COMMISSAR

Original 1988 first release British 30 inch x 40 inch Quad Poster for the 1967 Alexander Askoldov Russian Civil War Drama THE COMMISSAR (KOMISSAR), based on a short story by Vasily Grossman and starring Nonna Mordyukova, Rolan Bykov, Raisa Niedashkovskaya and Vasily Shukshin.

The Commissar of the title, played by Nonna Mordyukova, is a Soviet functionary wielding power over a remote Jewish village. Neither she nor the villagers care for the status quo, but over a period of several weeks both come to accept the situation and to establish a detente. The film’s pro-Semitism was not entirely in keeping with Soviet policy of the 1960s, thus the film was shelved and hidden from the general public. Only with the thawing of East-West relationships, and the political upheaval in Russia itself, was The Commissar deemed “safe” for general consumption. The film was finally distributed in 1988, twenty years after its completion.

The poster is in fine unfolded (rolled) condition