Reception
"White Sun of the Desert" became one of the most popular movies made during the Soviet era, and it has attained a cult status in Russia. In 1970 the film was the tenth most popular film of the year, with 34.5 million viewers. It helped popularize Eastern movies.
"White Sun of the Desert" did not receive any rewards during the Soviet era. It lost the 1970 USSR State Prize to By The Lake. It may have lost due to the slightly controversial tone of the film, which could be seen as implicitly poking fun at Soviet mythologizing of the Revolution and Civil War. But in 1998 it was awarded the state prize by president Boris Yeltsin, being recognized as culturally significant.
The film received limited attention in the West. It was shown at a Soviet film festival at the little Carnegie Theatre in 1973, meant to tie in with Brezhnev's visit to the United States. Other than that, it was not largely released. Roger Greenspun, the New York Times movie critic, referred to it as "escapist entertainment".
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