[ Konchalovsky ] The censors in Hollywood are much more powerful
than those in the Soviet Union… only no one understands this
[ title ] HOLLYWOOD’S, PROPAGANDA FACTORY
KONSTANTIN ROZHKOV, CORRESPONDENT
[ Petrov ] The most shocking thing here is the image presented of Joseph Stalin,
who appears as a kind old grandfather
[ Petrov ] He has such kind eyes, such a soft, affectionate voice
[ Petrov ] His manners are so refined
[ Petrov ] And, here, he is presented as a true friend of all the people of planet Earth
PAVEL PETROV, JOURNALIST
PETER KUZNICK, HISTORY PROFESSOR
[ Kirill ] The problem was, Americans didn't want to get involved in the war
KIRILL RAZLOGOV, FILM EXPERT
[ Kirill ] Europe's affairs were foreign to them
[ Petrov ] This office was headed by a journalist named Elmer Davis,
who once noted that the easiest way to convey propaganda to an audience
PAVEL PETROV, JOURNALIST
is through entertainment, that is, through feature films
GEORGE SZAMUELY, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE
KONSTANTIN ROZHKOV, CORRESPONDENT
[ Konstantin ] Does it surprise you that Hollywood made pro-Soviet propaganda films during World War II?
[ Konchalovsky ] It was the ideology
ANDREY KONCHALOVSKY, FILM DIRECTOR
[ Konchalovsky ] The ideology of Hollywood then was pro-Soviet
[ Petrov ] I've even underlined it here:
'The greatest man of modern times'
[ Petrov ] 'He saved 140 million people from brutal and incompetent tyranny'
[ Petrov ] Can you imagine seeing something like this in, for instance, the New York Times today?
PETER KUZNICK, HISTORY PROFESSOR
KONSTANTIN ROZHKOV, CORRESPONDENT
[ Konchalovsky ] What can I say about Hollywood?
[ Konchalovsky ] It was a very pleasant city, where it was impossible to have friends
ANDREY KONCHALOVSKY, FILM DIRECTOR
[ Konchalovsky ] There's fantastic weather
[ Konchalovsky ] You can always go to the beach
[ Konchalovsky ] And when I first got there,
I felt like I'd ended up exactly where I wanted to be
[ Konchalovsky ] I must say that this illusion…
that Hollywood gives you the ability to express yourself
is extremely puerile
[ Konchalovsky ] The producer decides everything: how and who you'll shoot
[ Konchalovsky ] I remember when I was shooting a big picture,
Tango and Cash…
the producer came and wanted to talk to me. I said, 'I'm shooting'
[ Konchalovsky ] He said, 'Don't worry, they'll do it without you,
and everything will come out fine'
[ Konchalovsky ] In Hollywood, a 5-year-old who only knows 'action' and 'cut' can be a director
[ Konchalovsky ] I think it's advertisers who can find the most success in Hollywood
[ Konchalovsky ] These are people who have talent
and who can pragmatically use that talent to meet the demands of the market
[ Kirill ] When the Second World War ended, when we won in coalition with the United States,
KIRILL RAZLOGOV, FILM EXPERT
we had a kind of mirror situation
[ Kirill ] Our filmmakers accompanying the Red Army through Europe couldn't help but be impressed
by some of the positive aspects of European civilization,
while American filmmakers were strongly struck by left-wing ideas
DANIEL KOVALIK, LAW PROFESSOR
PETER KUZNICK, HISTORY PROFESSOR
KONSTANTIN ROZHKOV, CORRESPONDENT
GEORGE SZAMUELY, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE
KONSTANTIN ROZHKOV, CORRESPONDENT
[ Kirill ] Ninotchka is a comedy 00:20:31:00 KIRILL RAZLOGOV, FILM EXPERT
[ Kirill ] A very human comedy, I'd say
[ Kirill ] The lead role was played by Greta Garbo, the biggest star in Hollywood
[ Kirill ] She plays a Soviet ambassador
who is sent to the West and falls in love with an American
[ Kirill ] Ninotchka was perceived as anti-Soviet because…
the Soviet bureaucrat doesn't behave in a Soviet way: she falls in love with an American
and chooses a more comfortable life over Communist morals
PETER KUZNICK, HISTORY PROFESSOR
GEORGE SZAMUELY, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE
[ Konstantin ] A question about Sylvester Stallone, who you worked with on Tango and Cash in 1989:
[ Konstantin ] Did Stallone, who directed and wrote this film, really see the USSR like this?
[ Konchalovsky ] Of course not, he didn't give a damn
[ Konchalovsky ] We needed to make a commercial success
[ Konchalovsky ] In commercial films, the villain's Chinese or Russian
[ Konchalovsky ] I know that the toughest censor in Hollywood is the Pentagon
[ Konchalovsky ] Coppola told me that
[ Konchalovsky ] The Pentagon approves all movies…
and reads all screenplays…
that contain military personnel or CIA agents
DANIEL KOVALIK, LAW PROFESSOR
EMIR KUSTURICA, FILM DIRECTOR