
Acting
Vera Kholodnaya
Born 1893-08-05 · Poltava, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]
Vera Vasilyevna Kholodnaya (née Levchenko) was a Ukrainian-born actress of the silent film era. She was the first star of Imperial Russian cinema. Only eight of her films have survived, in part or in whole, and the total number she acted in is unknown, with speculation ranging from 50 to 100.
Acting credits
NRNo synopsis available yet.
The Moon Beauty
1916
4.8The picture tells the story of Maria, a devoted wife of a bank employee. The couple has a cozy life; they have a baby but he is cared for by their maid so Maria can spend her time doing terrific things like going shopping. During one of these consumer afternoons, Maria meets by chance an old friend, Lidia, who will introduce her to exclusive idle class social circles. Soon Maria's beauty attracts the interest of Lebedev, a rich old libertine. From that point on Maria suffers continual sexual harassment which she resists for a time. In the end, however, she falls into his bourgeois claws.
Children of the Age
1915
10.0No synopsis available yet.
The Woman Who Invented Love
1918
5.7Wealthy Mrs. Khromova has a natural daughter, Musya, and an adopted daughter, Nata. The merchant Zhurov is in love with Nata, and hopes to marry her, but she is non-committal.
A Life for a Life
1916
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Song of Triumphant Love
1915
NRContinuation of Chardynin's drama By the Fireplace. Lost film.
Forget the Fireplace; the Lights Went out in It ...
1917
NRIn Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Anna Karenina
1914
NRLost film.
By the Fireplace
1917
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tortured Souls
1917
6.0Paula is a circus performer married to the alcoholic clown-acrobat Lorio. Lorio's heavy drinking leads to him being severely injured during a performance. This forces Paula and the now-crippled Lorio to become street musicians. This film formerly ran to 81 minutes – regrettably, the second half is considered lost.
Be Silent, My Sorrow, Be Silent
1918
4.0Documentary film about early years of Russian cinema: its first directors, cameramen, producers and actors. Includes rare fragments of pre-revolutionary feature films, newsreels and Starewicz's animation.
Cinema in Russia
1979
NRNo synopsis available yet.
The Beast in Man
1917
The Island of the Dead is a film about the demise of the Russian Epocha Modern. The symbol of this culture was the legendary Russian film star Vera Kholodnaya, who evoked a poetic image of the young urban woman on the silver screen. Her death in 1919, shrouded in tragedy and mystery, put a symbolic end to the pre-Revolutionary period. The Island of the Dead is composed of fragments from numerous films from this period, juxtaposed with other contemporary artistic expressions such as music and painting. Kovalov shows convincingly how the fragile beauty of the Russian Epocha Modern had to make way for the pressure of Futurism, Constructivism and other 'progressive trends', and how these '-isms' were then also relegated to the melting pot to be remoulded by totalitarian norms.
Island of the Dead
1993
NRThe film is based on the words of a song performed by Iza Kremer in Odessa.
The Last Tango
1918
NRNo synopsis available yet.
At The Beauty's Altar
1917
9.5"The Living Corpse" - Fedor Protasov is tormented by the thought that his wife Liza never really made a clear choice between him and Victor Karenin, a more conventional rival for her hand. He wants to kill himself, but doesn't have the nerve. Running away from his life, he falls in with Gypsies, and into a sexual relationship with a Gypsy singer Mascha. Meanwhile, his wife Liza, presuming him dead, marries the other man, Victor.
A Corpse Living
1918
6.7Marianna advertises for work as a reader and is employed by the reclusive millionaire Dymov. Appreciative of her sensitive, artistic nature, and of her youthful innocence and purity, Dymov is protective of Marianna and shields her from the attentions of his philandering playboy son. Marianna confesses to her fiancé Sergei that, at times, she feels deeply conflicted, drawn by the seductive lure of wealth and luxury. When her protector Dymov dies, his son begins to pursue her. Can Marianna resist her attraction to the opulent lifestyle that Dymov's son offers?
Mirages
1916
NRNo synopsis available yet.
How They Lie
1917
This film records the vast public response to the early death of Vera Kholodnaya, the first star of Russian cinema.
The Funeral of Vera Kholodnaya
1919
Filming of the collection of donations during the cinematic film week "To a Soldier in the trenches" in Moscow at the A. Khanzhonkov Theater on November 30, 1915.
Cinema — for the Soldier
1915
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Metropolitan Poison
1917
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Vanyushin's Children
1915