Russia is experiencing a golden age of fantastic, high quality historical dramatic TV series.
Meet new generation Russian film-making
Over the past couple of years subjects have included: the life of Russian civil war hero Admiral Kolchak, Rasputin (making the case he was a great guy, slandered and murdered by the British Secret Service), a screen adaptation of the epic novel 'Quiet Flows the Don', chronicling the experience of the Don Cossacks during WW1, the revolution, and the Russian civil war, and one following the history of the Romanov Tsars, among others.
Here is the link to season 2 on Amazon.
The English-language trailer for season 2
The production level is really first rate, reflecting great depth of talent and experience in Russian film-making, now combined with modern technology and funding. Acting, costumes, writing, and cinematography are truly excellent. The result is stellar, as good, if not better than anything being made in the West. It certainly is better in terms of the moral and philosophical content, which is not poisoned by the Game of Thrones style moral rot so typical of Western film-making.
The producers of one of these series called recently to let us know they were debuting on Amazon video with a 26 episode series about Catherine the Great. We watched it on Russian prime-time about 6 months ago when it came out, and can highly recommend it. It is subtitled on Amazon, which is great because you experience the richness of the language and acting.
It is free if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, otherwise it costs $15.00 for the whole series. Check it out here. Here is another trailer from Russian TV:
More information from PR Newswire:
XiveTV announced today the exclusive US availability of Ekaterina: The Rise of Catherine the Great, now streaming commercial-free on amazon prime video. The gloriously filmed saga covers the life of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great (Ekaterina), a German-born princess who traveled to Russia as a bride for the crown prince, Peter III, grandson of Peter the Great and nephew of Empress Elizabeth.
10-part series comes to life in this epic story of one of the most powerful women in Russian History
The story of Catherine the Great's rise to power rivals any contemporary soap opera, as an intricate web of politics, adultery and betrayal unfolds within the Russian court in spectacular fashion. The mini-series chronicles the lead-up to Ekaterina's powerful reign, setting the stage for her impact on the world stage and transformation of the Russian Empire.
In the grand tradition of The Tudors and The Crown, Ekaterina is an historical drama based on the true story of a larger than life figure who played a prominent role in European and world history. Each episode runs approximately 1 hour and has been produced by AMedia, one of Russia's most respected production companies, with English subtitles.