The Russian Woodpecker

Jan 31, 2015

1h 20m

★ 6.3

Chernobyl & War in Ukraine

Overview

As his country is gripped by revolution and war, a Ukrainian victim of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life and play his part in the revolution by revealing it.

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

Rattapallax

Roast Beef Productions

GraciaFilms

The Russian Woodpecker Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Himself

Fedor Alexandrovich

Fedor's Father

Andrei Alexandrovich

Fedor's Son

Igor Alexandrovich

Chernobyl Historian

Natalia Baranovskaya

Chernobyl Chief Engineer

Andrei Bilyk

Duga Data Commander

Fedor Chebanenko

Himself - CBS News Foreign Correspondent (archive footage)

Charlie D'Agata

Chernobyl Engineer

Anatoly Duatlov

Radar Professor

Fedor Dubrovka

Former President Russia (archive footage)

Mikhail Gorbachev

Former President Ukraine (archive footage)

Viktor Yanukovich

Last Soviet Head of Atomic Energy

Georgiy Kopchinski

September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.

7.4

Enemy at the Gates

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A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

7.0

Woodpeckers: The Hole Story

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8.0

Tripping with Zhirinovsky

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A candid, fly-on-the-wall BBC television documentary portrait of Russian Nationalist politician, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The film shows the leader on a cruise surrounded by two hundred supporters getting plenty of media attention in New York. We are left with the nagging question: to what extent is Zhirinovsky really dangerous? To take that further, to what extent are populist politicians truly dangerous?

6.7

War and Peace

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The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

6.3

The Russian Revolution

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Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.

1.0

On Putin's Blacklist

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Traces the new Cold War between Russia and the West from the ban on American citizens adopting Russian children to the Kremlin’s anti-LGBTQ campaign, which positions the international marriage equality movement as a national threat.

7.0

Life After People

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In this special documentary that inspired a two-season television series, scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth, animal life, and plant life might be like if, suddenly, humanity no longer existed, as well as the effect humanity's disappearance might have on the artificial aspects of civilization.

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0.0

35 dni w Czarnobylu

Feb 20, 2025

The film uniquely recounts the lives of workers at Ukraine's Chornobyl nuclear power plant, National Guard soldiers and residents of surrounding towns and villages. These have been at the epicenter of the Russian occupation since February 24, 2022. It's a film that shows how a thin line separates humanity from another nuclear catastrophe and how the fight for survival was on a "ticking bomb." Under the constant threat of shelling and rockets.

6.2

Chernobyl Reclaimed: An Animal Takeover

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What would happen if the world were suddenly without people - if humans vanished off the face of the earth? How would nature react - and how swiftly? On the edge of Europe, the deserted village of Chernobyl reveals the surprising answer after an unplanned experiment. Chernobyl was abandoned by people after the worst nuclear disaster in history (April 26, 1986). A level 7 meltdown resulted in a severe release of radioactivity following a massive explosion that destroyed the reactor. More than 20 years later, Chernobyl has been taken over by a remarkable collection of wildlife and descendents of pets that were left in the city when its residents fled the nuclear fallout. Unexpectedly in the aftermath of this disaster, Chernobyl has become a sanctuary for plants, birds, and animals, including some species thought to be on the brink of extinction.

7.5

Chernobyl, Fukushima: Living with the Legacy

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30 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe and 5 years after Fukushima it is time to see what has been happening in the “exclusion zones” where the radioactivity rate is far above normal.

7.1

Over the Limit

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Margarita Mamun, an elite Russian rhythmic gymnast, is struggling to become an Olympic champion. It is the most important year of her career and her last chance to achieve the ultimate goal, the gold Olympic medal. The film creates a captivating portrait of a young woman who is desperately trying to handle her own ambitions and meet the expectations of the official Russian training system.

9.5

Rusia: Revolución conservadora

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No overview available.

0.0

Beyond the White

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In Northern Russia, a few dozen people still live in their traditional houses surrounded by water, stone, and sand. Cut off from vital infrastructure, almost forgotten by regional governance, these people have to cope with their everyday struggles.

6.8

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During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes many lovers, including the handsome Count Alexei, and bears a son. When the unstable Peter eventually ascends to the throne, Catherine plots to oust him from power.

7.2

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A ghost and a French marquis wander through the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, encountering scenes from many different periods of its history.

6.0

Michael Jackson: Moscow Case 1993

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The Moscow Case is a 52 minute documentary with never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson in Moscow during the "Dangerous" tour. This film tells the behind the scenes story of Jackson's ill fated concert in September 1993. It includes unique archival footage showing Michael close up and personal while meeting fans and playing with orphan children.

6.9

Reds

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An account of the revolutionary years of the legendary American journalist John Reed, who shared his adventurous professional life with his radical commitment to the socialist revolution in Russia, his dream of spreading its principles among the members of the American working class, and his troubled romantic relationship with the writer Louise Bryant.

0.0

I'm So Sorry

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In a quiet forest, a sign warns of radiation hazard. “Is this the past or the future?” muses the masked figure who appears like a kind of ghost in nuclear disaster areas. At a time when nuclear power may be re-emerging as an alternative to fossil fuels, this calmly observed and compelling tour takes us to places that may serve as a warning.

2.0

Three Days and Never Again

Jan 1, 1998

Alexander Birgukov shot and killed his two commanding officers. He was sentenced to death but when it was alleged that one of his victims had sexually harassed him, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. Tenderly revealing two lives lived in limbo, this film bears witness to the first and final visit of his mother, Lubyov.