Onegin (1999)

In the opulent St. Petersburg of the Empire period, Eugene Onegin is a jaded but dashing aristocrat - a man often lacking in empathy, who suffers from restlessness, melancholy and, finally,... See full summary »

Director:

Martha Fiennes

Writers:

Peter Ettedgui (screenplay), Alexander Pushkin (poem),

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler, Toby Stephens

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	Onegin
Liv Tyler	...	Tatyana
Toby Stephens	...	Lensky
Lena Headey	...	Olga
Martin Donovan	...	Prince Nikitin
Alun Armstrong	...	Zaretsky
Simon McBurney	...	Triquet
Harriet Walter	...	Madame Larina
Jason Watkins	...	Guillot
Irene Worth	...	Princess Alina
Gwenllian Davies	...	Anisia
Margery Withers	...	Nanya
Geoffrey McGivern	...	Andrey Petrovitch
Tim McMullan	...	Dandy 1
Tim Potter	...	Dandy 2

Storyline

In the opulent St. Petersburg of the Empire period, Eugene Onegin is a jaded but dashing aristocrat - a man often lacking in empathy, who suffers from restlessness, melancholy and, finally, regret. Through his best friend Lensky, Onegin is introduced to the young Tatiana. A passionate and virtuous girl, she soon falls hopelessly under the spell of the aloof newcomer and professes her love for him.

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Plot Keywords:

love | friend | horse drawn sleigh carriage | poetry | jealousy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief violence and a sexual image

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

5 February 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anyegin

Filming Locations:

Alresford, Hampshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$8,855 (USA) (17 December 1999)

Gross:

$183,821 (USA) (31 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

7 Arts International, Baby Productions, CanWest Global Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song played at Tatiana's Naming Day feast is "On the Hills of Manchuria". It is not a folk song. It was written in 1906 by Ilya Shatrov, bandmaster of 214 Mokshansky infantry regiment, after tragical events of Russian-Japanese war.

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Goofs

The song played at Tatiana's Naming Day feast - "On the Hills of Manchuria" - could not be played there, as the movie is set in the first half of the 19th century, and the song was written only in 1906 (and named after tragic events of the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905 years).

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Quotes

Tatyana Larina: Am I noble enough for you now?

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Connections

Version of Eugen Onegin (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Mir ist so wunderbar"
from the opera "Fidelio"
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Ingeborg Hallstein, Christa Ludwig, Gerard Unger, Gottlob Frick
The Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Otto Klemperer

User Reviews

A landmark masterpiece, had it been spoken in Russian.

This film is wonderful and beautiful. I was impressed with the amount of user comments, considering the film has not been very popular, and in the Americas, hardly seen, and bashed by critics. It is an almost perfect film rendition of this classic literary work. I recently saw an acclaimed production of the opera Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, and have read Russian literature. This film is a more complete, and captivating experience than the opera or the original verse novel (in translation). However, the true Russian spirit cannot be captured with the entire cast speaking in Etonian British accents. The film should have been released (even in English speaking countries) completely synchronized in Russian (I prefer to say synchronized since the actors in any film are dubbed, the word is very negative, by themselves anyway). Some of the original verses could have been included. The wonderful score by Magnus Fiennes should have been complemented by Tchaikovsky (and not German Beethoven) music, preferably from the newly-popular Onegin opera. With those (very important) revisions, the film would have been the finest example of Russian literature ever brought to the screen.