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IMDbPro

Hard to Be a God

Original title: Es ist nicht leicht, ein Gott zu sein
  • 19891989
  • 1h 59m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Hard to Be a God (1989)
  • Adventure
  • Drama
  • Sci-Fi
Another planet in the period of medieval times. An employee of the institute of experimental history from Earth, who is send under the name of noble don Rumata of Estor as a spy with a missi... Read allAnother planet in the period of medieval times. An employee of the institute of experimental history from Earth, who is send under the name of noble don Rumata of Estor as a spy with a mission to contact the local resident of the institute, arrives in the city of Arkanar. But the... Read allAnother planet in the period of medieval times. An employee of the institute of experimental history from Earth, who is send under the name of noble don Rumata of Estor as a spy with a mission to contact the local resident of the institute, arrives in the city of Arkanar. But the resident perishes under an unlucky attempt to make a palace coup, and Rumata have to take... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Peter Fleischmann
  • Writers
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(screenplay)
    • Pierre Christin
    • Peter Fleischmann(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Edward Zentara
    • Aleksandr Filippenko
    • Hugues Quester
Top credits
  • Director
    • Peter Fleischmann
  • Writers
    • Jean-Claude Carrière(screenplay)
    • Pierre Christin
    • Peter Fleischmann(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Edward Zentara
    • Aleksandr Filippenko
    • Hugues Quester
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 3 nominations

    Photos24

    Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Pierre Clémenti in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Anne Gautier in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Birgit Doll in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Edward Zentara in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Christine Kaufmann in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Birgit Doll in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Edward Zentara in Hard to Be a God (1989)
    Regimantas Adomaitis in Hard to Be a God (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Edward Zentara
    Edward Zentara
    • Rumataas Rumata…
    Aleksandr Filippenko
    Aleksandr Filippenko
    • Rebaas Reba
    Hugues Quester
    Hugues Quester
    • Surenas Suren
    Anne Gautier
    • Kyraas Kyra
    Christine Kaufmann
    Christine Kaufmann
    • Okanaas Okana
    Andrei Boltnev
    Andrei Boltnev
    • Budachas Budach
    Pierre Clémenti
    Pierre Clémenti
    • Kingas King
    Mikhail Gluzskiy
    Mikhail Gluzskiy
    • Haukas Hauk
    • (as Michail Glusski)
    Elguja Burduli
    Elguja Burduli
    • Baron Pampaas Baron Pampa
    • (as Elgudzha Burduli)
    Birgit Doll
    • Ankaas Anka
    Werner Herzog
    Werner Herzog
    • Mitaas Mita…
    Regimantas Adomaitis
    Regimantas Adomaitis
    • Richard Kondor - a historian and scientistas Richard Kondor - a historian and scientist
    Werner Hess
    Thomas Schücke
    Thomas Schücke
    • Johnas John
    Arnis Licitis
    Arnis Licitis
    • Don Ripatas Don Ripat
    Lev Perfilov
    Lev Perfilov
    • Budach Impersonatoras Budach Impersonator
    Gayle Hunnicutt
    Gayle Hunnicutt
    Aleksandr Boltnev
    • Budachas Budach
    • Director
      • Peter Fleischmann
    • Writers
      • Jean-Claude Carrière(screenplay)
      • Pierre Christin
      • Peter Fleischmann(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The main requirement Strugatsky for the film was the presence of a Soviet director, preferably Alexei Herman, but the director was approved Fleischman. Because of its intractability and serious nature, the Strugatsky stopped monitoring the process of filming and, as a result, they did not like the resulting film.
    • Connections
      Version of Hard to Be a God (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Hard to Be a God
      Written by Grant Stevens

      Performed by Grant Stevens

    User reviews4

    Review
    Top review
    The first film version of the Strugatsky brothers novel
    Recently, Aleski German's adaptation of Hard to be a God, a science fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, hit DVD and Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video. Meanwhile, the first adaptation of the novel has remained obscure and hard to see.

    For those unfamiliar with the novel or its adaptations, the story concerns a planet similar to Earth that is undergoing its own version of the middle-ages. A group of scientists from Earth are studying the planet. To do so, they are living among the people as if they were natives. The scientists are to remain objective, interacting enough with the King and his court to keep up appearances but not enough to upset the time period. When Don Reba, a rising lord, tries to seize power with the help of the church, one scientist finds it hard to remain objective.

    The novel's two film adaptations take very different routes. Aleski German's 2013 adaptation is an art film very concerned with its ambiance. It places the viewer in an unknown world and forces him to decipher it, much like a scientist. This results in a unique, visually striking film but also an often inaccessible motion picture. On the other hand, director Peter Fleischmann's 1989 adaptation is a far more viewer friendly film. It sets up its story and characters in a traditional and easy to follow way. The viewer does not need to be familiar with the source novel to understand the film (something not always true of the Aleski German adaptation). The downside of this approach is that Fleischmann's film seems merely ordinary, unremarkable.

    Fleischmann's adaptation follows the Strugatsky novel fairly closely. I don't remember the peasant revolt taking up so much space, and it certainly didn't play into the climax. I was disappointed by this ending because the scientist Rumata never loses himself in the violence the way he does in the novel. An optimism shines through the ending of Fleischmann's Hard to be a God that is absent from both the Strugatsky and Aleski German versions.

    Another point of contention is that while the Aleski German adaptation seems timeless, Fleischmann's film shows its era. The desert look and stone walled castles remind one of other fantasy films from that decade (Krull; Hundra). The hero in his white wig calls to mind Connor MacLeod in the Scottish scenes from the first Highlander movie. Finally, the 1989 film has an ill-advised ending theme song (in English) whose chorus bears a passing resemblance to Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is."

    Nonetheless, the Peter Fleischmann film is a fair adaptation of the source novel. Fans of the book should be modestly satisfied. Finally,it should be noted that film director Werner Herzog appears at the beginning of the film playing an imprisoned scientist.
    helpful•27
    1
    • jrd_73
    • Jul 19, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 7, 1991 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • West Germany
      • France
      • Soviet Union
      • Switzerland
    • Language
      • German
    • Also known as
      • It's Hard to Be a God
    • Filming locations
      • Crimea, Ukraine
    • Production companies
      • B.A. Produktion
      • Garance
      • Hallelujah Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 59 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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