Burnt by the Sun (1994)

Russia, 1936: revolutionary hero Colonel Kotov is spending an idyllic summer in his village with his young wife and six-year-old daughter Nadia and other assorted family and friends. Things... See full summary »

Director:

Nikita Mikhalkov

Writers:

Nikita Mikhalkov (dialogue), Rustam Ibragimbekov (dialogue)

Stars:

Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Oleg Menshikov

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oleg Menshikov	...	Dmitriy
Nikita Mikhalkov	...	Sergey
Ingeborga Dapkunaite	...	Marusya (as Ingeborga Dapkunayte)
Nadezhda Mikhalkova	...	Nadya (as Nadya Mikhalkova)
Vyacheslav Tikhonov	...	Vsevolod Konstantinovich
Svetlana Kryuchkova	...	Mokhova
Vladimir Ilin	...	Kirik
Alla Kazanskaya	...	Lidiya Stepanovna
Nina Arkhipova	...	Elena Mikhaylovna
Avangard Leontyev	...	Shofer
André Oumansky	...	Filipp (as Andre Umanskiy)
Inna Ulyanova	...	Olga Nikolaevna
Lyubov Rudneva	...	Lyuba
Vladimir Ryabov	...	Ofitser NKVD
Vladimir Belousov	...	Sotrudnik NKVD

Storyline

Russia, 1936: revolutionary hero Colonel Kotov is spending an idyllic summer in his village with his young wife and six-year-old daughter Nadia and other assorted family and friends. Things change dramatically with the unheralded arrival of Cousin Dmitri from Moscow, who charms the women and little Nadia with his games and pianistic bravura. But Kotov isn't fooled: this is the time of Stalin's repression, with telephone calls in the middle of the night spelling doom - and he knows that Dmitri isn't paying a social call...

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Plot Keywords:

stalinism | year 1936 | soviet citizen | nkvd | uniform | 

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Taglines:

The unexpected arrival of an old flame brings about the sudden destruction of a happy family.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Studiya TriTe [Russia]

Country:

Russia France

Language:

Russian French

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Burnt by the Sun

Filming Locations:

Moscow province, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,616,503

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio Trite, Caméra One, Goskino

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Music used was from the works of the following composers: D. Chostakovich, I. Dounaevski, A. Tsfasman, V. Trofimov, S. Dechkine, Iou Khait (from credits).

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Connections

References The Little Grey Wolf Will Come (1979)

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Soundtracks

Pesnya o Rodine
(uncredited)
Written by Isaak Dunayevsky
Performed by Aleksandr Bashkatov

User Reviews

A masterpiece out of Russia.

"Burnt by the Sun" glides effortlessly, seamlessly though the genres as it tells of a handful of Russian characters who collectively constitute a family of sorts with great humor and drama, poignant and sweetly sentimental moments, and excellence both technically and artistically. What is more, the film's story is interesting, unpredictable, and well told with depth and thoroughly developed characters.

The much which has been written about the politics of the our time, the Oscar award and the bravura with which it was accepted, etc. is much ado about nothing. This is a movie. This is art and entertainment. And, when taken for what it is, "Burnt by the Sun" is truly a masterpiece.