Product Details

• Actors: Anna Kournikova; Maria Sharapova; Billie Jean King; Chris Evert; Bud Collins
• Directors: Philip Johnston & Peter Geisler
• Format: Color, Full length, Full Screen, NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Byzantium Productions, Inc.
• DVD Release Date: August 1, 2005
• Run Time: 51 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009WO4TC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,596 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Anna's Army explores the current explosion of Russian talent on the women's professional tennis tour. Maria Sharapova shocked the world last summer when she became the first Russian to win Wimbledon at just seventeen years of age. And yet, Maria is just one part of a tidal wave of fiercely competitive and attractive Russians taking over the game. In 2002, only one Russian was ranked among the top 30 women. By 2004, Russians comprised half of the top 10. So why is this cash-strapped, snow-covered nation suddenly producing waves of femme-fatale tennis phenoms?

This enlightening documentary gives you the entire story. It explores the real reasons for the rising onslaught of Russian pros and juniors, and takes you on the long journey from their harsh Soviet origins to their glamorous globe-trotting lifestyles. In the process, the film covers the bizarre and largely unknown history of Russian tennis, the galvanizing impact of Anna Kournikova and Boris Yeltsin and the turbulent events that have molded the top young players in the game.

Anna’s Army boasts rare footage of the players’ matches, training methods, off-court lifestyles and stunning fashion and marketing success. The film also features remarkably candid interviews with Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Nick Bollettieri, Robert Lansdorp and the many rising stars of the Russian babe brigade.

Coverage of the Russian training system shown on this DVD hints that we may be seeing many more Russian players competing in the top ranks for years to come. This DVD is not regionally encoded.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A jewel of a documentary, June 28, 2005

By 

Tennis Fan (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis (DVD)

This is a jewel of a documentary. It takes you behind the scenes into the world of today's young female Russian tennis stars who are dominating the women's tennis tour in the wake of Anna Kournikova's rise to celebrity stardom. It has amazing footage of the players as children; candid interviews (don't miss Anna's interview) and includes an angle on the history of tennis in Russia. This is a must-see for all sports fans. It is beautifully produced and is hard to take your eyes off.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Excellent!, December 22, 2005

By 

Robert Marsh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis (DVD)

OK, I'm not going to lie, I bought this because I happen to think that Russian girls are the hottest thing on the Planet! Russian, Eastern European, Ukraine, whatever...THATS the woman for me. My fellow Comrade Americans would probably call me a sell out Pinko, but I don't care! Beauty does NOT know politics! I only know what I see and it's hardly debatable that Russian girls are HOT! I'll take a Kournikova and a Sharapova over a Britney Spearsva or a Angelina Jolieva any day...va!

So, thats why I originally bought this dvd. But what I actually found is this is an EXCELLENT documentary on why there is such a huge line of talented tennis players coming out of Russia. It also shows life in Russia today...something our media never shows.

Buy it or rent it...it's well worth seeing!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Topnotch documentary on a fascinating subject, September 12, 2005

By 

American Tennis Observer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis (DVD)

How has Russia, a non-factor in world-class tennis for the sport's first 75 years, suddenly produced four players ranked in the women's top 10 and eight in the top 20 and three Grand Slam singles champions in 2004? This enlightening film answers that fascinating question and is one of the best tennis documentaries I have ever seen.
It does a particularly masterly job of taking you inside the Russian system and showing you what it was like for these young girls to train in the Soviet and post-communist eras. You see, for instance, the leading Russian players training in 1989 with obsolete wooden rackets on dilapidated courts and gain insights from their families and coaches.
The film is full of highly entertaining and colorful quotes from some of the most important figures in Russian tennis. In contrast to many of the superficial pieces seen on television about the "Russian Revolution," Philip Johnston and Peter Geisler went the extra mile to take you inside the Russian system and show you how incredibly small and interconnected the tennis community there is. You learn, for instance, that Anna Kournikova, Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva trained in the same age group from the age of 5 and grew up with Marat Safin, whose mother was one of their coaches.
I particularly enjoyed the attention paid to the historical development of tennis in Russia, from rare footage of Tsar Nicholas II's family playing tennis to vivid contemporary footage of today's leading players and rising juniors. The past is superbly connected to the present by top Russian experts, such as Anna Dmitrieva (the first Soviet player to compete abroad) and Olga Morozova (1974 Wimbledon and French Open finalist), who, until recently, coached Dementieva. The piece is also full of incisive commentary from many leading figures in the sport, including Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and Nick Bollettieri.
This DVD is an immense accomplishment that is both visually and intellectually compelling. Even if you believe you know all about the "Russian Revolution," odds are you do not know nearly as much as you think you do until you have seen this film.
As a veteran tennis writer, author of two tennis books, and a certified USPTA teaching pro, I highly recommend this must-see and reasonably priced documentary for anyone interested in tennis.