‘Soviet Union’ at USC Saturday

The USC Cinema-Television Alumni Assn. presents Raphael Nussbaum’s “The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union” (Saturday at 7 p.m. in Room 108, USC’s George Lucas Building), a remarkably comprehensive and concise two-hour documentary that draws upon a treasure trove of archival footage.

Following the emergence of Lenin and then Stalin, the film charts Stalin’s terrible purges of the ‘30s, the extreme savagery of World War II experienced by the Russians at the hands of the Germans, the coming of the Cold War, and culminates with the extraordinary actions of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. Spoken by Peter Graves, the narration is admirably concise and informative at all times, but it is also dry and impersonal.

For all the film’s inevitably vast and epic sweep, Nussbaum manages some amazing personal touches, such as shots of Czar Nicholas and a group of male courtiers skinny-dipping, and spotting apparently none other than Joseph Goebbels in attendance at the first Congress of the Soviet in 1917.

Admission is free, but reservations are recommended: (310) 859-4644.