The Inner Circle (1991)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Andrei Konchalovsky

Writers (WGA):

Andrei Konchalovsky (written by) &
Anatoli Usov (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The true story of Ivan Sanchin, the KGB officer who was Stalin's private film projectionist from 1939 until the dictator's death...

Plot Keywords:

Projectionist | WWII | Josef Stalin | Socialism | 1930s

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Tom Hulce	...	Ivan Sanshin
Lolita Davidovich	...	Anastasia
Bob Hoskins	...	Beria
Aleksandr Zbruyev	...	Stalin
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Prof. Bartnev
Bess Meyer	...	Katya (16 years)
Mariya Baranova	...	Katya (10 years)
Irina Kupchenko	...	Directress
Vladimir Kuleshov	...	Colonel Schelkasov
Vsevolod Larionov	...	General Rumiantsev
Aleksandr Filippenko	...	Major Khitrov
Yevdokiya Germanova	...	Governess
Lyubov Matyushina	...	Sonia Gubelman
Aleksandr Garin	...	Vasily Morda
Mariya Vinogradova	...	Fedosia

Also Known As:

Ближний круг (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Blizhniy krug (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Il proiezionista (Italy)
The Projectionist (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

Italy | Soviet Union | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Numero Uno International

Trivia:

While in Russia, Tom Hulce met with Alexander Ganshin (upon whose life the film was based) to better learn what it was like to work for Stalin.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The movie covers the years 1939 to Stalin's death in 1953. However, it constantly refers to the KGB, an organization that did not come into existence until 1954. Until then the USSR security service was known by a variety of names, most notably the NKVD (Narodny Komisariat Vnutrennykh Del or People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs) between 1934 and 1943. It is this organization that Ivan would have joined in 1939. However, the sign on the NKVD headquarters in the film does read "NKVD" not "KGB". This refers only to foreign versions of movie, because in russian version names are correct. "NKVD" is used in early scenes and "MGB" in '50s.

Quotes:

Stalin: I know everything about everything.

Movie Connections:

Features The Great Waltz (1938)

very depressing!

Unbelievable...that's all that kept going through my mind. How could people treat others so badly? I saw this around Christmas time and it totally bummed me out. Wow, not a film for the holiday season! Basically, if you had any doubts at all about the horror that was Russia's Stalinist era, here is your confirmation. Good Acting, sad, sad story, tragic even, photography excellent (some shots looks so realistic! Of course, some scenes were shot in the Kremlin, supposedly).

Very moving film.