Netflix... pulling one good film after another

Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

For as long as this winning streak continues, I am a happy man...
Tonight it was "Assassin of the Tsar" (Tsareubiitsa) - a 1991 film by an excellent Russian director Karen Shakhnazarov. What would be his best work to recommend, or to expect people to know? Why, "Gorod Zero", of course! A recommendation in itself!
The Assassin is a praise deserving movie from many perspectives. It has star cast, all wonderful Russian actors, and... all of a sudden... Malcolm McDowell. Hmmmm... an interesting combination, and easily one of his best roles. For that alone it should be seen.
The film tells the story of slaughter of the last Russian tsar family by the bolshevicks. And it tells it from an interesting perspective - from the mind of a mental patient, who believes to be their assassin.
A trivial mental case... you say... another tortured soul among all those Napoleons, Cesars, Einsteins etc that every psychiatric ward is full of... true, but the movie has much more to offer. For starters, there is an incredibly true atmosphere of the small town mental institution and the surounding - the scene whith McDowell sweeping the yard is priceless!
The plot quickly develops an intriguing twist, with dreams and reality all intertwined in a whirlpool of characters and events, that would give great food for thoughts to anyone interested in that part of world history. I know I had said that about other films before, but without a doubt some familiarity with the subject would greatly improve the movie's effect and enjoyment.
The Netflix version is somewhat deficient - it is a dubbed one. Given the diversity of actors, I can't imagine how well McDowell sounds in the original Russian, but hearing the familiar voices dubbed poorly was not the star moment... I am sorry to say. So perhaps I will start looking for the original language version, but in the meantime, do not let this obvious shortcoming stop you from taking a look at this dramatic, not easy, but rewarding work!

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Topic - Netflix... pulling one good film after another - Victor Khomenko 18:54:06 01/21/06 (4)

Stop it, please! - tinear 05:09:49 01/23/06 (3)

What a nice position to be in! - Victor Khomenko 05:57:18 01/23/06 (2)

I'd especially like to hear your opinion of Bus 174. nt - tinear 06:41:02 01/23/06 (1)

That one was for some reason not on the list, but I added it. (nt) - Victor Khomenko 08:05:15 01/23/06 (0)

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