Dead Souls (1984 film)
{{Infobox television
| image = Dead Souls 1984.jpg
| caption =
| director = Mikhail Schweitzer
| producer =
| writer = Mikhail Schweitzer
| based_on = {{Based on|Dead Souls|Nikolai Gogol}}
| narrator = Aleksandr Trofimov
| starring = Aleksandr Kalyagin
Larisa Udovichenko
Tamara Nosova
Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Vyacheslav Nevinny
Inna Churikova
| music = Alfred Schnittke
| cinematography = Dilshat Fatkhulin
| editor =
| network =
| company = Mosfilm
| first_aired = {{Start date|1984|11|19|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1984|11|23|df=y}}
| runtime = 387 minutes
| country = Soviet Union
| language = Russian
| budget =
}}
Dead Souls ({{langx|ru|Мёртвые души|Myortvye dushi}}) is a 1984 Soviet television miniseries directed by Mikhail Schweitzer, based on Nikolai Gogol's epic poem of the same name. This story has been shared in many different interpretations. In 1930, author Mikhail Bulgakov was commissioned to write the first adaptation of this novel for the Soviet stage at the Moscow Art Theater.{{Cite journal|last=Borden|first=Richard|last2=Milne|first2=Lesley|date=July 1994|title=Mikhail Bulgakov: A Critical Biography|journal=Russian Review|volume=53|issue=3|pages=440|doi=10.2307/131208|jstor=131208}} The 1984 miniseries was based on the 1960 film adaptation directed by Leonid Trauberg, which was inspired the Moscow Art Theater script. This story was also adapted as an opera in the 1980s as an American-Soviet production that first opened in Boston.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/14/arts/review-opera-us-soviet-portrayal-of-gogol-s-dead-souls.html|title=Review/Opera; U.S.-Soviet Portrayal Of Gogol's 'Dead Souls'|last=Holland|first=Bernard|date=1988-03-14|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-06-12|last2=Times|first2=Special to The New York|issn=0362-4331}} The first cinematic interpretation of this work was directed by Pyotr Chardynin in 1909.
Synopsis
This is a small-screen rendering of Gogol's epic poem critiquing the class system in 19th-century Russia by the same name. In this film, main character Chichikov travels through the countryside buying dead souls, or serfs who had deceased. By purchasing the deed to these "property," Chichikov is able to improve his social standing at a discount as these individuals were still accounted for in property registers postmortem and the rights to ownership for deceased serfs was less than that of the living. Dead Souls is a critique and satire of middle class life in Imperial Russia.{{Cite web|url=http://study.com/academy/lesson/dead-souls-by-nikolai-gogol-summary-analysis.html|title=Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol: Summary & Analysis|website=Study.com|access-date=2019-06-12}}
Cast
- Aleksandr Trofimov – Nikolai Gogol
- Aleksandr Kalyagin – Chichikov
- Yuri Bogatyryov – Manilov
- Larisa Udovichenko – Manilov's wife
- Tamara Nosova – Korobochka
- Vitali Shapovalov – Nozdryov
- Aleksei Zaitsev – Selifan
- Viktor Sergachyov – Mizhuyev, Son-in-law
- Maria Vinogradova – Mavra
- Innokenty Smoktunovsky – Plushkin
- Vyacheslav Nevinny – Sobakevich
- Yuri Volyntsev – Alexei Ivanovich, Chief of Police
- Inna Churikova – Lady, nice in every respect
- Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina – Lady, just nice
- Irina Malysheva – Governor's daughter
- Yelizaveta Nikishchikhina – Sobakevich's wife
- Valeri Malyshev – Mikhei
- Aleksei Safonov – Public prosecutor
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0168084|title=Dead Souls}}
- {{YouTube|id=385ezj2KUc8|title=Dead Souls (part 1/5, with English subtitles)}}
- {{YouTube|id=r0ZiEXe5IsE|title=Dead Souls (part 2/5, with English subtitles)}}
- {{YouTube|id=3KrJnSwI5hA|title=Dead Souls (part 3/5, with English subtitles)}}
- {{YouTube|id=H3tF9MHbuvA|title=Dead Souls (part 4/5, with English subtitles)}}
- {{YouTube|id=g_Knf3VF1M8|title=Dead Souls (part 5/5, with English subtitles)}}
{{Mikhail Schweitzer}}
{{Alfred Schnittke}}
{{Dead Souls}}
Category:Films scored by Alfred Schnittke
Category:Soviet television miniseries
Category:Films based on works by Nikolai Gogol
Category:Films based on Russian novels
Category:Films directed by Mikhail Shveytser
Category:1980s Soviet television series
Category:1980s television miniseries
Category:Television shows based on Russian novels
Category:Television shows based on works by Nikolai Gogol
Category:Works based on Dead Souls
{{1980s-USSR-film-stub}}