Meeting Gorbachev

May 3, 2019

1h 35m

★ 6.6

Overview

Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, sits down with filmmaker Werner Herzog to discuss his many achievements. Topics include the talks to reduce nuclear weapons, the reunification of Germany and the dissolution of his country.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Spring Films

History Films

Altitude Film Entertainment

The Orchard

ARTE

MDR

Meeting Gorbachev Trailers

Cast

Self

Mikhail Gorbachev

Self

Werner Herzog

Self

Miklós Németh

Self

Lech Wałęsa

Self

George Shultz

Self (archive Footage)

George H. W. Bush

Self (archive Footage)

Margaret Thatcher

Self

James Baker III

Self

Horst Teltschik

A different history of the Cold War: how Estonians under Soviet tyranny began to feel the breeze of freedom when a group of anonymous dreamers successfully used improbable methods to capture the Finnish television signal, a window into Western popular culture, brave but harmless warriors who helped change the fate of an entire nation.

7.5

The Battle of Chernobyl

Jan 28, 2007

On April 26, 1986, a 1,000 feet high flame rises into the sky of the Ukraine. The fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant just exploded. A battle begins in which 500,000 men are engaged throughout the Soviet Union to "liquidate" the radioactivity, build the "sarcophagus" of the damaged reactor and save the world from a second explosion that would have destroyed half of Europe. Become a reference film, this documentary combines testimonials and unseen footage, tells for the first time the Battle of Chernobyl.

0.0

Theatre of Hope

Jan 25, 1987

The film is set to bring forward once again the well-worn images of the summit talks between Reagan and Gorbachev in Geneva. It is a reproduction of the days during the summit. On the one hand, pictures are gathered from the perspective as an onlooker in Geneva, on the other hand, the old television footage is processed.

6.6

My Favorite War

Sep 25, 2020

Ilze Burkovska, a little girl who is obsessed with stories of World War II and will be a filmmaker in a distant future, lives in Latvia under the totalitarian boot of the Soviets and the ominous shadow of the many menaces and horrors of the Cold War.

6.4

My Perestroika

Jan 24, 2010

Tells the story of five people from the last generation of Soviet children who were brought up behind the Iron Curtain. Just coming of age when the USSR collapsed, they witnessed the world of their childhood crumble and change beyond recognition. Through the lives of these former schoolmates, this intimate film reveals how they have adjusted to their post-Soviet reality in today's Moscow.

8.0

The Last Days of the USSR

Dec 12, 2011

From 1989 to 1991 a string of unpredictable events happened that brought to light the rivalry between two men: Gorbachev, hindered by the economic results of his perestroika, and Yeltsin, embodying the hopes of the Russian people. Illustrated with interviews of top protagonists such as Mikhail Gobachev himself, the documentary recounts the critical last two years of the former USSR.

0.0

Year of the Dragon

Feb 1, 1989

The year of 1988 in Estonia was exceptional - it came as a surprise for everyone that all of a sudden national symbols were allowed; expressions of no confidence were addressed towards the leaders of Communist Party and Estonian government; the Popular Front of Estonia and Estonian Green Movement but also the Intermovement (the Workers International Movement of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic) were founded. Estonian Heritage Society restored the monuments of the War of independence; the facts about war crimes during the Stalinist regime were disclosed and - imagine that! - the representatives of Estonian Republic went against the central authorities in Moscow. Events in Estonia draw international attention. Is all this possible in a totalitarian state? This documentary chronicle gives a plausibe interpretation of the events that took place in Estonia in 1988, of the changes in people's lives and the awakening after a 48-year-long period of darkness.

5.2

The Bigmoon Nights

Apr 19, 1991

The film "Nights full moon" shows the tendency of moral decay in society. The main character is torn apart by internal contradictions, leading him to the path of Evil. Bans on self-identification - philosophical, existential, sexual, and then permissiveness spawn a monster that is not aware of its true nature and genuine desires. Throughout the film-trilogy, the protagonist goes through a series of temptations that ruin his soul and lead, after all, to a madhouse. In a general sense, the film allegorically shows the tragic path of the Russian lumpen intellectual, lost between the past and the present, not finding the strength to accept and comprehend the unexpected changes that happened in our country twenty years ago. In the global sense - the tragic circle of Russian history.

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0.0

The President's Power and Weakness

Jun 5, 1990

Documentary filmed on May 30-June 3 1990 in USA during Mikhail Gorbachev's American voyage to take part in Washington Summit visit and sign bilateral Soviet-American Chemical Weapons Accord.

3.0

You Can't Live Like That

Sep 1, 1990

A film about the sociopolitical condition of the Soviet society at the end of the eighties.

7.4

Leto

Jun 7, 2018

Leningrad, one summer in the early eighties. Smuggling LPs by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike and his beautiful wife Natasha meet with young Viktor Tsoï. Together with friends, they will change the destiny of rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union.

6.5

One-way to Moscow

Feb 13, 2020

30 years ago, Switzerland was shaken by a scandal that seems to have already been forgotten: more than 900,000 people were surveilled because of their political convictions. Against the backdrop of this "secret files scandal," Micha Lewinsky sets his film. Conscientious policeman Viktor Schuler is tasked by his superior to infiltrate the Schauspielhaus, a renowned Zurich theatre, in order to keep an eye on its leftist scene. However, Viktor finds himself quite taken with the artist's life and falls in love with the subversive actress Odile Lehmann.

6.0

Little Vera

Oct 1, 1988

Vera is a troubled teenager fresh out of school feeling trapped in her provincial port town during the turbulent times of perestroika. Her days and nights are filled with drinking, sex, and family dysfunction.

4.5

Lessons at the End of Spring

Jul 18, 1990

A young boy loses his innocence in a pre-perestroika Russian prison during the chaotic last months of the Khrushchev regime

1.0

The Red Arrow

Mar 25, 1987

The Red Arrow is the special train No.1 between Leningrad and Moscow. The film is set in the 1980s during perestroika in the Soviet Union. Kropotov (Lavrov) is communist CEO of a big industrial company in Leningrad. He is crafty and successful in getting a major order from the Soviet Government; building an automated assembly line. But his style of management clashes with his subordinates, talented engineers. Their potential is strangled by Kropotov's manipulative control. The government order is not accomplished and Kropotov gets fired. He is rethinking his outdated business style while on the train No.1 to Moscow.

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0.0

Reykjavik

Invalid Date

At the most dangerous point of the Cold War, political enemies Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland over one long, tense weekend to decide if there will be peace or war. They sit across from each other, choosing to unclench their fists and instead extend their hands — a triumph of overcoming fear, differences, egos, and consequences.

5.0

Shell

Sep 12, 1990

Existential drama taking place in the midst of Perestroika.

0.0

Today in Our City...

Jan 1, 1989

No overview available.

7.9

Mylene Farmer: Music Videos II & III

May 2, 2001

Includes videos of Mylène Farmer made by Laurent Boutonnat, Luc Besson, Abel Ferrara and Marcus Nispel.

6.7

Dark Matter

Feb 12, 2013

Materia oscura tells the story of a war zone in peacetime. The film location is the Salto di Quirra test range (Sardinia, Italy) where, for over fifty years, governments around the world have tested 'new weapons' and where the Italian government has carried out controlled explosions of old weapon stocks, inexorably endangering the territory.