Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Michael A. Martinez Sergei Bondarchuk. To Western audiences, he may be the most accessible Russian director of his generation, filling his films with a delicate balance of human drama and grand spectacle. His swan song sadly ended up being one of his lesser films, this remake of the classic 1957 film TIKHY DON, which itself was a remake. This film really didn't need to exist, but hell, someone thought it would be a good enough idea to invest millions of dollars/rubles/lira into.When the Soviet Union dissolved in the early 1990's, the dying Italian genre film industry was able to get in one last gasp by taking advantage of some desperate Russian studios need of work and the Russian government offering various production tax advantages. This, coupled with some shady semi-legal business dealings, resulted in a few abortive films and a few that were mostly finished but not really ever distributed due to some kind of financial court battling. Of the few that I know of, including Enzo G. Castellari's JONATHAN OF THE BEARS and Ken Annakin's GENGHIS KHAN, this would be the only film to ever really get much of a distribution (in Europe), though only after sitting in a bank vault for over a decade.And the results? Well, considering the film may not even be complete and its director didn't live to see it through, it's actually fairly coherent. The film benefits from excellent photography and location use at the same places in Russia / Ukraine where the events it covers actually happened. Though the events depicted cover World War 1 and the Russian Revolution, the instability of the region continues to this day, making this film feel topical with families pulled apart by ever-shifting loyalties and ideals. Bondarchuk manages to squeeze in a few decent battle scenes with plenty of cavalry charges and his patented aerial shots of military formations, though things feel awfully bright and clean compared with his gritty work from the 60's and 70's.This film provides some entertainment but really pales in comparison to the 1957 version. Narratively it's quite a mess with a lot feeling like it was left on the cutting room floor or never filmed in the first place. Often, characters will make a big deal out of the death of someone who never was really established. Also, characters will get strangely connected with each other out of nowhere and the film takes several detours to cover characters not really established such as one man who survives a massacre only to face an execution upon returning home.Bondarchuk's usual artistry largely feels missing during the dramatic scenes, shot blandly with flat and bright TV lighting. Bondarchuk himself has a strange cameo as a White Russian general in a banquet scene with no connection to anything else, dubbed by Ted Rusoff to sound like he's totally sarcastic each time he refers to "MOTHER Russia...". Ben Gazzara is often listed in the cast, yet I didn't see him anywhere. Everett and Forest have "okay" chemistry with one another, though the only person who gives a great performance is F. Murray Abraham as the conflicted patriarch of the family. Most of the Russian supporting actors over-act in a cartoonish manner mouthing phonetic English not done any favors by the terrible dubbing.So the point is here to stick with the original 1957 version as it comes off as far more authentic to the time period and source material, and just has a lot more visual and emotional punch. This film almost competes from time to time, though often feels more like a Hallmark TV movie with a couple battle scenes than a big budget epic.

Sachin Jaiswal It is surely a 'masterpiece'. A precious pearl in comparison to today's violence and imaginary(science fiction) films. A treat to watch it. Fortunate enough to watch it on television. Brought tears to my eyes. Cussack hardships in those days are heart-wrenching.Hats off to the producer and director and actors and all those who were part of this great film. A great screenplay, acting, the outdoor locations and photography make it a great film. Certainly it could have won more awards. It will now be part of my collection. Surely will grab a DVD of it if I get my hands on it....................... ....................... ......................... ............................. .................................. ................................ .................................. ....................................

krscot The film follows the fortunes and life of Grigory (Everett), his loves and his family and village by the Don during the period 1914 - early 1920s, bringing out the tragic history of the Don Cossaks, riven by WW1, the Russian Revolution and the Civil War. Grigory, the youngest son, is conscripted for WW1, sympathises with the Soviet revolution, but in the confusion of the Civil War finds himself on the side of the Whites as the Cossaks are divided. This version (the third filmed) features Ruppert Everett, Ben Gazzara and Murray Abrahams, as well as Russian actors. It is 7 hours long, and was shown in 7 episodes on Russian television. It probably does not do the book (often compared with War and Peace) justice and seems to have been cut down with events sometimes seeming a little disjointed, but it does give a flavour of what to expect from reading the book. Despite it's international cast it did not get the international release it deserved. It is available in Russian language on video, in Russia, which is where I got my copy.

drifterrus This version had been locked in an Italian bank's vaults for quite a time but now has been showing to the Russian audience... to its great dismay. Myself and most of the people who have watched the first 3 episodes are not really keen, to put it mildly. The main problem is that it was made expressly for the Western audience in the 1990 and carries mainly a love line (quite schmaltzy at that) and little emotional impact. Great book, a talented director (once upon a time), awful script, lots of factual mistakes, abysmal casting (I LOVE Rupert Everett, but he's really not made for that part). This could be a mini-series of the decade. Instead it turned out to be yet another sub-par Russian-themed drivel. Read the book or turn to Gerassimov's 1957 sublime version - you will not be disappointed. Don't waste your time on this one.