One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1970)

Director:

Caspar Wrede

Writers:

Ronald Harwood
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (novel)

Release Date:

7 December 1970 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Fly-on-the-wall treatment of an ordinary day in the life of a prisoner in Stalin's Gulag. Closely adapted...

Plot Keywords:

Gulag | Prisoner | Foreign Language Adaptation | Soviet Union | Snow

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Tom Courtenay	...	Ivan Denisovich
Espen Skjønberg	...	Tiurin
Alf Malland	...	Fetiukov
Frimann Falck Clausen	...	Senka
Jo Skønberg	...	Gopchik
Odd Jan Sandsdalen	...	Eino
Torstein Rustdal	...	Vaino
James Maxwell	...	Captain
Alfred Burke	...	Alyosha
Eric Thompson	...	Tsetzar
John Cording	...	Pavlo
Matthew Guinness	...	Kilgas
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roy Bjørnstad
Paul Connell
Sverre Hansen
Wolfe Morris
Kjell Stormoen
Caspar Wrede

Directed by
Caspar Wrede

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ronald Harwood
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn		novel "Odin den iz zhizni Ivana Denisovicha"

Produced by
Howard O. Barnes	....	executive producer
Erik Borge	....	executive producer
Richard M. Pack	....	executive producer
Caspar Wrede	....	producer

Original Music by
Arne Nordheim

Cinematography by
Sven Nykvist

Film Editing by
Thelma Connell

Art Direction by
Per Schwab

Costume Design by
Ada Skolmen

Makeup Department
Nurven Bredangen	....	makeup artist

Other crew
Peter Katz	....	production executive

Production Companies

• Group W Films LLC
• Leontes
• Norsk Film

Distributors

• Horizon International (1971) (worldwide) (all media)
• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony (1988) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Germany:105 min | Norway:104 min | USA:100 min

Country:

UK | Norway

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A | Finland:S (1994) | Finland:(Banned) (1972) | Norway:11 (re-rating) | Norway:12 (original rating) | Sweden:11 | USA:G | West Germany:12 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Black Park Country Park, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Group W Films LLC

Quotes:

[Ivan is told the Communist Party has decreed the sun reaches zenith one hour after noon.]
Ivan Denisovich:Can they even tell the sun what to do?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Casper och den förbjudna filmen (2009) (TV)

The right to see and appreciate

I saw One Day in the theater on its first release. My wife and I were totally enthralled and disturbed by the plotting, realism and impact of this visual story. To this day I recall many scenes: I still get chills, real and literal, when I recall the crunching of the snow and see Nyquist's filming of the boots marching to work in the Siberian cold as the sun rises. Or the prisoner who wears the extra clothes and is punished by having to endure the Siberian night outside.

There may be those who do not not care for this film: Maltin's movie guide describes it as "Another instance where a novel was just too difficult to film," and I could not more strongly disagree. However, sometimes reviews affect decisions on seeing the movie, and, in my opinion, that would be a loss for anyone who appreciates a conscientiously, well made film. So, I recommend that everyone who has not see this film, appreciate its beauty and craftsmanship if you can, but you have the right to judge for yourself, so exercise that right.