Classics for import: 7 foreign films based on the books of Russian writers

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Foreign directors have repeatedly turned to the works of Russian literature to create their films. Classical writers are popular, but among modern authors there have not yet been found those who could interest foreign cinematographers. And yet I want to believe: talented contemporaries simply have not yet found their director, and they have good film adaptations yet to come.

Leo Tolstoy "Anna Karenina"

This is the most popular work of a Russian author. From 1911 to 2017, the novel was filmed only 33 times, of which 8 films were shot in the era of silent cinema. The first foreign director to shoot Anna Karenina in 1912 was Frenchman Albert Capellani. In 1927, the last silent film based on the classic novel was shot. It was the film "Love" by the American director Edmund Goulding, starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. The film was shot with two finals. The first version with a happy ending and the wedding of Vronsky and Karenina was intended for American distribution, while in Europe a version with a tragic denouement was shown, as in the novel.

From 1924 to 2012, foreign directors shot 10 films based on Anna Karenina, three films each in the United States and Great Britain, and one more each in France, India, Egypt and Argentina. A ballet film of the same name was also filmed in France. In addition, there are 9 more foreign TV series based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy.

Greta Garbo starred in two films based on Anna Karenina - in 1912 in a silent film and in 1935 in a black and white sound film by the American director Clarence Brown. Leo Tolstoy's son Andrey was the consultant for the sound film.

Among the star performers of the role of Anna Karenina are Keira Knightley, Vivien Leigh, Claire Bloom, Jacqueline Bisset, Sophie Marceau, Helen McCrory, Sarah Snook and Vittoria Puccini. Vronsky was played over the years by Fredrik March, John Gilbert, Sean Connery, Christopher Reeve, Sean Bean, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Santiago Cabrera.

Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace"

The novel was filmed abroad only five times, and two opera films were also shot. The first and undoubtedly one of the best films was directed by King Vidor in 1956, the role of Natasha Rostova went to the charming Audrey Hepburn, who considered this work the most difficult in her creative biography, the image of Pierre Bezukhov was embodied by Henry Fonda, and Andrei Bolkonsky was played by Mel Ferrer. The film is a co-production between the United States and Italy. The film deservedly won an Oscar in three nominations, a Golden Globe in five nominations and a British Academy Award in two nominations.

Alexander Pushkin "Eugene Onegin"

The work is quite difficult to create a film script on its basis, but in total the novel in verse was filmed three times. The first silent film was filmed in tsarist Russia, the opera film was released in 1958, and the third was filmed jointly by the United States and Great Britain in 1999. It cannot be said that Onegin by director Martha Fiennes has become a masterpiece, but it deserves attention. True, the heroes do not speak in verse at all, as in the original.

Fyodor Dostoevsky "White Nights"

Fyodor Mikhailovich's story turned out to be much more attractive than Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, or the same The Brothers Karamazov. The charm of this work is fully conveyed by the film of the Italian director Luchino Visconti. True, the action of the film takes place not in pre-revolutionary Russia, but in post-war Italy, and the main characters are Natalia and Mario instead of Nastenka and the Dreamer. Natalia is played by Maria Schell, Mario - by Marcello Mastroianni, and the girl's lover - by Jean Mare.

Boris Vasiliev "And the dawns here are quiet …"

In 2005, Chinese television released a series based on the story of Boris Vasiliev. At the same time, he himself took part in the development of the script, since there was not enough source material for 19 episodes. Chinese director Mao Weining partially borrowed ideas from Stanislav Rostotsky, who shot "The Dawns Here Are Quiet …" back in 1972. The film was shot in three places at once: in Blagoveshchensk, Moscow and Heihe district in China.

Adaptations of Andrzej Wajda

The Polish director had great respect for Russian literature, and therefore could not ignore the works of Russian classics. In his filmography there are two adaptations of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. The first film was filmed in Poland, the second is the result of work in Austria and Germany. According to Dostoevsky, the director made two more films - "Nastasya" based on "The Idiot" and "Demons". In addition to Dostoevsky, Andrzej Wajda in his work turned to Mikhail Bulgakov, filming in Germany the film "Pilate and Others" based on "The Master and Margarita". And in 1961 he filmed Nikolai Leskov's story "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", calling his picture "Siberian Lady Macbeth".

Screen adaptations of Mikhail Bulgakov's works

The works of Mikhail Bulgakov could not be ignored by foreign cinematographers. "The Master and Margarita" was filmed outside our country five times: by Polish directors - Andrzej Wajda and Maciej Voytyszko, in 1972 a joint film "The Master and Margarita", produced in Italy and Yugoslavia by director Andrei Petrovich, was shown in Judea”based on the novel, and in 2005 the short film“The Master and Margarita”was released in Hungary. An animated film of the same name was released in Israel in 2010.

"Heart of a Dog" directed by Albert Lattuada, produced in Italy and Germany, was released in 1976. A Young Doctor's Notes was filmed by Alex Hardcastle in 2012 in the UK. Abroad also filmed at different times "Run", "Fatal eggs", "Bliss" and "Zoykina's apartment".

Screened abroad "Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak, "Lolita" and "Luzhin's Defense" by Vladimir Nabokov, many works by Anton Chekhov and many other authors.

Anna Karenina is considered the most screened work of Russian literature. tried on the brightest and most famous actresses.