The Sea Gull (1968)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Anton Chekhov (play)
Moura Budberg (adaptation)

Release Date:

22 October 1969 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's story of life in rural Russia during the latter part of the 19th century...

Plot Keywords:

No Music | Animal In Title | Based On Play

Cast

James Mason	...	Trigorin, a writer
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Nina, a landowner's daughter
Simone Signoret	...	Arkadina, an actress
David Warner	...	Konstantin Treplev, her son
Harry Andrews	...	Sorin, her brother
Denholm Elliott	...	Dorn, a doctor
Eileen Herlie	...	Polina, the bailiff's wife
Alfred Lynch	...	Medvedenko, a schoolteachter
Ronald Radd	...	Shamraev, the estate bailiff
Kathleen Widdoes	...	Masha - His Daughter

Also Known As:

Chekov's The Sea Gull (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:G | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Europa Studios, Sundbyberg, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Sydney Lumet Productions

Trivia:

Last film of Eileen Herlie.

Movie Connections:

Version of "BBC Play of the Month: The Seagull (#13.4)" (1978)

Highly recommended

I am Russian and this is almost the best "Seagull" I've ever seen. Period.

Everything looks lively and natural. Sometimes Chekhov's plays when staged give you a sense of irreality and feel unnatural, but Lumet's "Seagull" really can make you feel the essence of Chekhov's drama and even explain its popularity if Chekhov is not your favourite writer. Costumes and everything else - houses, furniture etc. - are beautiful and authentic, something you rarely can expect from an American movie about Russia. The only real disadvantage, to my mind, were love scenes in the first part of the movie, - they were absolutely out of place here and presumed a reading of certain scenes the author never thought of.