Russkiy kovcheg (2002)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Aleksandr Sokurov

Writers:

Boris Khaimsky (dialogue)
Anatoli Nikiforov (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | History

Tagline:

2000 cast members, 3 orchestras, 33 rooms, 300 years, ALL IN ONE TAKE

Plot:

A 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Russia | Critically Acclaimed | Czar | Herimitage

Awards:

9 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Sergei Dontsov	...	The Stranger (The Marquis de Custine) (as Sergei Dreiden)
Mariya Kuznetsova	...	Catherine The Great
Leonid Mozgovoy	...	The Spy
Mikhail Piotrovsky	...	Himself (Hermitage Director)
David Giorgobiani	...	Orbeli
Aleksandr Chaban	...	Boris Piotrovsky
Lev Yeliseyev	...	Himself
Oleg Khmelnitsky	...	Himself
Alla Osipenko	...	Herself
Artyom Strelnikov	...	Talented Boy
Tamara Kurenkova	...	Herself (Blind Woman)
Maksim Sergeyev	...	Peter the Great
Natalya Nikulenko	...	Catherine the Great
Yelena Rufanova	...	First Lady
Yelena Spiridonova	...	Second Lady
Konstantin Anisimov	...	First Cavalier
Aleksei Barabash	...	Second Cavalier
Ilya Shakunov	...	Third Cavalier
Anna Aleksakhina	...	Alexandra Fyodorovna, Wife of Nicholas II
Vladimir Baranov	...	Nicholas II
Valentin Bukin	...	Military Official
Svetlana Gajtan	...	Museum Custodian
Vadim Gushchin	...	Grandee of Catherine The Great
Kirill Dateshidze	...	Master of Ceremonies
Mikhail Dorofeyev	...	First Card Player
Valentina Yegorenkova	...	Maid of Honor of Catherine The Great
Oleg Yefremov	...	Museum Official
Sergei Losev	...	Court Official (as Sergey Losev)
Vadim Lobanov	...	Lord Chamberlain
Vladimir Lisetsky	...	Court Minister
Aleksandr Malnykin	...	Servant of Peter The Great
Kirill Miller	...	Court Official
Victor Mikhailov	...	Court Official
Sergei Muchenikov	...	Museum Official
Sergei Nadporozhny	...	Court Official
Yuri Orlov	...	Grandee of Catherine The Great
Aleksandr Razbash	...	Museum Official
Vladimir Sevostyanikhin	...	Under-Tutor of the Heir (as Vladimir Sevastyanikhin)
Boris Smolkin	...	Chancellor Nesselrode
Yevgeni Filatov	...	Second Card Player
Yuri Khomutyansky	...	Insane Italian
Anatoli Shvedersky	...	Marshall
Valery Gergiev	...	Conductor
The State Hermitage Orchestra	...	Orchestra
Yuri Ageikin
Alexander Andreev		(as Alexander Andreyev)
Dimitri Alexandrov		(as Dmitiri Alexandrov)
Alexander Alexeyev
Andrey Arshinnikov
Ismat Ashurov
Artashes Aleksanyan		(as Artashes Alexanyan)
Dmitri Bekoyev
Vladimir Belovolsky
Alexander Balonin
Galina Burkina
Suren Vartanov
Sergei Vasilyev
Igor Volkov
Roman Gabriya
Ivan Guskov
Nikolai Gravshin
Konstantin Demidov
Anatoli Dubanov		(as Anatoly Dubanov)
Mikhail Yegorov		(as Michail Yegorov)
Olga Yetseyova
Alexey Yemelyanov
Yulian Zhulin		(as Julian Zhurin)
Dmitry Zelnitsky
Dmiitry Zebrov		(as Dmitry Zebrov)
Arseny Ivankovich
Yefim Ioffe		(as Yefim Yoffe)
Svetlana Kushakova
Tamara Kolesnikova
Olga Kalmykova
Valentina Kasyanova
Yuri Kalugin		(as Yury Kalugin)
Michail Karavayev
Victor Kraslansky
Vladimir Cknat
Valeri Kozinets		(as Valery Kozinets)
Aleksei Krymov		(as Alexey Krymov)
Andrey Kovel
Andrey Letnikov
Mikhail Legkov
Konstantin Lukonin
Konstantin Mukchin
Yefim Malkov
Pavel Novikov
I. Okrepilov		(as Igor Okrepilov)
Irina Osnovina
Ekaterina Polyakova
Yelene Pavlikova
Oleg Palmov
Sergey Remizov
Ruslan Sadykov
Julia Sergeyeva
Vladimir Solovyov
Dzhafar Rasulov
Valeri Smolyakov		(as Valery Smolyakov)
Svetlana Svirko	...	Alexandra Fedorovna, Wife of Nicholas I
Michail Colovyov
Semyon Sytnik
Boris Sokolov
Irina Tychinina
Nikolai Fyodortsov		(as Nikolay Fedortsov)
Valeriy Filonov		(as Valery Filonov)
Darya Khudyakova
Vladimir Chernyshov
Anatoly Chernigin
Ekaterina Shimelyeva
Andrei Shchepochkin		(as Andrey Schepochkin)
Anya Antonelly
Marsha Libova
Ira Lebedeva
Katya Ponomoveva
Anya Penny
Anya Solovyova
Pavel Titov
Polina Uranova
Sasha Shupovaloa
Sergey Agatomov
Alexander Anchukov
Shamil Boltacheyev
Yegor Bakulin
Alexander Bassov
Olga Belyavskaya
Mark Gavrilov
Natalya German-Tzarkova
Yekaterina Gorokhovskaya
Svetlana Gmedina
Anna Gorodko
Helena Gorbunova
Alexander Derzhenov
Maxim Doronin
Yekaterina Drunova
Julia Zhuravlyona
Yury Zagrebnev
Anna Yekaterininskaya
Sergey Yelikov
Sergey Katyashka
Valentin Kuzinetsov
Aleksandr Kulikov	...	Fourth Cavalier
Aleksandra Kulikova		(as Alexandra Kulikova)
Alexander Kulatko
Alisa Kondratyeva
Marianna Kostyakina
Dmitry Lemoshev
Oksana Klotko
Natalya Kadochnikova
Mariya Lavrova		(as Maria Lavrova)
Margarita Lukina
Oksana Merzlyakova
Maria Mescheryakova
Artur Mkrtchan
Alla Oding
Alexander Orlov
Alexey Oding
Kirill Petrov
Rodion Prikhodka
Asya Razhouk
Sergei Romanyuk		(as Sergey Romanyuk)
Andrey Rodimov
Julia Rudina
Yelena Simonova
Vanda Starodubtsova
Irina Ternovova
Alexander Trofimov
Svetlana Ulyanova
Kirill Ulyanov
Tatyana Uchayeva
Alexey Fedkin
Boris Khasanov
Alexander Tsybulsky
Vsevolod Tsarilo
Rasina Tsydalko
Irina Tsyplukhina
Alexander Shaporov
Asya Shirshina
Asya Shibarova
Julia Shubarova
Pavel Yanutsh
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aleksandr Alekseyev
Svetlana Nemirovskaya
Svetlana Smirnova	...	Widow (uncredited)
Aleksandr Sokurov	...	The Time Traveller (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Aleksandr Sokurov

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Boris Khaimsky		dialogue
Anatoli Nikiforov		written by
Svetlana Proskurina		dialogue
Aleksandr Sokurov		writer

Produced by
Oliver Damian	....	line producer: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Andrey Deryabin	....	producer
Victor Gailunas	....	line producer: Hermitage Bridge Studio (as Victor Gailiunas)
Larissa Maevokaya	....	assistant producer: Hermitage Bridge Studio (as Larisa Mayevskaya)
Jens Meurer	....	producer
Vladimir Pliatskovsky	....	assistant producer: Hermitage Bridge Studio (as Vladimir Plyatskovsky)
Andrey Shatilov	....	assistant producer: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Karsten Stöter	....	producer
Christiane Thieme	....	assistant producer: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Tatyana Tverskaya	....	assistant producer: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Alla Tyaglova	....	assistant producer: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Alla Verlotsky	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Sergei Yevtushenko

Cinematography by
Tilman Büttner		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Stefan Ciupek
Sergei Ivanov
Betina Kuntzsch

Casting by
Tatyana Komarova

Art Direction by
Natalya Kochergina
Yelena Zhukova

Costume Design by
Maria Grishanova
Lidiya Kryukova
Tamara Seferyan

Makeup Department
Inna Agapova	....	makeup artist (as I. Agapova)
I. Bashkirova	....	makeup artist
Yekaterina Beschastnaya	....	makeup artist (as E. Beschastnaya)
Irina Braninova	....	makeup artist (as I. Braninova)
L. Chumakova	....	makeup artist
I. Deineko	....	wig maker
G. Finogenova	....	makeup artist
T. Friday	....	makeup artist
Tatiana Gerkus	....	makeup artist (as T. Gerkus)
V. Goncharova	....	wig maker
N. Gorina	....	wig maker
Natalya Grachyova	....	makeup artist
Olga Grebeniuk	....	makeup artist (as O. Grebenyuk)
Tatina Ilyina	....	makeup artist
Vadim Khalaimov	....	makeup artist (as V. Khalaimov)
Iou. Khramtsova	....	makeup artist (as J. Khramtsova)
N. Kolodeznikova	....	makeup artist
E. Kostenich	....	wig maker
Lyudmila Kozinets	....	makeup artist
Yelena Kozlova	....	makeup artist (as Y. Kozlova)
Natalya Krymskaya	....	makeup artist (as N. Krymskaya)
Nadezhda Kuzmina	....	makeup artist
Marina Lebedeva	....	wig maker (as M. Lebedeva)
Klava Malish	....	makeup artist (as K. Malysh)
K. Mamkina	....	makeup artist
Y. Mezerina	....	wig maker
I. Nadeikina	....	makeup artist
Valeria Nikulina	....	makeup artist (as V. Nikulina)
L. Novozhilova	....	wig maker
A. Nudel	....	makeup artist
Tatyana Pavlova	....	makeup artist (as T. Pavlova)
B. Perkatova	....	wig maker
Svetlana Rassokhina	....	makeup artist (as S. Rassokhina)
Natalya Ratkevich	....	makeup artist
Zhanna Rodionova	....	makeup department head
Liliya Rusetskaya	....	makeup artist (as L. Rusetskaya)
Olga Ryzhikova	....	wig maker
Julia Sémerenko	....	makeup artist (as Y. Semerenko)
Olga Shamkovich	....	makeup artist (as O. Shamkovich)
Olga Smirnova	....	makeup artist (as O. Smirnova)
I. Tomilina	....	wig maker
T. Varukhina	....	makeup artist
I. Vasilyeva	....	makeup artist
Yelena Vasilyeva	....	makeup artist (as Y. Vasilyeva)
Tatyana Vavilova	....	wig maker (as T. Vavilova)
A. Yershova	....	makeup artist
Katya Zheleikina	....	makeup artist (as K. Zheleikina)

Production Management
Sergei Beck	....	assistant production manager: Hermitage Bridge Studio (as Sergey Beck)
Benny Drechsel	....	post-production manager: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Katrin Springer	....	production manager: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Mikhail Vavilov	....	production manager: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Maxim Volodin	....	assistant production manager: Hermitage Bridge Studio

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marina Koreneva	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Manfred Arbter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Edgar Figner	....	foley artist
Sergei Figner	....	foley artist (as Sergey Figner)
Sergei Moshkov	....	sound
Vladimir Persov	....	sound

Special Effects by
A. Alexeyev	....	special effects
Y. Epstein	....	special effects
Timur Gordin	....	special effects (as T. Gordin)
M. Khatsarevich	....	special effects
Vladimir Khromov	....	special effects (as V. Khronov)
Anatoli Kudryavtsev	....	special effects (as A. Kudryavtsev)
Vladimir Ponikarovsky	....	special effects (as V. Ponikarovsky)
V. Valeulov	....	special effects
Dmitri Voronov	....	special effects
Yuri Vybornov	....	special effects (as Y. Vybornov)

Visual Effects by
Florian Schroeder	....	film recording operator
Patrick Wilfert	....	Inferno artist
Kai Woytke	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
I. Adartsevich	....	gaffer
V. Amosenko	....	gaffer
Dmitri Amossenko	....	gaffer (as D. Amosenko)
Y. Anoschenko	....	gaffer
A. Antipov	....	gaffer
Kirill Azriel	....	gaffer (as K. Azriel)
A. Bebyakin	....	gaffer
C. Bebyakin	....	gaffer
Aleksandr Belyaev	....	gaffer (as A. Belyaev)
A. Bubnov	....	gaffer
Tilman Büttner	....	Steadicam operator
I. Chernova	....	gaffer
Stefan Ciupek	....	camera supervisor: high definition camera
I. Drozdov	....	gaffer
Bernd Fischer	....	supervising cinematographer
Roman Gafari	....	gaffer (as R. Gafari)
V. Gladkikh	....	gaffer
F. Goncharov	....	gaffer
Konstantin Gurtiev	....	gaffer (as K. Gurtyev)
A. Kaluga	....	gaffer
Konstantin Kankava	....	gaffer (as K. Kankava)
K. Karpovich	....	gaffer
N. Katromin	....	gaffer
I. Khakimov	....	gaffer
S. Kisilev	....	gaffer
Y. Kochan	....	gaffer
S. Kolesov	....	gaffer
F. Korovikovsky	....	gaffer
Konstantin Kostin	....	gaffer (as K. Kostin)
Nikolai Lebedev	....	gaffer (as N. Lebedev)
Y. Lebedev	....	gaffer
A. Lomakin	....	gaffer
M. Lukashin	....	gaffer
D. Lyakishev	....	gaffer
E. Martyanov	....	gaffer
A. Mazur	....	gaffer
Aleksandr Mazur	....	lighting technician
Pavel Olekhnovich	....	gaffer (as P. Olekhnovich)
M. Orlov	....	gaffer
N. Petrova	....	gaffer
V. Polovnikov	....	gaffer
Anatoli Rodionov	....	supervising cinematographer
Andre Schweider	....	focus puller
K. Seleznyov	....	gaffer
Y. Semirenko	....	gaffer
D. Shigapov	....	gaffer
D. Sokolov	....	gaffer
Oleg Tretyakov	....	gaffer (as O. Tretyakov)
S. Urayev	....	gaffer
N. Vasilyev	....	gaffer
A. Verbin	....	gaffer
K. Vinogradov	....	gaffer
Sergei Vinogradov	....	gaffer (as S. Vinogradov)
A. Volokushin	....	gaffer
S. Volokushin	....	gaffer
A. Yermilov	....	gaffer
S. Yerokhin	....	gaffer
V. Zakharov	....	gaffer

Animation Department
Leda Semyonova	....	timing

Editorial Department
Stefan Ciupek	....	digital colorist

Transportation Department
M. Danilyuk	....	driver
A. Gutnichenko	....	driver
Pavel Karachkov	....	driver (as P. Karochkov)
Nikolai Kudryavtsev	....	driver (as N. Kudryavtsev)
O. Kurguzov	....	driver
V. Matyukha	....	driver
A. Mukhrystikov	....	driver
G. Romanov	....	driver
A. Smolyakov	....	driver
A. Tkachuk	....	driver
A. Vsemirnov	....	driver

Other crew
Margarita Afonina	....	stage manager: director's group
D. Aksyonenko	....	helping hand
Oleg Alexandrovich	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
M. Alexeyeva	....	assistant: director's group
Michael Amtmann	....	development support: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Julia Ananjeva	....	production coordinator: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Natalya Andreyeva	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Sergey Androsov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
N. Avraamova	....	assistant: director's group
Dariya Bakhtina	....	assistant: director's group (as D. Bakhtina)
R. Beglov	....	helping hand
Jürgen Biesinger	....	production assistant: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Alexey Bogdanov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Olga Bogdanova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Tamara Bogdanova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
M. Bortova	....	assistant: director's group
Oleg Boyev	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Hans-Jürgen Bubser	....	accountant: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Alexey Chirkov	....	caterer
Oliver Damian	....	head of production
K. Danilov	....	assistant: director's group
N. Dolinina	....	assistant: director's group
J. Dyagileva	....	assistant: director's group
Vyacheslav Fyodorov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Maria Garlova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Ivan Garmanov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Maarit Gentner	....	controller: Egoli Tossell Film AG
Petr German	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
T. Grabelnikova	....	jewelry maker
Aleksey Grigoryev	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Maren Grimm	....	caterer
Natalia Gritsai	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Natalia Guseva	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
V. Guzov	....	assistant: director's group
Berit Harksen	....	accountant: Egoli Tossell Film AG
D. Iskhakov	....	assistant: director's group
A. Istomin	....	helping hand
Anatoly Kanatchikov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Alexander Khozhainov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Jana Kohlmann	....	office management: Egoli Tossell Film AG
N. Kolodeznikova	....	jewelry maker
S. Konovalov	....	assistant: director's group
Marina Koreneva	....	international project coordinator
Olga Kostyuk	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Dmitry Kovkov	....	production assistant: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Svetlana Kozhevnikova	....	stage manager: director's group
Denis Kozinets	....	production assistant: Hermitage Bridge Studio
D. Kulagin	....	assistant: director's group
Irina Kureyeva	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Yevgenia Kvint	....	legal advisor: Hermitage Bridge Studio
M. Leontyev	....	helping hand
Tatyana Leshukova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Anton Logvin	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Marina Lopato	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Igor Lovankov	....	production assistant: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Lidiya Lyakhova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Vladislav Maevskiy	....	production assistant: Hermitage Bridge Studio (as Vladislav Mayevsky)
Eugenia Makarova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Olga Maltseva	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
E. Markova	....	assistant: director's group
Natalia Martynenko	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Konstantin Mashkin	....	office equipment service: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Sergey Matsenkov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
S. Matveyev	....	helping hand
Vladimir Matveyev	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Natalia Mavrodina	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Tatyana Mayorova	....	production assistant: Hermitage Bridge Studio
I. Mazayev	....	helping hand
Dirk Meier	....	harddisk operator
Irina Melnikova	....	stage manager: director's group
A. Nazikyan	....	assistant: director's group
Larisa Nedostup	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Klara Nikitina	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Irina Nikulina	....	stage manager: director's group
Sergey Nilov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Irina Novoselskaya	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Natalia Orlova	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Vasily Ostroverkhov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
O. Pavlovskaya	....	assistant: director's group
Victor Pavlov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
J. Petrova	....	assistant: director's group
D. Petrushkov	....	assistant: director's group
Tamara Rappe	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
S. Romanov	....	helping hand
D. Rutgeiser	....	assistant: director's group
Andrey Samoilov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Sergey Sanin	....	production assistant: Hermitage Bridge Studio
Olga Sazonova	....	stage manager: director's group
Igor Seleznyov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Leda Semyonova	....	continuity
Leda Semyonova	....	scripty
M. Semyonovsky	....	helping hand
Nikolai Sergeyev	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Nina Silantyeva	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Vladimir Smirnov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
S. Snetkov	....	helping hand
Y. Sokol	....	assistant: director's group
Aleksandr Sokurov	....	visual concept
Sergey Taranov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Natalia Titova	....	stage manager: director's group
A. Tkachenko	....	helping hand
V. Tskhakaya	....	assistant: director's group
M. Valeulov	....	helping hand
Dmitry Varygin	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
A. Vasilenko	....	helping hand
Natalia Vasilevskaya	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Galina Vasilyeva	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
A. Vikman	....	helping hand
Jan Vilensky	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Georgy Vilinbakhov	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Tatyana Zagrebina	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum
Yuna Yanova Zek	....	administrator and coordinator: The State Hermitage Museum (as Yuna Zek)
M. Zubkova	....	assistant: director's group

Thanks
Oleg Akimushkin	....	special thanks
Ali Bairov	....	special thanks
Alexey Belinsky	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Anna Bibich	....	special thanks
Dominik Bollen	....	special thanks
Andrey Dzherikhov	....	special thanks: Company HEPRY
Tamerlan Dzhussoyev	....	special thanks
Hans Robert Eisenhauer	....	special thanks (as Hans-Robert Eisenhauer)
Aleksandr Golutva	....	special thanks (as Alexander Golutva)
Peter Goreglyad	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Petra Hartfeil	....	special thanks
Uwe Herpich	....	special thanks
Vera Ishimova	....	special thanks
Nobuo Isobe	....	special thanks
Klaus Keil	....	special thanks (as Prof. Klaus Keil)
Valery Krylov	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Alexander Kulinsky	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Sergey Lazaruk	....	special thanks
Nikolay Lomakin	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Elisabeth Marschan	....	special thanks
Alexander Mityayev	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Nikolay Nagorsky	....	special thanks: The State Museum "Tsarskoje Selo"
Algis Paulavichous	....	special thanks
Olga Preobrazhenskaya	....	special thanks
Sabine Rollberg	....	special thanks (as Dr. Sabine Rollberg)
Andrey Samoilov	....	special thanks: Company HEPRY
Ivan Sautov	....	special thanks: The State Museum "Tsarskoje Selo"
Manfred Schmidt	....	special thanks
Martin Scorsese	....	special thanks: for support
Igor Taubin	....	special thanks: Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops
Alexandra Tuchinskaya	....	special thanks
Sergey Turkin	....	special thanks
Nika Velekzhaninova	....	special thanks: St. Petersburg State Enterprise Tsarkoselsky Fund of Culture Development
Eila Werning	....	special thanks
Meinolf Zurhorst	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• State Hermitage Museum, The (presents) (as The State Hermitage Museum)
• Hermitage Bridge Studio, The
• Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation (in association with) (as Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Department of the Stage Support of Cinematography)
• Mitteldeutsche Medienfürderung Filmboard Berlin Brandenburg (in association with)
• Kulturelle Filmförderung des bundes Filmlörderung Hamburg (in association with)
• Filmbüro Nordrhein-Westfalen Kulturelle Filmborderung Sarhsen-Anhalt (in association with)
• WDR/Arte (in association with)
• Fora Film (in association with)
• Koppmedia (in association with)
• NHK (in association with)
• Seville Pictures (in association with)
• YLE TV1 (in association with) (as YLE/TV1)
• Danmarks Radio (DR) (in association with) (as DR 1)
• AST Studio (in association with)
• Mariinsky Theatre (in association with) (as The Mariinsky Theatre)
• Egoli Tossell Film

Distributors

• Filmmuseum Distributie (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (Argentina)
• Artificial Eye (2003) (UK) (subtitled)
• Celluloid Dreams (France)
• Delphi Filmverleih Produktion
• Filmfreak Distributie (2003) (Netherlands) (video)
• Kinokuniya (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Mikado
• NHK (2002) (Japan) (TV)
• Pandora Films
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2005) (Slovenia) (all media)
• Wellspring Media (USA) (subtitled)
• trigon-film (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD) (subtitles)

Other Companies

• Koppmedia  HD camera equipment
• Company HEPRY  special thanks
• Military and Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communication Troops  special thanks
• St. Petersburg State Enterprise Tsarkoselsky Fund of Culture Development  special thanks
• The State Museum Tsarskoje Selo  special thanks
• director's friend GmbH, Cologne  HDTV capturing

Also Known As:

Русский ковчег (Russia)
Russian Ark (International: English title)
Russian Ark - Eine einzigartige Zeitreise durch die Eremitage (Germany)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Russia | Germany

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:GP | Italy:T | Brazil:Livre | France:U | New Zealand:PG | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Singapore:PG | Chile:TE | Canada:G

Filming Locations:

St. Petersburg, Russia

Company:

State Hermitage Museum, The

Trivia:

Shot in a single take. The first three attempts were cut short by technical difficulties, but the fourth was successful.

Movie Connections:

Featured in In One Breath: Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mélodie antique française Op.39-16

A Mesmerizing, Seductive Trip Through a Fantasist's Russia

Western fascination with Russia -whether the land of the Tsars or the cruel empire of the madman Stalin - is one of our unending cultural fixations. Endlessly studied, painstakingly analyzed, mocked and admired - Russia is a massive, ongoing colossal story. An enigma that never yields its deepest secrets.

Director Aleksandr Sokurov is the voice of the anonymous inquisitor who accompanies nineteenth century French marquis Sergei Dreiden (Sergei Dontsov) on a breathtaking tour of the physical and spiritual Hermitage of St. Petersburg. He has made a groundbreaking, stunning film. Shot from a Steadycam in one continuous over hour-and-a-half stream, the film explores the treasures of one of the world's greatest museums. Equally, "Russian Ark" rambles, without regard for chronological order, through snatches of Russian and Soviet history, each short episode a fantastical peep into a wild, rich, often terrifying but always fascinating world.

In the nineteenth century European travellers, most often men (Charles Dickens, for example) and some women (Fanny Trollope for one) visited and wrote about the two untamed civilizations that beckoned to foreigners and promised adventure and intrigue: Russia and the United States. Count Dreiden, a not atypical Frenchman of haughty self-assurance and ample means, viewed Russians as boorish and their culture a gilt-splendored front for a nearly barbarous land. His book would not have been picked up by a publisher linked to the travel industry.

In "Russian Ark" Dreiden is more muted than he is in print but his unquestioning cynicism comes through as Sokurov captures the imagined journey in one building of a French nobleman through both his time and a future he questions without developing much understanding.

So we have both an Acoustaguide tour of a wonderful palace of culture and myriad treasures and snapshots of everyone from Catherine the Great to Nicholas and Alexandra and their children, including an adorable Anastasia, fated to be one of history's silly mysteries. Noblemen and contemporary sailors, bemedaled officers and bejeweled women, a cultured woman gallery guide and apparatchiks - they all fleet through and interact with the questioning but stolidly biased Frenchman.

How did Sokurov pull off a continuous take through over 4,200 feet of the Hermitage with a cast of many hundreds, gorgeously costumed, without a hitch? Unbelievable! That feat alone propels him into the Cinema Pantheon of Fame. At times I felt like I was drawn into the crowd, especially when they depart a dance to head for a fabulous banquet (the dance band is conducted by Valery Gergiev, the only famous - to Westerners - person in the film). And even though I knew from reviews that Sokurov pulled it off, I kept waiting for the seemingly inevitable "Cut!" following a miscue or stumble.

The hint of intrigue and menace that is so much part of Russia's past and present lurks behind an almost impressionistic front with scenes of one-dimensional gaiety almost but not entirely hiding a complex society. Sokurov teaches and teases simultaneously.

As visual splendor and directorial innovation this is one of the great films of our time. I look forward to owning it on DVD knowing that its magic can never be realized fully outside a theater.

Don't miss this one and see it more than once.

10/10.