During the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.During the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.During the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.
- Director
- Writers
- Robert Cullen(book "The Killer Department")
- Chris Gerolmo(teleplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Robert Cullen(book "The Killer Department")
- Chris Gerolmo(teleplay)
- Stars
- Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 10 wins & 11 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- Robert Cullen(book "The Killer Department")
- Chris Gerolmo(teleplay)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe characters of Fetisov and Burakov were both real people who investigated the actual Chikatilo killings, yet their ranks and positions were changed in the movie. Historically, Major Mikhail Fetisov was sent from Moscow in order to investigate the killings (in the film he is already in Rostov as a Colonel heading the militia) while Victor Burakov was a civilian forensic expert (in the film he is a Police Lieutenant) assigned by Fetisov to head the investigation. There was no Central Committee comprised of Communist Party and KGB men above the two (this was a plot device created for the film to show Soviet bureaucratic methods) and the main reason why the case took so long was that the investigators interviewed over 150,000 people trying to narrow down who the killer could be. The mistaken release of Chikatilo, and the botched blood-semen test, was accurate as it occurred in the investigation.
- GoofsThe film spans 12 years, yet Lt. Viktor Burakov's children don't age.
- Quotes
Bukhanovsky: [to Burakov and Fetisov] Together you make a wonderful person.
- Crazy creditsEpilogue: "The mistake in blood and semen analysis that allowed Andrei Chikatilo to be released in 1984 has never been adequately explained. Soviet Russia's head forensics expert has since asserted that she had discovered a rare new phenomenon--a man with a blood type of one kind, and a semen type of another. Her colleagues around the world scoff at the idea. Chikatilo led detectives to the graves of three undiscovered victims, proving conclusively that he was their murderer, and bringing the final body count to 52 dead. Thirty-five of the victims were children under the age of 17. Andrei Chikatilo was convicted of all 52 murders."
- Alternate versionsThe 1995 UK video release was cut by 37 secs by the BBFC to reduce stabbings during the murder scenes.
Review
Featured review
A film that surpasses all expectations.
This is a truly remarkable piece of cinematic achievement. From the very start I was utterly hooked into the (true) story when Lt. Viktor Burakov (Stephan Rea) weeps while performing the autopsies on the remains of the children's bodies. This then is the compelling story of Andrei Chikatilo, wonderfully played by Jeffrey DeMunn (The Green Mile). In fact, he plays it so well and so sympathetically that the viewer almost starts to pity him, until we remember what he is. The psychiatrist Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky, wonderfully played by Max Von Sydow was utterly believable in every detail, and the point he makes when talking about paranoia in the Soviet Union, is made all too apparent by the behaviour of the local Communist Commissar Bondarchuk played by Joss Ackland. For me though, the outstanding performance was from Donald Sutherland, proving once again what a superb character actor he really is. I was almost in tears when he told Burakov how the FBI had so closely followed and admired his work. This film puts Silence of the Lambs into the shade, from the atmospheric and bleak Soviet landscape, to the superlative performances by everyone involved.
I rate this film 10/10
I rate this film 10/10
helpful•654
- Essex_Rider
- Jan 30, 2006
Details
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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