of creating Russia’s first Museum of Wooden Architecture (an outbuilding of XVII century, or a Mead brewery, the Passage gate from the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, the House of Peter I, the Mohovaya Tower from the Suma Stockaded fort and the XVII-century Tower from the Bratsk Stockaded fort, the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious of 1685). The monuments of wooden architecture in the center of Moscow also worked for the benefit of directors and screenwriters when choosing locations for shooting films related to the history of Moscow and Russia.

Nowadays, Kolomenskoe (both historical monuments and territory) is a unique cultural space that provides cinematographers with various historical scettings of different periods. Famous Soviet and Russian film directors including Sergey Eisenstein, Vera Stroeva, Andrey Tarkovsky, Vladimir Bychkov, Vladimir Krasnopolsky, Valery Uskov, Alexander Ptushko, Alexey Saltykov, Boris Grigoriev, Sergey Babich, Svetlana Druzhinina, Nikita Mikhalkov filmed their masterpieces here.

The first film shot on the territory of the museum-reserve was ‘The Wings of a Serf" (1926, directed by Leonid Leonidov and Yuri Tarich). The story of the talented inventor Nikishka and his flying machine sets in front of the Church of the Ascension. It rivaled the iconic ‘Battleship Potemkin’ (1925) in popularity. 

Some scenes from the first Soviet sound film ‘Road to Life’ (1932, directed by Nikolai Ekk) were filmed in Kolomenskoe. For Rina Zelenaya and Georgy Zhzhenov this picture became the cinema debut. During the first year of its rental, 15 million viewers watched it. In 1932, at the 1st Venice International Film Festival, the film won the prize for Best Director.

WE RECOMMEND VISITING THE EXHIBITION AS PART OF A GUIDED TOUR WITH A GUIDE

The exhibition illustrates the almost century-old history of the Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve in cinema. It presents fragments of films, Soviet shooting equipment and artifacts, including footage from filming, working documents, scripts, costumes, posters and much more from the production of the following costumed films: ‘Ivan the Terrible’ (1944-1945, directed by Sergei Eisenstein), ‘Khovanshchina’ (1959, directed by Vera Stroeva), ‘War and Peace’ (1961-1967, directed by Sergey Bondarchuk), ‘Andrey Rublev’ (1966, directed by Andrey Tarkovsky), ‘Ruslan and Lyudmila’ (1972, directed by Alexander Ptushko), ‘Emelyan Pugachev’ (1978, directed by Alexey Saltykov), ‘At the Beginning of Glorious Days’ (1980, directed by Sergey Gerasimov), ‘Boris Godunov’ (1986, directed by Sergey Bondarchuk), ‘Naval Cadets, Charge!’ (1987, directed by Svetlana Druzhinina), ‘The Barber of Siberia’ (1998, directed by Nikita Mikhalkov), ‘Sofia’ (2016, directed by Alexey Andrianov), the series ‘Godunov’ (2018-2019, directed by Alexey Andrianov, Timur Alpatov) and ‘The Terrible’ (2020, directed by Alexey Andrianov).

Kolomenskoe also became the backdrop for dramatic works: ‘Property of the Republic’ (1971, directed by Vladimir Bychkov), ‘Shadows Disappear at Noon’ (1971, directed by Vladimir Krasnopolsky, Valery Uskov), ‘The Mirror’ (1974, directed by Andrey Tarkovsky), ‘The Grasshopper’ (1978, directed by Boris Grigoriev), ‘Forgive me, Alyosha’ (1983, directed by Iskra Babich).

The Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve is in demand not only by Soviet and Russian cinema, world celebrities – Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in the ‘Sunflower’ (1970, directed by Vittorio De Sica) and Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer in ‘The Russia House’ (1990, directed by Fred Schepisi).

AUGUST 14 — LECTURE “THE HISTORY OF CINEMA: HOW CINEMA DEVELOPED IN RUSSIA”

On August 14 at 2:00 p.m., a lecture on the history of cinema will be held in the exhibition halls of the Sytny Yard where the ‘Kolomenskoe on the screen’ is on display. The lecturer is Sergey Lavrentiev, a film historian, academician of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences Nika, member of Russia’s Oscar Committee (2002-2012) and the selection Committee of the Moscow International Film Festival 2022.

To attend the lecture for free, you should register and buy a ticket to the exhibition.

AUGUST 27 — OPEN-AIR FILM SCREENING AS PART OF THE MOVIE NIGHT 

On the night of August 27, Kolomenskoe will host a screening of Eldar Ryazanov's iconic film ‘Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia ’.

Follow the announcements on our website so as not to miss the program of the event.

ON JULY 8, KOLOMENSKOE HOSTED A MOVIE NIGHT 

As part of the program for the exhibition, a film evening was held in Kolomenskoe. The guests could visit a free guided tour, a lecture with the critic and film historian Sergei Lavrentiev and a screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s iconic film ‘Andrei Rublev’.

The exhibition ‘Kolomenskoe on the screen’ will be an excellent occasion to get acquainted with the history of cinema, look at familiar locations from a different angle, and rediscover Kolomenskoe.

Project participants: Moscow State Integrated Museum-Reserve, Cinema Museum, Mosfilm, Gorky Film Studio, Gosfilmofond of Russia, the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Rossiya, TriTe studio, GBUK of Moscow ‘Moscow cinema’, Moskino Film Studio and private collections.