A Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast with Ally Pitts

To celebrate Silent Movie Day—29th September every year!—host Ally Pitts shares a favourite episode from his podcasting archive. Back in 2021, deep in the Covid-19 pandemic he guested on Media-eval: A Medieval Pop-Culture Podcast, hosted by historian Dr. Sarah Ifft-Decker.

Ally also trails that the next regular episode of A Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast will be about Lev Kuleshov's 1926 gothic western masterpiece By the Law.

Support Ally's film & culture work, keep the show on the road etc.

patreon.com/cw/allypittsmoviesbooksmusicetc

UK & Republic of Ireland folks, you can support the show by buying from Ally's bookshop.org affiliate shop. Folks elsewhere, please have a browse and get inspiration for what you might want to pick up from your nearest independent bookshop!

uk.bookshop.org/shop/russian-soviet-movie-podcast

Buy The Story of Film by Mark Cousins (hardback) from Ally's UK bookshop.org affiliate shop

Buy The Story of Film by Mark Cousins (audiobook) from Ally's UK bookshop.org affiliate shop

Buy The Fruit of Her Hands Jewish and Christian Women’s Work in Medieval Catalan Cities by Dr Sarah Ifft-Decker from from Ally's UK bookshop.org affiliate shop

More links!

Event listings by US state & by countries besides the US: https://silentmovieday.org/participate-1 

https://silentmovieday.org/about-nsmd 

Ultimate Picture Palace Oxford: https://uppcinema.com/show/a-page-of-madness-live-score/

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/69-realized-mysticism-in-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc

Socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

YouTube: youtube.com/@russiansovietmoviepodcast

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

instagram.com/allypittsmoviesbooksmusicetc/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

29th September is Silent Movie Day, which means cinemas/movie theaters around the world will be showing some of the best surviving films from this incredible era of film!

https://silentmovieday.org/about-nsmd 

Ultimate Picture Palace Oxford: https://uppcinema.com/show/a-page-of-madness-live-score/

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show quite a while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

instagram.com/allypittsmoviesbooksmusicetc/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Host and creator Ally Pitts outlines what you can expect from the podcast, shares why he started it, and his experience of making the show since 2017. He signposts some popular episodes to get you started.

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

instagram.com/allypittsmoviesbooksmusicetc/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Ally Pitts will be introducing Silents Synched's R.E.M. x Sherlock Jr, directed by Buster Keaton at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford on Monday 27th July '26 as part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

https://uppcinema.com/show_type/oxford-comedy-festival-2026/ 

https://oxfordcomedyfestival.co.uk/ourshows 

https://www.silentsynced.com/ 

https://silentmovieday.org/

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show quite a while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

instagram.com/allypittsmoviesbooksmusicetc/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Email: [email protected]

Ally Pitts will be introducing Silents Synched's R.E.M. x Sherlock Jr, directed by Buster Keaton at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford on Monday 27th July '26 as part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

https://uppcinema.com/show_type/oxford-comedy-festival-2026/ 

https://oxfordcomedyfestival.co.uk/ourshows 

https://www.silentsynced.com/ 

https://silentmovieday.org/

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show quite a while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

instagram.com/allypittsmoviesbooksmusicetc/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Email: [email protected]

Ally Pitts will be introducing Silents Synched's R.E.M. x Sherlock Jr, directed by Buster Keaton as part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

https://uppcinema.com/show_type/oxford-comedy-festival-2026/ 

https://oxfordcomedyfestival.co.uk/ourshows 

https://www.silentsynced.com/ 

https://silentmovieday.org/

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show quite a while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Email: [email protected]

Our host Ally Pitts has co-programmed a season of four films by the Polish director Andrzej Wajda at Oxford's Ultimate Picture Palace cinema as part of the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival 2026. To launch the season, he’ll be introducing Ashes and Diamonds there at 3pm on Sunday 12th April.

https://uppcinema.com/show_type/kinoteka-on-tour-2026/

More links mentioned/alluded to in the episode:

For a 30-day free trial of the streaming service Klassiki: https://klassiki.online/arussiansovietmoviepodcast/

If you use the code RUPOD50, you can get 50% off an annual subscription.

https://uppcinema.com/show_type/kinoteka-on-tour-2026/ 

https://kinoteka.org.uk/programme/strands/kinoteka-on-tour/manchester 

https://kinoteka.org.uk/programme/strands/kinoteka-on-tour/edinburgh

https://kinoteka.org.uk/programme/strands/kinoteka-on-tour/newcastle

https://kinoteka.org.uk/programme 

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/my-10-favourite-polish-films/ 

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/my-klassiki-recommendations-updated-regularly/detail/ 

https://www.secondrundvd.com/index.html 

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show quite a while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Email: [email protected]

Cameron Lallana of The Slavic Literature Pod joins host Ally Pitts for a special episode on this short but hard-hitting novel about a Russian journalist whose life is thrown into chaos when a figure from his past suddenly comes back into his life as the leader of a terrorist group. The premise sounds run-of-the-mill, but the execution is anything but as the situation causes our protagonist to dig into his memories of the past few decades to try to figure out what has happened to Russian society during that time.

https://slaviclitpod.com/

https://europaeditions.co.uk/book/9781787704879/not-russian 

https://www.europaeditions.com/author/337/mikhail-shevelev 

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/noirvember-2024/detail/

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show a little while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Email: [email protected]

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

And our host Ally Pitts is introducing the screening in Banbury! Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 masterpiece finishes its centenary run in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on Sunday 26th October 2025 with screenings at The Light cinemas.

https://banbury.thelight.co.uk/

https://thelight.co.uk/ 

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/silent-films-with-scores-by-juliet-merchant/

https://www.bfi.org.uk/bfi-film-releases/battleship-potemkin

Klassiki:

Battleship Potemkin is also on the streaming service Klassiki with a score by Max Reinhardt & the Instant Orchestra.

For a 30-day free trial: https://klassiki.online/arussiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

If you use the code RUPOD50, you can get 50% off an annual subscription.

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/my-klassiki-recommendations-updated-regularly/detail/ 

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show a little while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Email: [email protected]

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser

Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 masterpiece continues its centenary run in cinemas in the UK and Ireland in throughout September and October 2025. Since we published a mini-episode about this BFI season last week, our intrepid host has been confirmed as providing the intro to the screening at MK Gallery on Friday 26th September at 7pm. He's also in talks with The Light in Banbury, Oxfordshire about introducing it there too on Sunday 26th October!

Links:

https://www.bfi.org.uk/bfi-film-releases/battleship-potemkin

https://mkgallery.org/event/battleship-potemkin-12a/ 

https://banbury.thelight.co.uk/

https://thelight.co.uk/ 

https://uppcinema.com/show/battleship-potemkin/ 

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/silent-films-with-scores-by-juliet-merchant/

Klassiki:

Battleship Potemkin is also on the streaming service Klassiki with a score by Max Reinhardt & the Instant Orchestra.

For a 30-day free trial: https://klassiki.online/arussiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

If you use the code RUPOD50, you can get 50% off an annual subscription.

https://letterboxd.com/ally_pitts/list/my-klassiki-recommendations-updated-regularly/detail/ 

Contact us/socials:

All the links for a Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast and Ally Pitts you're ever likely to want or need: linktr.ee/russiansovietmoviepodcast

We changed the name of the show a little while back, but the social handles/contacts are a bit of a mishmash.

Email: [email protected]

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/

Instagram: instagram.com/russiansovietmoviepodcast/ 

Listen to Ally's other podcast appearances on Podchaser