← ← Back
Movie poster: Wings of a Serf (1926)
🎬 Movie

Wings of a Serf

1926 · 73 min Drama History
4.6 / 10 · TMDB

This SovKino production was a major early experiment in Soviet historical film about the oprichnina period of Muscovite history, combining the costumed drama and Gothic thrills of the genre with historical materialist commentary on the dialectical collision of scientific progress and patriarchal religious tyranny under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. It follows a self-taught inventor from the serf class Nikishka, whose efforts to build a flying machine incite accusations of witchcraft. Nikishka and his beloved Fima are persecuted by the feudal lord Kurlyatev, who took their village in a petty land squabble. They’re rescued when Kurlyatev’s lands are taken by the Tsar in his autocratic campaign against the feudal system. Ivan puts Nikishka to work in his linen mill, where the young serf is coveted by Tsarina Maria Temryukovna, who the Tsar’s been ignoring in favor of his cupbearer Feodor. A series of harrowing intrigues wind a bloody dance through bedchamber, feast hall, cathedral and dungeon.

Watch online

Click to play

📋 Film Details

Original Title Крылья холопа
Year 1926
Country Soviet Union
Genre Drama, History
Director Yuri Tarich
Runtime 73 min.
Rating TMDB: 4.6/10 (12 votes)

📺 Where to Watch

Checking availability...

🎬 MovieFinder's Take

This is quietly operating cinema. No big events, no crisis turns — just people and how they live through what happens to them.

Strengths: atmosphere, actors, accuracy of detail. Weaknesses: the pace isn't for everyone, the ending may feel unresolved.

For people who watch films for feeling, not entertainment.

Director: Yuri Tarich

— MovieFinder Editorial

🕯️

Best Watched

Viewing atmosphere: An evening when your mind is at peace. With someone you can sit in silence with after. Wine or tea.

🎭 Cast

🎬 Similar Movies

No streaming sources found

💬 Audience Reviews

Write a Review

Quick rating — tap to vote:

Or write a full review:

0/2000