Admiral (2008)

Director:

Andrei Kravchuk

Writers:

Zoya Coudrie (co-writer)
Vladimir Valutsky (writer)

Release Date:

9 October 2008 (Armenia)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

"Vysshiy sostav" ("The Highest Command")

Plot:

This is a story of a great love facing the greatest drama of the history of Russia.

Plot Keywords:

Admiral | One Word Title | White Army | Sea Mine | Russian Revolution

Cast

Konstantin Khabenskiy	...	Admiral
Elizaveta Boyarskaya	...	Anna
Sergey Bezrukov	...	General Kappel
Vladislav Vetrov	...	Sergey Timirev
Anna Kovalchuk	...	Sofia
Egor Beroev	...	Mikhail Smirnov
Richard Bohringer	...	General Zhannen
Oleg Fomin	...	Nikolay Podgurskiy
Anatoliy Pashinin	...	Rostislav Ognivtsev
Dmitriy Shcherbina	...	Vladimir Rybaltovskiy
Viktor Verzhbitskiy	...	Kerenskiy
Aleksandr Klyukvin	...	Premer-minister Pepelyaev
Fyodor Bondarchuk	...	Kinorezhisser Sergey Fyodorovich
Nikolay Burlyaev	...	Imperator
Olga Ostroumova

Also Known As:

Адмиралъ (Russia)
The Admiral (International: English title) (informal title)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Omsk, Siberia, Russia

Company:

Film Direction

Trivia:

The title uses old Russian orthography, abandoned after the October Socialist Revolution of 1917.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Admiral Kolchak is addressing his troops in November 1918 at the Eastern Front, a variety of flags can be seen in the background, including an American flag that clearly has nine rows of stars. All American flags of this period had just six rows of stars; the US flag didn't contain more than six rows of stars until 1959, when on January 3 a seventh row was added to recognize Alaska's entry into the union, and on August 21 the stars were rearranged in nine rows in recognition of Hawaii's entry.

Movie Connections:

Remade as "Admiral" (2009)

Modern Russian historic movie

When I was about to watch this film I did not bother to read the critical articles in the papers or in the Internet. Initially I looked upon the film as just an entertainment, but the impression turned to be much deeper. What puzzles me is the reaction towards the film in the Russian media. After I left the cinema I was most convinced that "Admiral" is worth almost unanimous public acclaim for this film is an attempt to investigate probably the most complicated and still painful period in the history of Russia. And show this period through the destiny of Admiral Kolchak. According to the Khabensky’s words he was to show not a dictator, but a man in love who has also duties before his country but cannot deny his feelings. That is why "Admiral" though being a historic movie is actually neither about war, nor politics. It is a great and beautiful love story. After "Admiral" I was curious to learn more about the Civil War and the figure of Kolchak. Of course it is studied at school, but in fact what is written in the school textbooks is a total mess of facts and dates. But now the reading is more interesting as I can imagine this distant historic statesmen and thus I get a clearer picture of the Civil War in Siberia. Admiral Kolchak’s life was full of everything one can wish to himself: he discovered new lands in the Arctic Ocean and named them, he knew what it is like to win great battles, he was loved by faithful and brave women, he led enormous armies and gave aspiration to so many people. He was the symbol of honorable struggle. I would say that even dry historic books about Kolchak are as exciting as novels. So his screened biography is also breathtaking. "Admiral" is probably the best modern Russian film.