This is a film of Leo Tolstoy's famous novel RESURRECTION. It is an epic made on the grand scale with brilliant direction, acting, and cinematography. It was made in black and white, which considering the nature of the story gives it more appropriate atmosphere and intensity. It appears that this magnificent achievement is essentially unknown outside Russia, and it has never been reviewed on IMDb until now. The film is so impressive it really ought to be given a fresh launch with a band and drums and cannons fired in salute. Mikhail Shvejtser (1920-2000) was the director, and he proves without question that he was a truly great master. He directed only 16 films in his career, which lasted from 1949 to 1993. The next to last was another Tolstoy tale, THE KREUTZER SONATA (KREYTSEROVA SONATA), in 1992. He made films of some Chekhov stories and a TV series of Nikolai Gogol's DEAD SOULS (1984). The other spectacular feature of this film is the lead female performance as Katyusha Maslova by the young actress Tamara Syomina. If this film had not been made in the Soviet Union in the middle of the Cold War, the film and Syomina would probably both have won Oscars; but instead, no one in the West even knew it existed. Syomina is so outstanding that it is difficult to take one's eyes off her for long enough to see anyone else on the screen. Evgeniy Matveev is perfect as Prince Nekhlyudov, whose character transformation from selfish spoilt rich man to compassion and a social conscience during the course of the film is akin to a resurrection. All the cast are excellent. The cinematography is heavily influenced by German Expressionism, and there are inspired closeups such as one of a door latch which goes up and down as Katyusha hesitates whether to open it or not. The entire story depends upon whether she opens that door. The infrastructure and mechanics of a courtroom, the preparations by the judges, the shuffling of papers, the behaviour of the jurors, are all examined under a microscope. The satire of the Tsarist regime is expressed so subtly that it was clearly just enough to satisfy the Soviet censors but mild enough for us to say that this is not really a political film at all. 'The System' is relentlessly exposed. But the story is essentially one about human character and conscience. There are no war scenes. The time is the end of the 19th century (Tolstoy died in 1910), a time when everything seemed normal on the surface but when everything was bubbling up to the unsuccessful Revolution of 1905 (an event commemorated by Boris Pasternak's long epic poem THE YEAR 1905). The film does not preach; we can see the social injustices without anyone trying to tell us what to think about them. The scene when Prince Nekhlyudov is surrounded by staring and silent village urchins, and instead of ignoring them begins to talk to them and ask them about their lives, is heart-breaking. The film deals with some of the deepest issues of human morality. It is an overwhelming experience and deserves to be seen widely. It is, frankly, a masterpiece. I obtained a copy with English subtitles from Movie Detective.