
Spy movies are a separate genre in world cinema, which has a rich history and characteristics depending on the country of production, involvement in a particular franchise (Mission Impossible, James Bond films), and authors (for example, John Le Carre). Bemorepanda has put together a list of top spy movies that will last long.
Top spy movies
Passwords and appearances, real conspiracy, double life, and a mission to save the world - enjoy exciting stories in films about spies and secret agents!
Tinker Tailor Spy
France, UK, Germany, 2011.
Detective thriller.
Duration: 127 minutes.
IMDb: 7.1.
British intelligence suspects that a Soviet spy has been working in the organization's ranks for a long time. However, it is impossible to calculate it, and all agents who openly declare danger are soon dismissed. And then, the former intelligence officer George Smiley begins a secret investigation. The intrigue turns out to be even more complicated than he expected.
The film is based on the book of the same name by John Le Carre (in the original title and Russian, there is a part of the counting rhyme). Moreover, this novel was already transferred to the screens as a series back in 1979. The lead actor in the new version, Gary Oldman, tried to combine in his image the behavior of the actor Alec Guinness, who played in the series, and the author of the book himself. In addition, he tried to grow a slight belly, characteristic of an older adult. Such a deep approach provided him with an Oscar nomination for this role.
Spy game
USA, Germany, France, Japan, 2001.
Action, thriller, detective.
Duration: 122 minutes.
IMDb: 7.1.
On the last day of his service, CIA special agent Nathan Muir learns that his colleague Tom Bishop has ended up in a Chinese prison and will be executed within 24 hours. An experienced operative must develop a plan to rescue his partner quickly and, simultaneously, find out why he was imprisoned. It wasn't without romance.
An experienced director Tony Scott (younger brother of the famous Ridley Scott), made a lot of films about tough military men and agents. But in this picture, he decided to bet on psychology and dialogue, inviting very charismatic actors to play the leading roles. Robert Redford and his protégé Bishop played Muir.
Body of Lies
USA, UK, 2008.
Detective, thriller, drama.
Duration: 128 minutes.
IMDb: 7.1.
US national intelligence agent Roger Ferris searches the world for terrorists and prevents dangerous events. And he is helped by CIA veteran Ed Hoffman, who constantly monitors the hero with the help of a satellite. Ferris comes up with a risky plan to capture a dangerous criminal leader. But it turns out that the management can play their game behind his back.
This film is from Ridley Scott himself, and even with Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead roles. By the way, the actors have previously starred together in the film The Quick and the Dead. According to the director's tradition, the twisted plot is filled with drive and manifestations of cruelty.
Mission: Impossible
USA, 1996
Action, thriller, adventure.
Duration: 110 minutes.
IMDb: 7.1.
The plot of this film, based on the TV series of the 60s and which gave rise to an entire franchise, is dedicated to the secret agent of the CIA, Ethan Hunt. After the death of several colleagues, they begin to suspect him of betrayal. To clear his name, he must find the natural "mole."
Six parts of this franchise have already been released, the main advantage of which is considered a very cool action. And the lead actor Tom Cruise, despite his age, continues to perform all the most dangerous stunts without an understudy.
The IPress File
UK, 1965
Thriller.
Duration: 109 minutes.
IMDb: 7.2.
After the disappearance of several famous scientists, Sergeant Harry Palmer, who works for the British Ministry of Defense, takes over the investigation. The search leads him to an Albanian nicknamed Kingfisher. Soon Palmer finds a magnetic tape with the inscription "IPCRESS" and finds out the true purpose of the kidnapping.
The role of Harry Palmer glorified the future legend of cinema - British actor Michael Caine. And besides, many believe that it was Palmer, along with James Bond, who became the prototype of the famous comedy spy Austin Powers.
Nikita
France, Italy, 1990.
Action, thriller.
Duration: 117 minutes.
IMDb: 7.3.
A young girl, Nikita, being under the influence of drugs, went on a robbery and killed a man. The court sentenced her to life imprisonment. But after some time, Nikita was injected, and she woke up already at the school for special agents. Now she is being trained as a professional spy and assassin to perform the most secret tasks.
The success of this French film from Luc Besson spawned many remakes. First, the full-length movie “No Return” was released in the USA with a similar plot, where Bridget Fonda played the leading role. And then two series appeared: the Canadian “Her Name was Nikita” with Peta Wilson and the American “Nikita” with Maggie Q.
Dr. no
UK, 1962
Action, thriller, adventure.
Duration: 111 minutes.
IMDb: 7.3.
Based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, the film first introduced the audience to the secret agent James Bond with the code 007. In this picture, he faces the powerful Spectrum organization, which is trying to take over the American silos at Cape Canaveral. The agent's main rival is the sinister Dr. No.
The James Bond films need no introduction. It was these films that gave impetus to the popularity of the spy action genre itself. More than 20 pictures about agent 007 have already been released, not counting the numerous parodies and copies.
Enemy of the State
USA, 1998.
Action, thriller.
Duration: 132 minutes.
IMDb: 7.3.
Unsuspecting lawyer Robert Dean suddenly becomes the owner of a videotape that can expose the official. An employee is pushing a law that allows people to be monitored. From that moment on, the protagonist's life turns into a nightmare: government agents are chasing him, able to listen in on conversations and spy on any citizen through surveillance cameras. From a successful lawyer, Dean turns into an enemy of the state.
Tony Scott also directed this film. Well, Will Smith, who played the leading role, continued his victorious march on the screens: before that, he starred in Men in Black and Independence Day. Actual ahead of him was the rejection of the "Matrix" and the failure in the "Wild, Wild West."
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
USA, UK, 2015.
Action, comedy, adventure.
Duration: 116 minutes.
IMDb: 7.3.
CIA agent Napoleon Solo and Soviet KGB operative Ilya Kuryakin hate each other. But they have to unite to carry out the mission together. With the help of the daughter of a missing German scientist, Gabi, they must hunt down the members of the international criminal organization that created the nuclear bomb.
Like "Mission: Impossible," this film is based on a classic series of the same name. But director Guy Ritchie added his trademark humor to the story and simultaneously made a stunning visual with Cold War costumes.
Three Days of the Condor
USA, 1975.
Detective thriller.
Duration: 117 minutes.
IMDb: 7.4.
Joe Turner, with the official pseudonym Condor, works in the secret department of the CIA. But he is engaged exclusively in paperwork: he looks for information leaks in the press with his assistants. One day, Joe goes out during his lunch break for a sandwich, and when he returns, he finds that all his colleagues have been killed. He soon realizes that he is being hunted not just by criminals but by the CIA.
The film is based on the classic spy novel by James Grady. Only the original was called "Six Days of the Condor," and the action lasted twice as long. Here you can see the still young Robert Redford, who would later play an already experienced agent in Spy Games.
Munich
France, Canada, USA, 2005.
Drama, thriller, historical.
Duration: 164 minutes.
IMDb: 7.5.
The film is based on an actual tragedy during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich when Palestinian terrorists killed Israeli athletes. A group of Mossad agents track down and destroy everyone involved in this crime.
This film by Steven Spielberg received five Oscar nominations, particularly in the Best Picture category. However, the Munich plot drew sharp criticism from both Palestine and Israel. Representatives of both states stated that the authors greatly distorted the actual events. Spielberg replied that the film is only a tribute to the memory of the tragedy and the dead, so it should not be judged as a documentary story.
Bridge of Spies
Germany, India, USA, 2015.
Drama, thriller, historical.
Duration: 142 minutes.
IMDb: 7.6.
This movie is also based on actual events. In the center of the plot is the lawyer James Donovan, who defended the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel at the trial. He will become the primary mediator in the negotiations when the USSR shoots down the American pilot Gary Powers. Despite the height of the Cold War, Donovan must negotiate a prisoner exchange.
And again, the picture of Steven Spielberg received six Oscar nominations. In many ways, the film's success was ensured by the excellent performance of Tom Hanks, who played the role of James Donovan.
Five fingers
USA, 1952.
Detective, thriller, drama.
Duration: 108 minutes.
IMDb: 7.7.
The action of the picture takes place during the Second World War. A servant of the British ambassador in pro-neutral Turkey sells secret documents to Germany and simultaneously tries to have an affair with a Polish countess.
The picture, which appeared just in the era of the US obsession with finding spies, quickly gained public recognition and received Oscar nominations in Best Picture and Best Screenplay categories.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
UK, USA, 2014.
Action, comedy, adventure.
Duration: 130 minutes.
IMDb: 7.7.
A young, quick-witted guy, Eggsy lives in a poor area and hangs out with criminals. After he again comes across the police, a friend of his dead father, Harry Hart, comes to the rescue. A man arranges a young man for training in the most incredible secret organization Kingsman. However, it isn't easy to stay in this school.
Director Matthew Vaughn took the famous comic book by Mark Millar as a basis, significantly changed the plot, and added utterly insane action to it. As a result, the audience saw a very bright and dynamic spy comedy. The famous film received a sequel, followed by a prequel about the organization of the Kingsman service.
The Bourne Identity
USA, Germany, Czech Republic, 2002.
Detective, thriller, thriller.
Duration: 113 minutes.
IMDb: 7.9.
The crew of a fishing boat finds the body of an unconscious man with two wounds in the Mediterranean Sea. He does not remember his name or past events when he wakes up. Soon the man learns that his name is Jason Bourne. And at the same time finds out that the killers are on his trail.
The book of the same name by Robert Ludlum was already transferred to the screens in 1988, then Jason Bourne was played by Richard Chamberlain. But the new version with Matt Damon spawned an entire franchise about the adventures of a badass spy, which already has five films.
Notorious
USA, 1946.
Thriller, drama, melodrama.
Duration: 102 minutes.
IMDb: 7.9.
The daughter of Johann Huberman, who was arrested for treason, meets an FBI agent. As it turns out, the meeting was organized on purpose. A girl is asked to help uncover a Nazi conspiracy in Rio de Janeiro. She must marry a German agent and find out the plans of the conspirators to build a nuclear bomb. But the husband begins to suspect something, and the spy is in mortal danger.
The famous Alfred Hitchcock has always approached the development of his films with complete dedication. To be more plausible about creating a nuclear bomb, he began to turn to experts and look for documents on the use of uranium ore. As a result, the director himself fell under the suspicion of the FBI.
North by Northwest
USA, 1959
Detective, thriller, adventure.
Duration: 136 minutes.
IMDb: 8.3.
The protagonist Roger Thornhill, who works as an advertising agent, suddenly finds himself in the middle of a spy game. The thing is that counterintelligence takes him for a secret agent, whom no one knows by sight. Roger has to escape the personal services, and only a mysterious stranger can help him.
Alfred Hitchcock also directed this film. And the plot was based on the real story of the Second World War when British intelligence came up with a non-existent secret agent and forced the enemies to hunt for him.
Balkan spy
Yugoslavia, 1984.
Drama, comedy.
Duration: 95 minutes.
IMDb: 8.9.
A resident of Yugoslavia, Iliya Chvorovich, was summoned to the police to ask about his new lodger. He lived in Paris for 20 years, and now he is opening an atelier in Belgrade. Chvorovich decides that he has settled a spy and begins his surveillance of a neighbor, involving his wife and twin brother for this.
Not well-known now, but it is a fantastic film that combines excellent comedy and a tense plot. The picture is often called the best creation of the cinema of Yugoslavia, and the actors who played in it showed the height of their skills.

No other genre is as popular. Comedies bring families together, allow them to declare their love, they are finally watched to relax and just laugh heartily. We tried to choose for you those comedies that will definitely not make you regret the time spent.
What are the top 10 funniest Hollywood movies of all time?
This is top of the best Hollywood movies in the comedy genre, which, even if they don’t make you laugh, will definitely cheer you up for the whole day. Here you can find romantic stories, family pictures, trash action movies, crime detectives. These movies talk about serious topics in a light and casual way. It makes you think about life with all its inconsistencies, absurdities, and vicissitudes of fate. And these movies show that you can not give up. It’s better to put on a smile on your face, grit your teeth and try to think positively, even if you have to spend the rest of your days in the airport terminal or barely have enough money for a bar of chocolate.
10. In Jazz Only Girls (1959)
The comedy in "In Jazz Only Girls" was released in 1959 - for its time it was bold, if not revolutionary. Hollywood was just beginning to move away from the old code of ethics - for example, it was simply impossible then to joke so much about sex or “force” a character to behave frivolously. And here the men dress up in women's clothes, and the woman allows herself obscenities.
Not to mention the fact that one man, an eccentric rich man, is not embarrassed that his other half is also a man. Everyone has their flaws, remember? The authors of the movie, director and producer Billy Wilder, along with screenwriter Easy Diamond, took a big risk, but it was worth it. Almost all phrases are disassembled into quotes, the song “I Wanna Be Loved by You”, performed by Marilyn Monroe, seems to be known to everyone, and the episodes where the heroes of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon portray two modest ladies in public cause laughter even now.
9. Airplane (1980)
The farcical comedy "Airplane" is a parody of all disaster movies at once. There is no one to control the plane - the crew took hostage ... an eating disorder, and a simple guy has to sit at the helm. Helps him beloved (she is a stewardess) and the mysterious Dr. Rumek. For Leslie Nielsen, the role of a doctor who, no matter how stupid he does, keeps a serious face, has become a landmark.
Previously, he played dramatic roles, and in the "Airplane" everyone saw his talent as a comedian. The movie earned back its tiny $3.5 million budget in its first days of release. In total, he earned 150 million, which was a surprise for the creators - test screenings were held without much enthusiasm. "Airplane" is found in all the ratings of the leading publications, and most often it is in the top three of the best comedies. Empire considers "Airplane" to be "pure, quadruple-cleansed comedy at the rate of three hilarious jokes per minute, the perfect blend of surrealism, wit, parody, and inspired physical gags."
8. This is Spinal Tap! (1984)
Together with the movie "This Is Spinal Tap!" the term mockumentary appeared. The definition came into use thanks to director Rob Reiner. He called his movie "mockumentary", emulating the word "rockumentary", which refers to documentaries about the life of rock stars. The characters in Reiner's movie are members of a heavy metal band. The camera follows them everywhere - to the stage or a party, to a rehearsal, or on a tour bus. "Spinal Tap" lets you get really close.
For example, they give interviews in the bathroom, do not drive the operator away in the midst of a scandal with a girlfriend, and do not hide irritation due to failures. The audience laughed, seeing in the heroes the features of famous rockers, known for their ridiculous, and sometimes inadequate behavior. The energy of "Spinal Tap" turned out to be so strong that it broke out, beyond the screen: after movieing, the "group" still performed in concerts, and a few years later recorded two albums.
7. Groundhog Day (1993)
Groundhog Day is not a classic comedy where it's funny just because the hero does something stupid or gets into a ridiculous situation. What's going on with meteorologist Phil Connors, when you think about it, isn't fun at all. Bill Murray's character is stuck in a time loop. He cannot leave the small town where he came for work to find out the groundhog's "prediction" about when spring will come. Every day is a damn February 2nd.
But the reception of repetition gives rise to laughter. And the main character himself is a charming cynic, now and then releasing witticisms. Not surprisingly, the movie did well at the box office. It lasted 18 weeks on the screens in the USA (of which 7 were in the top ten), the budget (about $ 15 million) beat off in the first four days and at the end of the year became the 13th in North America in terms of fees. But the American movie Academy "Groundhog Day" left even without nominations. As a result, the movie has only one big prize - the British BAFTA for the screenplay.
6. Annie Hall (1977)
The Annie Hall movie has all the elements of Woody Allen's signature style. The protagonist (played by Allen himself) is an intellectual grumbler who would like to enjoy life but is forever tormented by its imperfection. The action takes place in New York, the director's hometown. The dialogues are funny, but by no means superficial, there are many of them, and even everyday topics suddenly get a philosophical turn.
It was thanks to this picture that Allen was no longer considered just a director of the comedy genre - the public appreciated the emotional depth of the story. The movie earned $ 40 million at the box office (and this is with a budget of 4 million!) And received four Oscars - for best movie, best screenplay, best director, and for the main female role played by Diane Keaton here. By the way, the real name of the actress is Hall, and Annie is her nickname.
5. The Hangover (2009)
The original title of Todd Phillips' movie is Hangover. "Hangover". And the characters are powerful. They don’t remember at all what happened yesterday: where the tiger and the baby appeared in their hotel room in Vegas, and where the friend, for whom the bachelor party was started, disappeared. As a result, the guys go through a tricky quest to deliver the sidekick to the wedding on time. The movie's team showed remarkable ingenuity to make all these crazy moves around Vegas look fresh, original, and, most importantly, hilariously funny. The work was rewarded. The Hangover grossed almost $470 million, making it the tenth highest-grossing movie of 2009 and receiving two sequels.
4. Home Alone (1990)
A boy pressing his hands to his cheeks and screaming furiously is definitely one of the most recognizable images in cinema. Folk love covered little Kevin (and the performer of his role Macaulay Culkin) as soon as he appeared on the screens. In 1990, the movie became a hit at the box office - it earned about $ 480 million and took second place at the end of the year, losing only to "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. But even now, when the comedy "Home Alone" is broadcast on TV, it is simply impossible to switch. Although you know in advance what other set-up the guy has prepared for the thieves who made their way into the house.
3. Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
For the unique style used by British comedians from the Monty Python group, the Oxford Dictionary even has a special word Pythonesque. It means surreal humor. Often rude, it is based on illogical comparisons and deftly balances between boorish stupidity and wit. "Monty Python" intelligently ridiculed ignorance and hypocrisy, all sorts of cliches, a rigid view of things. Their sketches from the television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which ran from 1969-to 1974, are still quoted today. We owe the term “spam” to Monty Python – in one sketch, comedians played up an intrusive canned food advertising campaign by using the word more than 100 times.
It is this comic group that is considered to have had the greatest influence on contemporary Western satire. Sacha Baron Cohen, creators of the sitcoms The Simpsons, Rick and Morty, and South Park draw inspiration from the sketch group. Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which one eccentric guy is mistaken for the messiah, is a poignant combination of dark humor and political satire, coupled with religious jokes. Not everyone liked the movie: for example, it was banned from showing in several countries. But only this did not prevent him from eventually appearing regularly in the selections of the best comedies in the history of cinema.
2. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Atomic Bomb (1963)
Dr. Strangelove was released at the height of the Cold War, just fifteen months after the Cuban Missile Crisis when the world was still at its breaking point. Therefore, one can imagine what effect the picture had, where a paranoid American general suddenly decides to launch a nuclear attack on the USSR. Stanley Kubrick was able to accurately convey the feeling of fear of a global catastrophe, which everyone then shared. And since the director worked in the comedy genre, he was able to show the irresponsibility and stupidity of those who have access to the "red button" in the form of a poisonous satire.
1. Blazing Saddles (1974)
"Blazing Saddles" is a daring parody of all the classic westerns at once, the authors of which created myths about the Wild West in their works. Here the sheriff is the only black among the white population. He must "deal" with dodgy businessmen who planned to completely demolish the city in order to build a new railway line. The Oscar-winning movie by the great comedian Mel Brooks is a satire on the eternal ills of society - racism, corruption, greed. As Vulture writes, "Most movies fail to portray the enduring truth about race, gender, tribalism, politics, friendship, and flatulence and with a tenth of the guts or brilliance of Mel Brooks's best movie."
Who made the best comedic duo in movie history?
Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard
It was in the West, in capitalist France, that Gerard Depardieu first became known as the favorite actor of the experimenter Bertrand Blier (Waltzing, Cold Appetizers). The Soviet public fell in love with him first of all as a member of the bright duet Richard-Depardieu, who was born in the comedy The Unlucky. Against the backdrop of a clumsy, stupid loser with a shock of curly hair, Depardieu looked strong, tenacious, and self-confident gentleman. Meanwhile, in life, everything was exactly the opposite. The first grew up in a respectable bourgeois family. The second, before discovering his acting talent, stuttered and made a living ... prostitution.
Seth Rogen and James Franco
They work in pairs so often that it's time to make a separate top 10 of their joint projects. The main feature of the duet, which was formed at the end of the last century on the TV series Freaks and Geeks, is a complete disregard for cultural taboos, which leads one part of the public into wild delight, the other into an equally wild rage. After a story about a couple of stoners ("Pineapple Express"), they showed the world what an apocalypse is at the Dream Factory ("End of the World 2013: Apocalypse Hollywood Style"). And immediately entered the world stage, releasing a comedy about the assassination of the current North Korean leader ("The Interview"). Kim Jong-un was so upset that Barack Obama himself had to intercede for the moviemakers.
Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry
The collection of hilarious sketches The Fry and Laurie Show, in which the actors make fun of Santa Barbara, Cold War movies, and conservative politicians, was watched by fans of subtle British humor literally to holes. The comedy series "Jeeves and Wooster" - an exemplary movie adaptation of Wodehouse's stories - has been studied both in translation and in the original voice acting. But Fry and Laurie, despite the requests of the fans, still can not get together to work on the next joint project. A couple of years ago, they almost decided on a new show in which Fry promised to tell funny stories, and Laurie - to sing songs while sitting at the piano. But for three years now there has been no rumor or spirit about this idea. The next reunion of British actors will most likely happen in the cartoon "The Canterville Ghost", where they should voice the main roles. Well - thanks for that.
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels
In 1994, when the audience got acquainted with "Dumb and Dumber", it seemed that bigger idiots than Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels could not be found in all of Hollywood. The legendary comedian Harold Lloyd, after whom their characters (actually, Lloyd and Harry) are named, had to be spinning in a coffin non-stop since the release of the movie. The heroes of this truly idiotic comedy dreamed of opening a store selling worms traveling around America in a wool-covered car with ears and fought an equal fight for the title of the dumbest guy on the planet. It turned out, oddly enough, not only funny but also profitable. What can not be said about the sequel, which appeared twenty years later, when the audience forgot how to see in Carrey only a comedian, a show-off, and a prankster.
Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Tired of the image of the dim-witted bodybuilder who, as Robin Williams joked, says few more words on screen than the Scottish Collie Lassie, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to try his hand at the comedy genre. So the Schwarzenegger-DeVito duet was born, woven according to the principle of "unity of opposites". One is a relief jock almost two meters tall. The second is a bald fat man from the category "meter in a jump." Therefore, a brief description of "Twins", their first joint movie work, could be enough to break into a wide smile: DeVito and Schwarzenegger play brothers in the movie, who were born as a result of a not entirely successful experiment of geneticists.

Will Smith is an excellent actor with many great roles to his credit. Thanks to his acting skills, he can play in films of various genres.
Best movies with Will Smith
Will Smith is an American rapper and film actor. On September 25, he turns 53 years old. While the Hollywood star does not have a single Oscar and Golden Globe (although there were nominations), she boasts fabulous fees and four Grammys. You can evaluate the acting abilities of Smith and his family by reading a dozen films below.
14. Bad boys
USA, 1995
Action, comedy, thriller, crime.
Duration: 119 minutes.
IMDb: 6.9.
A large shipment of drugs is stolen from a police station in Miami. The family man Marcus and Don Juan Mike are instructed to return the loss. To talk to the only witness in the case, the partners must pretend to be each other.
The Bad Boys is the directorial debut of Michael Bay. Previously, he shot music videos and unusual commercials, which is why his first film came out so dynamic and with an abundance of special effects.
This adrenaline-fueled buddy movie also paved the way for Will Smith and comedian Martin Lawrence.
Bad Boys has a sequel. The second part was filmed eight years later, and the third was released in 2020 to mixed reviews.
13. Independence Day
USA, 1996
Fantasy, thriller, adventure.
Duration: 145 minutes.
IMDb: 7.0.
Aliens arrive on Earth, and their intentions are far from peaceful. The planet is in danger of complete annihilation. Humans can only survive if they infect the main alien ship with a computer virus. Scientist David Levinson and pilot Steven Hiller, who dreams of flying into space, are sent on this dangerous mission.
The fantastic blockbuster "Independence Day" is ridiculously naive, but became the most successful picture of 1996 and the finest hour of the German director Roland Emmerich.
The main role was played by Will Smith, whose career was just gaining momentum after the "Bad Boys". The young actor brought a lot of personal charm to the action movie and immediately moved from among the rising stars to the caste of the most sought-after artists.
12. Men in black
USA, 1997.
Fantasy, Action, Comedy, Adventure.
Duration: 98 minutes.
IMDb: 7.3.
Agents Kay and Jay work for the most secret organization in the world. Their task is to catch aliens dangerous to the Earth. The partners' new mission is to neutralize a giant alien bug that threatens to destroy humanity.
The myth of agents who allegedly know about the existence of aliens was very popular in the United States in the second half of the 20th century. Barry Sonnenfeld's film is based on a comic book that plays on this conspiracy theory in a funny way.
The role of Agent Jay was originally offered to Friends star David Schwimmer, but then the creators turned their attention to Will Smith: his image in the sitcom The Prince of Bel-Air made an impression on them.
In the wake of the success of the first part of "Men in Black", two more came out. It must be admitted that each subsequent film turned out to be weaker than the previous one. In 2019, a completely disastrous spin-off with Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth was born - the picture was criticized for parasitizing on nostalgia and the absence of everyone's beloved Smith.
11. Enemy of the state
USA, 1998.
Action, thriller.
Duration: 132 minutes.
IMDb: 7.3.
Compromising information on an official accidentally falls into the hands of a successful lawyer Robert Dean: it turned out that he was pushing a law that allows you to follow literally every inhabitant of the country. From that moment on, the hero turns from a law-abiding citizen into an outcast and an enemy of the state, and government agents follow him on his heels.
By starring in Tony Scott's successful tech-thriller, Will Smith further cemented his superstar status. But ahead of the actor was waiting for failure. He could have played in The Matrix instead of Keanu Reeves, but he preferred Barry Sonnenfeld and his Wild Wild West project. The latter ended up being a commercial failure.
10. Ali
USA, 2001.
Drama, biography, sports.
Duration: 157 minutes.
IMDb: 6.8.
The film tells about the great boxer Muhammad Ali. An athlete converts to Islam under the influence of black rights activist Malcolm X, and it changes his life forever.
Director Michael Mann took a big risk by inviting Will Smith, who made his name on commercial hits, into the drama. But the actor did not disappoint and performed his first serious role with maximum dedication.
The film is worth watching not only for the excellent performance of Smith. The camera work of Emmanuel Lubezki, who filmed the fights in the ring, is simply brilliant.
9. I, robot
USA, Germany, 2004.
Fantasy, Action, Thriller, Drama.
Duration: 115 minutes.
IMDb: 7.1.
In the near future, the world is inhabited by humanoid robots. No one can even think that a machine can harm a person. Everything changes when cop Del Spooner takes on a murder case involving a cyborg.
The free adaptation of Isaac Asimov's collection of short stories was liked by the audience, including the writer's fans. The film was peppy, the plot intriguing, and Smith proved that he could play not only a typical good guy, but also a much more ambiguous character.
8. Hitch
USA, 2005
Melodrama, comedy.
Duration: 117 minutes.
IMDb: 6.6.
Consultant Alex "Hitch" Hitchens secretly teaches men how to charm the woman they like. One day, the hero meets Sarah, a journalist who works in a gossip column. They immediately feel sympathy for each other, but the problem is that the girl writes about one star romance, for which Alex is just responsible.
The Russian title of the film can confuse viewers who are waiting for a hooligan comedy in the spirit of The Hangover. Jokes here, of course, will also be, but the genre is much closer to a romantic melodrama. Moreover, Will Smith showed his versatile talent here, playing a very sweet and modest hero.
7. The Pursuit of Happyness
USA, 2006
Drama, biography.
Duration: 117 minutes.
IMDb: 8.0.
New Yorker Chris Gardner is left with a young son in his arms and with little to no money. He is trying to figure out how to make money, and decides to try his luck on the stock exchange. But to get into broker courses, he will have to risk literally everything that he has.
In this wonderful drama, Will Smith played a real-life successful investor who went from a homeless pauper to a millionaire. For the role of the child of the hero, the actor offered his son Jayden. The idea came to the right place: the audience saw on the screen the most natural relationship between two loving people.
6. I Am Legend
USA, 2007.
Fantasy, Action, Thriller, Drama, Adventure.
Duration: 96 minutes.
IMDb: 7.2.
Robert Neville is the only person who has not turned into an aggressive cannibal mutant after the zombie apocalypse. At night, he is fighting for survival, and during the day he is trying to find an antidote and get to the bottom of the causes of the epidemic.
Francis Lawrence's film based on the novel by Richard Matheson is famous for two versions of the ending. In the theatrical ending, Will Smith's character acts like a typical Hollywood action movie character. The alternative denouement is much bolder. It is written in the spirit of a book source and turns the whole meaning of the plot inside out.
5. Hancock
USA, 2008.
Fantasy, Action, Drama, Comedy.
Duration: 92 minutes.
IMDb: 6.4.
Superhero John Hancock suffers from alcoholism and is forever depressed, and his every attempt to help someone turns into massive destruction. Unsuccessful PR man Ray Embry convinces Hancock that he needs to work on his image, but Ray's wife is not happy with this idea.
The script about the heavy burden of superpowers lay on the shelf for about 10 years. In general, the film was conceived as a superhero version of "Bad Santa", but during the filming a lot of things changed: for example, Smith's hero, although he appears to be a bully, is far from Billy Bob Thornton's cynicism.
As a result, the picture captivated the audience with its recklessly comedic intonation.
4. Seven Pounds
USA, 2008.
Drama, melodrama.
Duration: 118 minutes.
IMDb: 7.6.
Ben Thomas' life changes dramatically when the woman he loves accidentally dies through his fault. Ben decides to commit suicide, but first to help seven strangers, each with their own trouble.
The film directed by Gabriele Muccino is built quite unusual: only at the end of the story it becomes clear what's what. Will Smith not only played a major role here, but also acted as an executive producer.
The audience really liked the sentimental picture of sacrificial love and atonement for sins. But critics found the tape too similar to "21 Grams" by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarrita and even suspected the creators of plagiarism.
3. Collateral Beauty
USA, 2016.
Drama, melodrama.
Duration: 97 minutes.
IMDb: 6.8.
Advertiser Howard Inlet is grieving over the death of his little daughter. Colleagues develop an unusual plan to get a friend on his feet, but this leads to an unexpected result.
This story of loss, loneliness and grief from the director of The Devil Wears Prada will be appreciated by true romantics. Yes, and fans of Will Smith will see their favorite in an unusual genre for him - a touching melodrama.
2. Aladdin
USA, UK, Australia, 2019.
Musical, fantasy, melodrama, adventure.
Duration: 128 minutes.
IMDb: 6.9.
A young street thief Aladdin accidentally meets the freedom-loving princess Jasmine, who is tired of life in the palace and does not want to get married. The young man decides to win her heart, and the powerful Genie is ready to help him in this. But the insidious vizier Jafar interferes with the plans of the heroes.
Not everyone liked the game interpretation of the 1992 cartoon. Guy Ritchie, the creator of cult crime comedies, was responsible for the production, but, alas, his corporate style in the film is not felt at all.
When the trailer came out, Will Smith, who pretty much scared everyone with his blue skin color, was criticized. But after the rental, almost all viewers noted how good the actor was in the role of the charming Ginny.
1. King Richard
USA, 2021.
Biography, sports, drama.
Duration: 144 minutes.
IMDb: 7.5.
An exemplary family man, Richard Williams lives in California with his wife Brandi and five daughters. Two of them, Serena and Venus, play tennis well, but their parents don't have the money for expensive training. Therefore, Richard works as a security guard at night, and during the day he goes to famous coaches and begs them to take the girls for free - because someday they will become the greatest tennis players in history.
Will Smith played the father of two famous American tennis players - Venus and Serena Williams. But these sisters were not always like this, and the film by Reinaldo Marcus Green tells what they had to go through on the way to success.
For this role, Smith received the long-awaited "Oscar". Moreover, the image came out ambiguous: although Richard loved his children, this did not stop him from tormenting the girls with endless workouts. But Will, playing him, brilliantly revealed himself as a dramatic actor.
But Smith's triumph was spoiled by an unpleasant incident: a man hit host Chris Rock right at the ceremony because of a joke on his wife Jada. And this emotional reaction actually cost the actor his career.
He had to apologize to Will Smith Apologizes to Chris Rock for Oscars Slap: 'I Was Out of Line and I Was Wrong' / Variety before Rock, and later Will Smith announced Will Smith Resigns From Academy Over Chris Rock Oscars Slap Backlash / Variety that he was leaving from the American Film Academy.
Major studios were quick to cancel future projects with the actor: for example, Netflix even fired Netflix Backs Away from Will Smith Film 'Fast and Loose' (Exclusive) / The Hollywood Reporter Smith from Fast and Loose.

January 26 is the day of the commemoration of all the victims of the Holocaust, on this occasion Bemorepanda has prepared some hot and worth watching movies about the harsh reality.
Although Europe is thriving, its politicians and writers are worried about death. The mass murder of European civilians between 1930 and 1940 is the point of reference for today's confusing discussions about memory and the cornerstone of European shared ethics. The bureaucracies of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union turned individual lives into mass deaths, human beings to the point of dying. The Soviets hid their mass shootings in dark forests and falsified the archives of the regions where they starved people to death; the Germans had slave laborers who would bury and burn the bodies of the Jews, victims of huge fires. Auschwitz, generally regarded as the proper or even the most important symbol of the evil caused by mass murder, is, in fact, only the beginning of knowledge, a starting point for a true reckoning with the past, which is only now being shown.
The main reasons why we know something about Auschwitz distort our understanding of the Holocaust: we know about Auschwitz because there were survivors there, and there were survivors because Auschwitz was a concentration camp and a death factory at the same time. These were mostly Western European Jews, because they were usually sent to Auschwitz. After World War II, Jewish Jewish survivors in Western Europe were free to write and publish as they wished, while Eastern European Jews, prisoners behind the Iron Curtain, could not. In the West, memories of the Holocaust could (albeit very slowly) enter historical writing and the public consciousness.
This form of survivor history, for which the works of Primo Levi are the best example, inadequately captures the reality of mass murder. Anne Frank's diary talks about assimilated European Jewish communities, such as the German and Danish communities, whose tragedy, though horrific, was only a small part of the Holocaust. In 1943 and 1944, when most of the crimes took place among Western European Jews, the Holocaust was largely complete. Two-thirds of the Jews killed during the war were already dead by the end of 1942. The main victims, Polish Jews and Soviet Jews, were killed by bullets fired from death nests or by carbon monoxide from internal combustion engines, pumped. in the gas chambers of Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor in occupied Poland.
The action of the film takes place in November 1941. The city is under a continuous siege, the bombings do not stop, but the most disturbing for the 2,887,000 is the fact that the city was surrounded, completely canceling the connection with the rest of the world.
Died of typhus at the age of 15, just two weeks before the release of the camp, Anne Frank, who could have become a great writer, became the best-known Holocaust victim and the voice of an entire generation.
3.Colditz
In World War II, Officer Jack Rose is taken prisoner in the famous Colditz Castle in Germany. Here, he gathers around him the greatest team of escape specialists, only to find that in the end the greatest betrayal awaits him outside prison.
Auschwitz, as a symbol of the Holocaust, excludes those who were at the center of the historic event. The largest group of Holocaust victims - Orthodox Jews and Yiddish speakers in Poland or, in German vocabulary, Ostjuden - was culturally alienated from Western Europeans, including Jews from Western Europe. To some degree, they continue to be marginalized in the memory of the Holocaust. The Auschwitz-Birkenau death factory was built on the territories now part of Poland, although at the time they were part of the German Reich. Auschwitz is thus associated with modern-day Poland by anyone who visits it, although relatively few Polish Jews and almost no Soviet Jews died there. The two large groups of victims are almost missing from the memorial symbol.
An appropriate view of the Holocaust should place Operation Reinhardt - the killing of Polish Jews in 1942 - at the heart of its history. Polish Jews were the largest Jewish community in the world, and Warsaw was the largest Jewish city. This community was exterminated at Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor. About 1.5 million Jews were killed in these three places, 780,863 in Treblinka alone. Only a few dozen people survived these death factories. Belzec, although in third place in Holocaust crimes, after Auschwitz and Treblinka, is little known. 434,508 Jews perished in that death factory, and only two or three survived. Another million Polish Jews were killed in other ways, some in Chelmno, Majdanek or Auschwitz, many others shot dead in the eastern half of the country.
All in all, even though the number of Jews killed by bullets was not as high as those killed by gassing, they died of bullets in places forgotten in a hazy memory. The second very important part of the Holocaust is mass shooting in Eastern Poland and the Soviet Union. It began with the shooting of Jewish men by the SS Einsatzgruppen in June 1941, followed by the killing of Jewish women and children in July and the extermination of the entire Jewish community in August and September. At the end of 1941, the Germans (along with local auxiliary troops and Romanian troops) killed one million Jews in the Soviet Union and the Baltic States. It is the equivalent of the total number of Jews killed at Auschwitz during the entire war. By the end of 1942, the Germans (again, with consistent local support) had shot another 700,000 Jews, and the populations of Soviet Jews under their control had ceased to exist.
The plot of the Russian feature film is based on "a dramatic love story, set against the backdrop of a great battle." The action took place in 1942, when German troops occupied the banks of the Volga River.
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Stern (Kirsten Dunst, "Spiderman") accompanies her parents to visit Aunt Eva for the Jewish holiday celebration of Passover, but Hannah is uninterested in her uncle's stories of the Holocaust. Reluctantly taking part in the tradition of Seder, she opens the door to prepare for the arrival of the prophet Elijah and is mysteriously transported to Poland in the year 1941.
There were Soviet Jewish witnesses and chroniclers, such as Vasili Grossman. But he, like others, was forbidden to present the Holocaust as a Jewish event. Grossman discovered Treblinka as a journalist with the Red Army in September 1944. Perhaps because he knew what the Germans had done to the Jews in his native Ukraine, he was able to guess what had happened there and wrote a book about it. He called Treblinka a "hell" and placed it at the center of the war and the century. But for Stalin, the mass murder of the Jews was to be seen as the suffering of the "citizens." Grossman helped draw up a Black Paper on German crimes against Soviet Jews, which the Soviet authorities later banned. Stalin erroneously argued that if a particular group suffered especially under German occupation, it was the Russians. Thus, Stalinism obstructed our correct view of Hitler's mass murders.
In short, the Holocaust meant, in order: Operation Reinhardt, the Shoah with Bullets, Auschwitz; or Poland, the Soviet Union, the rest. Of the approximately 5.7 million Jews killed, three million were pre-war Polish citizens and another million were Soviet citizens: taken together, 70% of the total. (After the Soviet and Polish Jews, the next large group of Jews killed were from Romania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. If we take them into account, the Eastern European character of the Holocaust becomes even clearer.)
Even this corrected picture of the Holocaust leads to an incomplete sense of the extent of the mass murder policies of Germans in Europe. The "final solution," as the Nazis called it, was at first only one of the extermination projects to be implemented after a victorious war against the Soviet Union. If things went as expected by Hitler, Himmler and Göring, German forces would have implemented a "Hunger Plan" in the Soviet Union in the winter of 1941-1942. While agricultural products from Ukraine and southern Russia were sent to Germany, nearly 30 million people in Belarus, northern Russia and Soviet cities were starved to death. The "famine plan" would have been just a prelude to the "Generalplan Ost", the settlement plan for the western Soviet Union, which aimed to eliminate 50 million people.
The Pianist is the true story of a brilliant Polish pianist who, due to his Jewish origins, is forced to lead a fugitive life during the Nazi occupation of Poland in order to escape deportation.
7.Uprising
Using the photo archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, this "interview" by Jon Avnet talks about the memoirs of Marek Edelman and the role he played in the 1943 imprisonment there against the Nazis.
The Germans have succeeded in pursuing certain policies that bear some resemblance to these plans. They expelled half a million non-Jewish Poles from the territories annexed to the Reich. An impatient Himmler ordered the implementation of a first stage of the "Generalplan Ost" in eastern Poland: ten thousand children were killed and one hundred thousand adults were expelled. The Wehrmacht intentionally starved nearly a million people during the siege of Leningrad and another hundred thousand in Ukrainian cities. Nearly three million captured Soviet soldiers starved to death in German camps with prisoners of war. These people were intentionally killed: during the siege of Leningrad, there was a plan and intent to starve people to death. If the Holocaust had not taken place, they would have been called the most horrific war crimes in modern history.
In the actions against the partisans, the Germans probably killed 750,000 people, of which 350,000 in Belarus alone, and a smaller but comparable number in Poland and Yugoslavia. The Germans killed more than a hundred thousand Poles during the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. If the Holocaust had not existed, these "reprisals" would have been considered one of the greatest war crimes in history. German occupation policies have killed non-Jewish civilians in other ways, for example, by hard labor in prison camps. Again, most of them came from Poland and the Soviet Union.
The Germans killed just over ten million civilians in the largest mass killings, nearly half of them Jews and half non-Jews. Both Jews and non-Jews came mostly from the same part of Europe. The plan to kill all the Jews was, in essence, realized; the plan to destroy the Slavic populations was only partially implemented. Auschwitz is just an introduction to the Holocaust, and the Holocaust is just a suggestion of Hitler's final plans. Grossman's books - Rhei's Slope and Life and Destiny - rename terror, Nazi and Soviet alike, and remind us that even a full characterization of German mass murder policies is incomplete as a history of European atrocity in the middle of the last century.
The Last Train is a 2006 German film directed by Joseph Wilsmeier and Dana Vavrova and starring Gedeon Burkhard, Lale Java and Lena.
Captain Miller must lead his men behind enemy lines to find Private Ryan. In the face of overwhelming enemy forces, the soldiers question the orders. Why do eight soldiers risk their lives to save one?
During World War II, those concentrated in extermination camps could only hope for survival by trying to escape. In the case of Sobibor, this was only possible if all 600 prisoners escaped.
It omits the state that Hitler was deeply intent on destroying, that is, the other state that massively killed Europeans in the middle of the century: the Soviet Union. During the entire Stalinist period, between 1928 and 1953, Soviet policies cautiously killed over five million Europeans. Thus, when one analyzes the total number of European civilians killed by totalitarian powers in the middle of the twentieth century, one must consider three groups of relatively equal size: Jews killed by Germans, non-Jews killed by Germans, and Soviet citizens killed. by the Soviet state. As a general rule, the German regime killed civilians who were not German citizens, while the Soviet regime killed civilians who were Soviet citizens.
Soviet repression is identified with the Gulag, just as Nazi repression is identified with Auschwitz. The gulag, despite all the horrors of forced labor, was not a mass murder system. If we accept that the mass murder of civilians is at the heart of political, ethical and legal concerns, the same historical feature applies to the Gulag and Auschwitz. I found out about the Gulag because it was a bearing system, not a set of death factories. The gulag detained 30 million people and shattered about three million lives. But a large majority of these people, who were sent to the camps, returned alive from there. Precisely because we have a literature of the Gulag - the best known book being Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago - we can imagine its horrors to a greater extent than we can imagine the horrors of Auschwitz.
Just as Auschwitz distracts us from the even greater horrors of the Treblinka, the Gulag distracts us from Soviet policies that killed people directly and premeditatedly by starvation and bullets. Among the Stalinist killing policies, two were the most significant: the famine of collectivization in 1930-1933 and the Great Terror in 1937-1938. It remains unclear whether the Cossack famine of 1930-1932 was intentional, although it is clear that more than a million Cossacks starved to death. It is well established that Stalin starved the Soviet Ukrainians to death in the winter of 1932-1933. Soviet documents revealed a series of orders from October to December 1933, given with obvious malice and intent to kill. In the end, more than three million people of Soviet Ukraine died.
Based on actual events, "The Grey Zone" is the story of the Auschwitz's twelfth Sonderkommando - one of the thirteen consecutive "Special Squads" of Jewish prisoners placed by the Nazis in the excruciating moral dilemma of helping to exterminate fellow Jews in exchange for a few more months of life. Stars Michael Suhlbarg, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino and Natasha Lyonne.
Christine Lahti is the protagonist of this shocking film, inspired by the real case of Dr. Gisella Perl, one of the first women gynecologists in Eastern Europe, who was imprisoned in the Auschwitz camp during the Nazi occupation. When the Nazis decided to use her as a doctor, she was forced to become the assistant to the famous war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele. But through an amazing combination of defiance, humanity and strength, she managed to restore hope to thousands of people.
13.Sorok pervyy
An unexpected love story is woven between a Red Army sniper and a White Army officer …
What we read about the Great Terror also distracts us from its true nature. The great novel and the great memoir about this period are Dark at Noon by Arthur Koestler and The Defendant by Alexander Weissberg. Both focus on a small group of Stalin's victims, communist city leaders, educated people, some of whom are known in the West. This image dominates our understanding of the Great Terror, but it is incorrect. Taken together, the purges of the communist elites, the secret police, the army officers amount to no more than 47,737 dead.
The biggest action taken in the Great Terror, Operation 00447, was directed mainly at the "kulaci", ie peasants who had already been oppressed during collectivization. 386,798 lives. Several national minorities, together representing less than 2% of the Soviet population, accounted for more than a third of the victims of the Great Terror. In an operation against ethnic Poles who were Soviet citizens, for example, 111,091 people were shot. Of the 681,692 executions during the political crimes of 1937 and 1938, Operation Kulaci and those against national minorities killed 633,955, more than 90 percent of the total. These people were secretly shot, dumped in mass graves and forgotten.
The focus on Auschwitz and the Gulag minimizes the number of Europeans killed and moves the geographical center of crime to the German Reich and eastern Russia. Like Auschwitz, which draws our attention to the Western European victims of the Nazi empire, the Gulag with its well-known Siberian camps takes us away from the geographical center of Soviet assassination policies. If we focus on Auschwitz and the Gulag, we do not notice that in a period of twelve years, between 1933 and 1944, about 12 million victims of Soviet and Nazi mass murder policies perished in a certain region of Europe, one defined more or less by Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia today. In general, when we consider the Auschwitz and the Gulag, we tend to think of the states that built them as systems, as modern tyrants or totalitarian states. But such a view of Berlin and Moscow's thinking and politics tends to overlook the fact that mass killings took place mainly in European territories between Germany and Russia, not in Germany and Russia.
14.The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Set during World War II, the story is told through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the 8-year-old son of a concentration camp commander. The boy befriends a Jewish boy, behind the fence of the camp.
The film tells the story of a lively and courageous girl named Liesel who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with an adoptive family in World War II Germany.
Mass killings is Eastern Europe, above all Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States, lands that have been the subject of sustained policies of atrocity by both regimes. The people of Ukraine and Belarus, especially Jews, but not only, suffered the most when they came to the Soviet Union during the terrible 1930s and were subjected to the worst German repression in the 1940s. If Europe was, as Mark Mazower calls it, a "dark continent," Ukraine and Belarus were the heart of darkness.
Historical assessments that can be seen as objective, such as counting the victims of mass killings, could help restore a slightly lost historical balance. Germans who suffered terribly under Hitler and during the war are not at the center of the history of mass murder. Even if we include ethnic Germans killed during the flight from the Red Army, those expelled from Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1945-1947, and those who fell victim to the bombing of Germany, the total number of German civilians killed by state power remains comparable. little.
The main victims of direct killing policies among German citizens are the 70,000 "euthanized" patients and the 165,000 German Jews. The main German victims of Stalin remain the women raped by the Red Army and the prisoners of war detained in the Soviet Union. About 363,000 German prisoners died of starvation and disease in Soviet captivity, as did about 200,000 Hungarians. At a time when German resistance to Hitler is beginning to garner media attention, it must be remembered that some of the participants in the plot against Hitler in July 1944 were right at the center of mass murder policies: Arthur Nebe, for example. , who led Einsatzgruppe B in the Belarusian territories during the first wave of the 1941 Holocaust; or Eduard Wagner, the general superintendent of the Wehrmacht, who wrote a lively letter to his wife about the need to deny food to millions of hungry people in Leningrad.
At the end of World War II, Count Almasy suffered a terrible burn in a plane crash. Watched by a devoted and sensitive nurse, he remembers his life.
Sophie, a Polish Catholic, is a survivor of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. Here she lost her husband, children, and parents. Arriving in New York to write a book, young Stingo meets her and falls in love with her.
18.Sophie Scholl - Die Letzten Tage
Oscar® 2005 nomination - Best Foreign Language Film. Most important awards: European Film Award - German Film Award - German Film Award - Audience Award German Film Award Best Bavarian Film The main question raised by this film is what can be done when you realize that the Nazi regime has Go crazy - do you resist, even though it is clear that it is useless or not?
It's hard to forget Anna Akhmatova: "The Russian land loves blood." However, Russian martyrdom and heroism, now vehemently proclaimed in Putin's Russia, must be placed on as broad a historical background as possible. The Soviet Russians - like any other Soviet citizen - were indeed victims of Stalinist policy: but the risk of being killed was lower than in the case of Ukrainians or Soviet Poles or members of other national minorities. During World War II, several severe acts of terror were extended to eastern Poland and the Baltic states, territories absorbed by the Soviet Union. In the best-known case, 22,000 Polish citizens were shot in 1940 in Katyn and four other places; Tens of thousands of other Poles and Baltics died during or immediately after deportations to Kazakhstan and Siberia. During the war, many Soviet Russians were killed by the Germans, but proportionally fewer than the Belarusians and Ukrainians, not to mention the Jews. The death toll from Soviet civilians is estimated at 15 million. On average, 1 in 25 Russian civilians was killed by the Germans during the war, as opposed to 1 in 10 in Ukraine (or Poland) or 1 in 5 in Belarus.
Belarus and Ukraine were occupied for much of the war, with German and Soviet armies crossing their entire territory twice in attack or retreat. German armies have never occupied more than a small part of Russia's territory for short periods. Even if we take into account the siege of Leningrad and the destruction of Stalingrad, German control of Russian civilians was much less than that of the Belarusians, Ukrainians, or Jews. The Russians claim the death toll in Belarus and Ukraine as belonging to Russia and treat Belarusians, Ukrainians and Jews as Russians: this leads to an imperialism of martyrdom, to the implicit claim to territory by explicitly claiming the victims. This seems to be the line proposed by the new historical commission appointed by President Dmitry Medvedev to prevent "falsifications" of Russia's past. Under the legislation being debated in Russia today, statements such as the above would be a criminal offense.
19.In Darkness
It is the year 1941. Leopold Socha, a dumpster and petty thug, comes across a group of Jews fleeing the ghetto who want to hide in the city's underground canals, which he knows very well. As such, he agrees to help them for a fee. What begins as a bargain turns into something unexpected, as for 14 months of maximum danger, they try together to fool death.
The true story of Oskar Schindler, a womanizer and profiteer who saves the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. An emotional testimony about the horrors of war and the alteration of human characters in time of war.
21.La rafle.
1942. Joseph is 11 years old. This June morning, she has to go to school with a yellow star sewn on her chest. Between benevolence and contempt, Jo and other Jewish friends like him and their families learn how to live in a busy Paris.
If there is one general political lesson in the history of mass murder, it is the need to be cautious about so-called privileged development: attempts by states to achieve a political expansion that designates its victims, that motivates prosperity through mortality. The possibility of killing one group to the advantage of another cannot be ruled out, or at least that is the case. It is a version of the policies that Europe has witnessed and can continue to do. The only acceptable answer is an ethical commitment to the individual, namely that an individual is worth more in life than in death, and the above plans become unthinkable.
Today's Europe is especially remarkable for its unity and prosperity, with social justice and human rights. Probably more than any other corner of the world is immune, at least for the time being, to such soulless concerns for economic growth. However, memory has produced some strange deviations from history, at a time when history is needed more than ever. Europe's recent past may resemble the near future of the rest of the world. This is another reason to make the most accurate assessments.
War film, evoking the assault of American, Polish and British troops, to capture an important bridge behind the German front lines. The assault was carried out by a complicated action of paratroopers and armored troops
23.The Bunker
We are in 1944. The German army is retreating. Chased across the country by US allied forces, a company of Nazi soldiers seeks refuge in an anti-tank bunker. In the maze of tunnels below the bunker, strange, terrifying things begin to happen. One by one, the soldiers start cracking nervously or being killed. Paranoia dominates the whole group. Did the Americans infiltrate or is there a force of evil lurking within the walls of this complex?
24.Dresden
Germany, January 1945. Young nurse Anna Mauth (Felicitas Woll) works at a hospital in Dresden and has a romantic relationship with Dr. Alexander Wenninger (Benjamin Sadler). When an English plane is bombed, the only survivor, the pilot Robert Newman (John Light), hides in the hospital attic. Here he is accidentally discovered by Anna. At any risk, she decides to help him!
25.Pearl Harbor
On a quiet Sunday morning, Japanese fighter jets flew across the sky, launching a surprise attack on U.S. military forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This day has plunged the United States into a war, changing the course of history.
February 1945. One of the bloodiest battles of World War II takes place on the island of Iwo Jima. At the beginning of the battle, an American flag appears on Mount Suribachi, and the image of the 5 soldiers who raised it surrounds the USA.
In 1944, in Nazi-occupied Poland, Jacob, the owner of a long-closed cafe in a Jewish ghetto, accidentally overhears a news bulletin on a banned radio station. Although full of joy, he cannot share the news.
1942, Vilnius. Nazis kill 55,000 Jews, and 15,000 of them are locked up in a 7-pavilion ghetto. At the age of only 22, the sadistic commander Kittel has the mission to manage the ghetto in the Lithuanian capital, becoming master of people's lives. Kittel discovers that Hayyah stole a pound of beans and sentenced her to death. When he finds out that Hayyah is a successful former singer, he decides to put on a show in the old ghetto theater. Will it be a spectacle of life or death?
29.Zwartboek
The Netherlands, 1944. A former famous Jewish singer, Rachel, now a refugee in rural Holland, tries to reach the territories liberated from German influence. A patrol captures the group of refugees it is in and only it manages to escape with its life. Arriving safely at her destination, Rachel joins the Resistance and, under the name of Ellis de Vries, manages to infiltrate the German Intelligence Service. He seduces Officer Muntze and he, seduced, offers him a job.
In German-occupied France, Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) watches helplessly as her family is executed by Nazi colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna escapes through the ears of the needle and flees to Paris, where she creates a new identity.
31.Valkyrie
During World War II, German Colonel von Stauffenberg is wounded in Africa and returns to the country. Dissatisfied with Nazi abuses, Stauffenberg agrees to lead Operation Valkyrie, which aims to assassinate Hitler.
Four American soldiers fighting in Europe during World War II are separated from the rest of US troops during the Malmedy massacre. The small group remains isolated and without any help behind enemy lines.
In 1965, the first battle between the Americans and the Vietnamese took place. 400 American soldiers entered Vietnamese territory and found themselves surrounded. Harold Moore, commander, and reporter Galloway also found themselves facing this situation.
34.Defiance
Inspired by real facts. 1941. Jews in Eastern Europe are massacred by the Nazis. Succeeding in escaping from a camp, three Jewish brothers take refuge in the forest. There they manage to turn a struggle for survival into something much more important.
35.Life train
One evening in 1941, Schlomo, the village madman, brings terrible news to his fellow Shetl (an Eastern European Jewish village): Germans kill and deport Jewish residents of neighboring Shetl to unknown destinations
36.Katyn
In 1940, the Soviet secret services killed thousands of Polish prisoners of war. A subject hitherto considered taboo is analyzed by the famous Andrzej Wajda, who enters one of the darkest periods in the history of Poland.
37.Rosenstraße
In the spring of 1943, German and Jewish women gathered on Rosenstrasse in central Berlin to protest against sending Jewish husbands to concentration camps. The painful memories, which have become family secrets, have been preserved in modern-day New York. Ruth continues to perform Jewish mourning rituals for her late husband. Her daughter, Hannah, learns the story of her mother, a war orphan Selected in the official competition of the Vene Festival.
38.Naples - Elite fur den Fuhrer
We are in 1942. Friedrich Weimer, a 17-year-old hardworking boy from a working-class district of Berlin, loves boxing. His only problem is that he is always reluctant to give the final blow that could knock out his opponent. During a boxing match, he is spotted by a Naples recruiting officer who offers to help him. 'NaPolA' is the acronym for 'National Politische Erziehungs Anstalt' or 'National Institute of Political Education'.
As the German and Russian armies clash, Vassili, the sniper, ambushes his enemies. Vanity pushes him into a duel with the best German sniper, Major Konig, and the two find themselves engaged in a personal battle.
WWII. Two planes, one British and the other German, crash into an isolated land. Driven by the freezing cold, both pilots seek shelter in the same hut. Although enemies, they will be forced to cooperate in order to survive.
This terrifying World War II saga closely follows the journey of the 147 members of Easy Company's paramilitary troops, from the first training sessions to the memorable day of landing in Normandy.
42.De Tweeling
After the death of their parents, twin sisters Anna and Lotte Bamberg have been brutally separated since the age of six. Anna stays in Germany, where she grows up in quite difficult conditions on the farm of her uncle Heinrich and his wife, Martha. Lotte, who is ill, has a happy life in the Netherlands, with her parents' more distant relatives - the Rockanjes family. In the years following the separation, the twins did their best to get in touch.
43.The Pacific
See all 10 installments of HBO's acclaimed World War II miniseries 'The Pacific' plus a 'making of' special, 'Anatomy of the Pacific War' featurette and 'Marines of the Pacific' featuring profiles of six WWII heroes.
In 1944, a group of Allied prison officers organized the escape from Stalag Luft III, one of the best guarded prison camps in Germany. The preparations lasted a year and involved the participation of over 600 people.
The film is based on real events between 1938 and 1945. Salomon "Solly" Perel is a Polish Jew from Germany, whose life changes radically when the Nazis break into his wife's apartment. Separated from her parents and siblings, Solly is saved only by the Nazi uniform she wears. This gesture is the forerunner of his future "career". From here, Solly is subjected to many attempts, but the biggest one is to kill the Jews.
Drama centered on two fighters from the Holger Danske resistance group during World War II.
47.Max Manus
The film is based on the true story of resistance fighter Max Manus and follows the hero from the beginning of World War II until the summer of 1945. After fighting the Russians in the Finnish Winter War, Max returns. in Nazi-occupied Norway. He soon joined the resistance movement and became one of the most famous members of the so-called Oslo Group.
Over 60 years ago, American and Japanese soldiers fought on the island of Iwo Jima. Decades later, hundreds of letters are unearthed at Iwo Jima, letters that give face and voice to the men who fought there.
49.Hiroshima
Documentary made by British television, which describes through reconstructions the catastrophic moments during the bombing and after it.
"In the elements of the story there seems to be more of an excuse for the film than the film itself, which always amazes and surprises, offering developments that the mind cannot immediately perceive. There is always in the film an atmosphere of guilty meanings, Hiroshima, war, love lost, the anxiety that remains separate elements and does not even intend to crystallize. " - Peter Harcont 1974 (Film Comment).

Women have two weapons: tears and mascara. These words are attributed to Marilyn Monroe. Modern girls are more likely to strike on the spot - take the same waterproof mascara.
What makes it a good mascara?
The largest cosmetic concerns offer products focused on any needs of the female audience, promising volume, the effect of "false eyelashes", curling, perfect separation, creating more and more unusual shapes of brushes and improving formulations.
In the luxury mascara segment, products from Christian Dior, Lancome, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Urban Decay have the best reputation. As a rule, their products are distinguished by innovative developments, they use high-quality polymers and caring components. Most luxury mascaras have passed ophthalmological control, which means that they will not harm your health and will not cause allergies.
A high-quality mass market is located in the price category from 350 to 1000-1500 rubles. Here the choice is huge, but the most positive ratings are from the brands Bourjois, Maybelline, Max Factor, L'Oreal. It is only worth noting that not all carcasses from well-known manufacturers are equally good: the next advertised novelty can turn out to be either a really good product or a complete failure.
In the inexpensive segment, you can also find real pearls: mascaras from the brands Vivienne Sabo, EVA Mozaic, Rimmel and, of course, Belarusian products Belita-Vitex, Relouis, LUXVISAGE. They are of acceptable quality and suitable for daily use. True, not everyone can boast of durability and perfect application. It is interesting that manufacturers are constantly improving the quality (and, accordingly, the price), so part of "Belarus" is gradually going beyond the budget segment.
Separately, it is worth highlighting Asian carcasses (The Saem, Kawaii, etc.). Their popularity is only growing so far, but many girls have already noted the favorable ratio of affordable price and excellent quality.
What are the features of the best mascaras?
The types of mascara depend on the properties of a particular product. Of course, the industry does not stand still and has learned to combine 2in1, 3in1. But in fact there will be only one effect; which one - the brush will tell. Choose according to its shape:
- Lengthening mascara - sparse hairs on the brush, all the same length;
- Volumetric mascara - the brush looks like a brush; many hairs, they are of different lengths;
- Butterfly effect mascara - twisting with a curved brush;
- Colored mascara - everything is clear with it, the pigment is immediately noticeable. The colorless mascara has a gel-like texture. It is often used for eyelashes and eyebrows at the same time; look for the label you want.
- Waterproof mascara - brush of any shape; composition matters. As a rule, it has polymers to protect the pigment in contact with any water. The tool envelops like a film - therefore, after application, the eyes need special care. Remove makeup only with a special lotion, and nourish your eyelashes with castor / burdock oil. And never go to bed in makeup! Otherwise, after 30 years, the skin around the eyes will “give out” a bad habit.
What is a mascara Primer?
Primer can help make them as long and separated as possible, for this you need to apply it with gentle combing movements before applying mascara and allow it to dry a little. Everything, then you can apply your favorite colored mascara and admire the result.
For the latter, by the way, there is a separate product that bears the same name. In fact, it is a degreaser, and it must be applied to natural eyelashes before artificial ones are glued. Be careful when using primer for eyelash extensions, as it contains alcohol, which should be avoided in contact with the mucous membrane of the eye.
The base for mascara can be used both for its intended purpose and separately, as a means to strengthen eyelashes. In combination with ordinary care, the effect exceeds all expectations.
Top 10 best mascara
10. High Impact Mascara, Clinique
Universal, suitable for allergy sufferers, easy to rinse off, does not sting the eyes, does not leave dark circles, does not crumble, gives enough volume and color. Perfect for everyday makeup
9. Volume Effet Faux Cils Shocking, Yves Saint Laurent
It is it that gives a fantastic effect of false eyelashes and luxurious volume
8. Cabaret, Vivienne Sabo
Lengthens lashes and gives them volume.
7. Great Lash Blackest Black, Maybelline New York
What's the secret? It's just mascara and nothing else. Often we need just such an effect - natural eyelashes, well dyed, without excess volume and lengthening. For such purposes, there is nothing better than this classic tool. By the way, you can buy different brushes and experiment with this mascara.
6. Delight Circle Lens, Tony Moly
Mascara with a slight curling effect, comfortable brush, good balance between thickness and lengthening.
5. Excessive Flash и Smoky Extravagant, Make Up For Ever
Smoky Extravagant mascara, “stretching movements” (creates a “panoramic” voluminous effect)”
4. Upward Lash, M.A.C
The brush paints over each eyelash, and carnauba wax in the composition of the carcass envelops them with an elastic film - it is responsible for the volume.
3. Le Volume, Chanel
Perfectly layered - when after 6 hours you need to update your makeup, you do not have to wash the mascara. Delicately works with each type of eyelashes - if they are long and liquid, it will not make three sticky sticks out of them, but will gently separate and give volume.
2. Lash Sensational, Maybelline New York
It lays down in a thick layer at the base of the eyelashes, and at the tips it remains quite a bit - without the effect of "spider legs".
1. In Extreme Dimension, MAC
This new product from the professional MAC brand is a godsend for the hot season and holidays. Feel free to dive with her even into the pool, even into a hot party, while your eyelashes will remain flawless. There are many interesting shades in the line - from yellow to purple, choose according to your taste and mood.
How To Find The Best mascara For Your Needs
When choosing a mascara, it is important to consider your lash type and needs. Whether you want a longer, fuller, or curled look, this information will help you decide which type of formula and brush type you should buy.
First look at your lashes in the mirror and think about what you want from the mascara. How do you want your eyelashes? Thick? Spiked? Long? Feathered? Start here. Then rate how you would describe your own natural lashes. The combination of these two ideas should lead you to the type of mascara you would like to focus on.
Many factors must be taken into account at the same time:
- texture and plasticity;
- carcass density;
- combination of waxes in the recipe.
The mascara should be long-lasting, but not smudged. In general, the same, but with mother-of-pearl buttons. And do not forget about the quality of the pigment (it is the pigment that is responsible for the color of the mascara), about film formers so that the mascara is resistant, choose the right preservative, because the eyes are a sensitive area ... Do you think that's it?
Further, it is important which package: one has internal “shoulders”, the other does not, which means that a mass of different density will behave differently when you take out the brush. And of course, "make friends" mascara with a brush. Contrary to many opinions, they must exist in tandem, and the brush is always matched to a specific carcass, and this achieves the effect promised by the manufacturer.
By the way, its properties may depend on the color of the mascara! Pigment is a powder that differs greatly depending on the manufacturer and composition, and it behaves differently in ink. Colored mascara is very difficult to make with the same characteristics as black ink in terms of volume and plasticity.”
Now you understand that it is possible to create an all-in-one mascara (for example, lengthening, volume and definition in one product), but it will not be cheap. And not just. Therefore, only experienced development chemists can do it.”

Without music, our life would be dull and monotonous. Many of us start and end our day with it. After all, besides the fact that it helps us to get aesthetic pleasure, music also cheers us up and generally has a beneficial effect on our well-being.
Elvis Presley was told at the audition that he lacked talent.
But to learn more about music, it is not at all necessary to be a professional in this field. Because many musical facts will interest anyone.
And today, we at Bemorepanda are ready to share some exciting details with you.
1. British naval officers turn on the Britney Spears songs "Oops I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" to drive pirates off the east coast of Africa. Since African criminals have a strong dislike for Western music and culture, they try to get away from this place as soon as possible.
2. Singing has been scientifically proven to be soothing and uplifting. However, singing in a group is even more beneficial because it releases hormones like oxytocin that make you feel good and also lowers stress hormones like cortisol.
3. Jimi Hendrix had no musical education and taught himself to play the guitar. Throughout his career, he could not read music.
4. If you're hoping to build a career in music but can't read or write music, don't worry. If the Beatles could do it, so can you! In a 2018 interview, Paul McCartney admitted that both he and the rest of his bandmates were musically "illiterate" and lacking in music theory. Every tune they wrote simply "came to them from above," said the legendary musician.
5. French researchers have determined that the volume of music affects the amount of alcohol consumed. Namely, if you listen to loud music, you are more likely to drink more in less time. The researchers studied 40 men aged 18-25 who drank draft beer in bars by manipulating the sound volume and observing the behavior of their subjects. So, if you don't plan on drinking a lot at the party, it might be worth avoiding bars with loud music.
6. Finland is the country with the largest number of metal musicians. A Reddit user created a map based on data from the Metallum encyclopedia. With 42.6 metal bands per 100,000 inhabitants, Finland is indeed home to the largest number of metal bands in this genre.
7. Cows prefer slow music. A 2001 study at the University of Leicester found that when cows listen to slow, soothing songs, they produce 3% more milk. Cows need oxytocin to produce milk, so slow music helps them relax and increases oxytocin levels. On the other hand, cows remained indifferent to rap and techno music, showing no change in milk production.
8. One of the greatest musicians and composers of the Renaissance, Orlande de Lassus was kidnapped three times as a child. The reason for all three kidnappings was his beautiful singing voice.
9. Scottish Heriot-Watt University studied the personalities of more than 36,000 music lovers from different countries and found that the only difference between heavy metal and classical music lovers is their age. Other than that, they were pretty much the same, creative, at ease, and introverted.
10. There are so many stories around about people quitting their jobs to pursue the career in art they have dreamed of all their lives. However, the opposite also happens. James Lilja, the original drummer for the pop punk band The Offspring, left the band after three years. There were no conflicts with other members of the group, but Lilya wanted to go to medical school. He later became an obstetrician-gynecologist and gynecologist-oncologist.
11. Prince released his debut album For You at the age of 20. In the liner notes of the album, he is listed as the musician performing all the vocals, but in addition he played 27 musical instruments: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, bass synthesizer, electric piano, acoustic piano, etc.
12. It's hard to believe, but there are people who are completely indifferent to music. The University of Barcelona conducted a study in which 5 percent of participants reported that they did not experience any emotion or even the desire to tap their feet while listening to music. Otherwise, they were physically and psychologically healthy young people who enjoyed other things in life, but were not interested in music in any form.
13. Canada widely celebrated the 150th anniversary of the country. Part of the celebrations was a concert that lasted from March 17 to April 5, 2017, in which the musical group Epidemic participated. It was 453 hours 54 minutes and 40 seconds long and has been recognized as the longest multi-singer concert in the world.
14. In 1974, Elvis Presley approached Dolly Parton for the rights to record a cover of her hit I Will Always Love You. However, after his manager demanded half of all profits from the song, Parton refused to let Elvis record it.
15. In 2016, Mozart sold more CDs than Beyoncé, Adele and Drake. 2016 marks the 225th anniversary of Mozart's death, and to commemorate this event, Universal Music Group released a 200-disc box set featuring works by the great musician. The fact is that for statistical purposes, each disk was considered separately. But the box set was also a huge success and, despite a hefty price tag of over $600, was sold out almost immediately.
16. In 2013, Metallica played a concert for 120 scientists and competition winners at Carlini Station in Antarctica. The performance was held under a transparent dome. After that, the group received a new title in the Guinness Book of Records as the first musical group to perform on all seven continents. In fact, Metallica toured all seven continents in the same year.
17. Music helps increase physical performance, especially if you synchronize repetitive exercises with rhythm. This will not only help you train longer, but will also be more efficient. In one study, cyclists reported that they needed 7% less oxygen when they exercised to music than people who performed the same exercise with a random, unsynchronized background count. This shows that the temporal cues provided by music help you use your physical energy more effectively.
18. Before becoming famous, the members of Guns N' Roses had to earn their living doing some strange work. So, frontman Axl Rose and his co-founder and first rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin smoked cigarettes for a scientific study at the University of California, Los Angeles. According to some reports, they were making $8 an hour (or $19 in today's money).
19. The oldest piece of music in the world dates back to the 1st century AD and is called Seikilos Epitaph. You can find it on a tombstone in Turkey. Including both the score and a short text, it reads:
"While you live, shine / Do not be sad at all / Life exists only for a short time / And time takes its toll."
20. We find inspiration wherever we can. Even if your own cat walks on the keys of your instrument. This is exactly what Domenico Scarlatti observed before he had the idea of composing his fugue in G minor for harpsichord. He even named the work "Cat's Fugue" after the cat.
21. In 2014, scientists from the Museum of Science and Industry conducted an online test called "Hooked on Music." The test consisted of a thousand snippets of pop hits, from contemporary hits to hits from the 1940s. The 12,000 participants had to identify each song as quickly as possible. While the average time to identify most songs was 5 seconds, it took only about 2.3 seconds to guess the song Wannabe from the Spice Girls, making it the most memorable song of all time.
22. Astronaut Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian to go into space, but he also turned out to be a talented musician. He first went viral with his cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". During his 144-day stay on the International Space Station, Hadfield recorded 11 original songs. In 2015, he released them on an album titled Space Sessions: Songs for a Tin Can.
23. Everyone knows that music can affect our mood, but it turns out that it can also have a significant impact on our perception of the world. In a 2011 study at the University of Groningen, participants were asked to identify emojis while listening to music. If the faces matched the music, the participants identified them more accurately. And even when there were no emojis, participants felt like they were seeing a happy or sad face, depending on what music they were listening to at the time.
24. If you are into music or have received any form of music education, you are more likely to score higher on the SAT (Standardized Test for Admissions to Higher Education in the United States) or similar exams. Reports show that music students typically score 63 points higher in speaking and 44 points higher in math. They also tend to show a lot of self-confidence and are good team players and chimes, also known as tubular bells, was created by Simon Desorger. He used 120 aluminum tubes ranging in length from 473 mm to 4877 mm, tuned to suit musical scales.
26. Most musicians hate changing guitar strings. This is a tedious job that takes time and requires a lot of effort and a lot of patience. But instrument technician and record store owner Thomas Silkman set out to prove that this was not the case. On April 20, 2018, he set a world record by changing 226 strings in an hour. Interestingly, there was no special reason for this, he simply dreamed of setting a world record.
27. In the history of music, there are two days that are called "The Day the Music Died". The first occurred on February 3, 1959, when musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Big Bopper died in a plane crash in Ohio. A few years later, in 1963, another plane crashed in Tennessee, killing Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Cowboy Copas on board.
28. Country music is strongly associated with the American countryside. But over time, this genre is becoming more and more popular all over the world. One example of this is the Indian singer Bal Kishore Das Loival, who goes by the name Bobby Cash. He built a career as a country music performer in Australia and in 2005 received recognition from the Country Music Association of Nashville, Tennessee.
29. The best-selling album of all time belongs to Michael Jackson. This is his sixth studio album Thriller, released in 1982. It is estimated that over 60 million copies have been sold worldwide.
30. Elvis Presley was a truck driver. However, in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a singer, he attended auditions whenever possible. During his first performance on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee, talent manager Jim Denny told Elvis that he lacked talent and should go back to his previous job.
31. You often hear about free concerts that have attracted more than a million viewers, but these numbers are often exaggerated. However, Guinness World Records claims that the largest free concert in history was attended by an estimated 4.2 million people. It took place on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and was organized to celebrate the New Year 1993. The stage performer was Rod Stewart.
32. The longest team drumming marathon in the world lasted 3 days, 8 hours and 2 minutes. Janelle Spaulding, Aaron Housego, Holly Jones, Ryan Murray and Lorraine Dorrington played from August 26 to 29, 2016, and their performance was broadcast live around the world.
33. There are two ways to read musical notes. In most Western countries they are known as do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si. In some others, these names are replaced by the first seven letters of the alphabet. However, seven notes is not a full octave. An octave consists of eight notes, where the eighth is the same as the first. And if you count all the sharps and flats in between, you get 12 notes.
34. If you thought that the conductor has absolute power over his orchestra, you are not mistaken. As a rule, orchestras include instruments from each of the five instrumental groups. However, the conductor has the right to choose the instruments necessary for the performance of the musical program. Also in the 20th century, a new tradition was introduced, according to which it was allowed to use not only classical musical instruments in the orchestra. Nowadays, if the conductor sees fit, you can see an electric guitar, a synthesizer or any other modern instrument in the orchestra.
35. We know that music is good for our mood and general well-being, but researchers from the University of Pavia (Italy) have proven that it helps our heart physically. It causes physiological changes that regulate blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory function. And if a classical musical phrase lasts more than 10 seconds, it causes the heart rate and some other parts of the cardiovascular system to synchronize with the music. At the same time, research has shown that music elicits stronger physiological responses in musicians than in people without a musical education.
36. Most countries have military bands, but only one country has a military band larger than a real army, and that is Monaco. The country's military band consists of 85 people. At the same time, his army has 82 soldiers. This is understandable, since Monaco is a fairly small country, and the only time it put its army on alert was when the president of neighboring France threatened to cut off water and electricity supplies in 1962 unless income tax was imposed on Monaco residents.
37. Almost everything the Simpsons does becomes history, and so the show's creators decided, x. Rumors have since circulated that Michael Jackson was the ghost composer, which made sense since the artist was a big fan of The Simpsons; however, the producers continued to deny this. It wasn't until many years later that Matt Groening admitted that Jackson actually wrote the track, but this was kept secret as the King of Pop was legally prohibited from writing for an outside label.
38. The largest known performing rock group included 953 musicians. The concert, organized by the Beijing Academy of Contemporary Music on June 16, 2016, took place in Tianjin, China and included 349 singers, 154 guitarists, 151 drummers, 100 bassists, 100 keyboardists and 98 brass players.
39. Prior to the Renaissance, non-folk music was predominantly written and performed at church services. After the Middle Ages, the Renaissance placed more emphasis on humanism, allowing musicians to experiment with new instruments and styles. The music they composed became less religious and more secular. One of the greatest things that the Renaissance gave us was opera, which was created as an attempt to bring ancient Greek theater back to life.
40. In Japanese, “carappo” means “empty,” and “okesutura” is the Japanese pronunciation of the word “orchestra.” If you put these two words together, you get "karaoke", which translates as "empty orchestra".
41. The world's longest performance began in September 2001 and should end in 2640. Yes, 27th century! The action takes place in the church of St. Buchard in Germany, where an automatic organ plays as slowly as possible a piece by avant-garde composer John Cage. Visitors have to wait months to catch the chord change - that's how slow it is. Interestingly, the performance began even before the organ was completely completed - in 2008, several pipes were added, and this did not affect the music in any way.
42. The sea organ may sound like something straight out of The Little Mermaid, but it actually exists. After the devastation caused by World War II, the city of Zadar in Croatia underwent a major renovation. One of them was a concrete wall on the city coast. An interesting part of this wall is located under the large marble steps and is a set of pipes. When they hit the sea waves, they make musical sounds. Since its completion in 2005, the Zadar Sea Organ has become very popular with locals and tourists alike.
43. Even after so many years after the breakup of the Spice Girls, individual members are still referred to by their nicknames. But what is interesting, these nicknames were not invented by the girls themselves and not by any of the label's employees. At the beginning of their career, they were interviewed by the famous British teen magazine Top of the Pops, whose editor gave them nicknames. All five of them stuck and were later officially used by the band.
44. The highest price a musical instrument was sold for is $15.9 million. Of course, it was a Stradivarius violin, namely "Lady Blunt". It was sold in 2011 for four times the previous Stradivarius record. Industry experts say that Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù violins yield around 10-12% per year.
45. It is well known that different areas of our brain are responsible for different aspects of life. However, in 2011, Finnish researchers showed in a groundbreaking study that different areas of the brain are involved in listening to music, including those that control motor actions, emotions, and creativity. This research helped them understand how the brain processes rhythm, pitch and timbre, also known as sound color, as well as other aspects of music, and how large the effect of music is.
46. The largest erhu ensemble gathered for a performance in Raoyang, China on October 19, 2019. 2024 participants played a traditional Chinese musical instrument similar to a violin for 5 minutes and 18 seconds.
47. On November 13, 2009, the Tom Lee Music Company gathered 6,131 musicians in Hong Kong for a concert that was to be given by the largest harmonica ensemble in history. The entire performance lasted 7 minutes and 25 seconds.
48. No one will be surprised by the fact that two people play at the same piano. What about 23 people? Students of the Isidor Bajic School of Music proved that this is possible on September 20, 2019, when they performed in Novi Sad (Serbia). The play they performed, called "Zora" ("dawn" in Serbian), was written by one of the graduates of the school especially for this event.
49. When Japanese pop group AKB48 started out, it only had 48 members, hence the name. However, over time, they decided that the more the better, the time of existence. This makes AKB48 the biggest pop group in the world.
50. The London Symphony Orchestra was supposed to travel to the US to perform aboard the infamous Titanic. However, due to reasons beyond their control, the entire orchestra had to board another ship in order to reach their destination in time.
51. A study of the word "jazz" showed that it is associated with the word "jasm", meaning "cheerfulness, energy" as early as 1860. The first recorded use of the word was not even associated with music. In an article in the Los Angeles Times in 1912, a minor league baseball pitcher called the pitch a "jazz ball" because "it wobbles and you just can't do anything about it."
52. Jazz ensembles differ in the number of performers and types of instruments, but the most basic of them is called the piano trio. Consisting of piano, bass and drums, it's just enough to perform and share the essence of jazz with your audience.
53. A professor at the University of Sydney conducted a study that examined the deaths of musicians between 1950 and June 2014. He compared life expectancy, and the proportion of suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths by sex and decade, with those of the general US population. The conclusion he came to was not particularly encouraging: on average, musicians live 25 years less than ordinary people.
54. Whoever told you that Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, is dead, don't believe them! He may not be with us physically, but today he continues to be the world's best-selling solo artist with over 1 billion sales worldwide. For a musician whose career peaked in the 50s and 60s, this is a huge achievement.
55. The word "orchestra" does not indicate a specific number of musicians. Chamber orchestras are usually small and include no more than fifty performers, which cannot be said about symphony and philharmonic orchestras - they often have more than eighty musicians. Depending on the program, even more than a hundred performers can be expected in one orchestra.
56. Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini is one of the most famous operatic authors in the history of music. Among his works is the opera "Tancredi", which includes the play "Di Tanti Palpiti". Rossini himself called it a "rice aria" because he composed the entire piece while waiting for a dish of rice to be cooked.
57. On October 15, 2017, David Stanley and The Music Man Project brought together 1,521 triangle players to perform together at the Music is Magic concert in London. This ensemble went down in history as the largest ensemble of triangles.