Archangel (2005) (TV)

Director:

Jon Jones

Writers:

Robert Harris (novel)
Dick Clement (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 January 2006 (Estonia)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A British college professor working in Russia investigates certain mysteries surrounding the life and death of Joseph Stalin.

Plot Keywords:

Russia | College Professor | Murder | Chase | Murder Of Father

Cast

Daniel Craig	...	Prof. Fluke Kelso
Ekaterina Rednikova	...	Zinaida Rapava (as Yekaterina Rednikova)
Gabriel Macht	...	R.J. O'Brian
Lev Prygunov	...	Vladimir Mamantov
Alexey Diakov	...	Suvorin
Harry Ditson	...	Frank Adelman
Tanya Moodie	...	Velma
Avtandil Makharadze	...	Josef Stalin
Anna Gerasimova	...	Anna
Claudia Harrison	...	Louise
Kaspars Zvigulis	...	Young Papu Rapava
Valery Chernyak	...	Old Papu Rapava
Aurelija Anuzhite	...	Olga
Ziedonis Lochmelis	...	Viktor
Jakov Rafalson	...	Moscow Official (as Yakov Rafalson)

Runtime:

Japan:133 min | 124 min (2 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

BBC Drama Group

Trivia:

Icon Productions originally held the film rights to the novel, with intentions to develop it as a Mel Gibson vehicle for the big screen.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Kelso is released from the police station he is given a ride by the Russian intelligence. You can clearly see that he is getting into black BMW 5 series (e-39) but in the next shot he is getting out from a black BMW 7 series (e-38).

Quotes:

Fluke Kelso: Look, actually... I don't want to sleep with you. Although that would be... a very attractive proposition but... I want something else from you.
Zinaida: Whatever you want is still three hundred.

No match for George Smiley

All the old clichés are rolled out early in this adaptation of Robert Harris's spy novel 'Archangel': surly Russians, an arrogant English hero, a garrulous American. There's also a certain amount of expository dialogue: in an early scene, a leading academic makes a speech to a conference in which he makes the dramatic revelation that Stalin was evil. 'Archangel' is certainly no 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', and the thin characterisation makes the early stages tedious to watch. But in the middle, it improves greatly, as a conventional but tautly scripted thriller begins to take shape. Sadly, the ending can't quite deliver on this promise; both because of the risible suggestion that megalomania is an inherited quality, and also because it is surely not (as the film suggests) the worship of Stalin's image that is the real problem in today's Russia, but rather, the social circumstances which make such an absurdity possible. Still, it's always interesting to get a glimpse of the great Russian north on camera, and lead actress Yekaterina Rednikova looks very sexy smoking a cigarette. But overall, this is routine stuff.