Customer Reviews

The Cherry Orchard [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Cherry Orchard is an ensemble piece about a country estate with a famous cherry orchard that is the pride of the province.

It is 1900 in Russia and amid the turmoil of social and political revolution, the family and servants at this little corner of the world are caught in a time warp. It is still Imperial Russia with all the privileges for the wealthy and landed gentry. Time goes by, life goes by, wealth disappears, but these people can't be bothered to notice.

Charlotte Rampling ("The Statement" 2003) is Madame Ranevskaya who returns, with her daughter, from exile in Paris to her estate to be with her lazy brother (Alan Bates, "Gosford Park"), her adopted daughter, and various servants, friends and freed peasants. Like the large old house, their way of life is rotting away. They are broke and the only thing that will save them from poverty is to sell the land, house and orchard to developers. But the are so besotted with the old life they cannot arouse themselves to make a decision on what to do. And of course, they lose it all.

The commentary throughout in the form of asides, laughter and outright contempt, is in the character of the servant Yasha (Gerard Butler,"Dear Frankie"). He serves Madam R, but he gossips about her profligate ways, has contempt for many in the family and takes advantage of the privileges they provide him, including a romp in the orchard with one of the housemaids (Melanie Lynskey,"Shooters"), who he then lectures on her immoral ways. It is a small part, but acts like a Greek chorus to comment on the others.

In the end, the doddering valet of Bates is left alone, locked into this decaying house, two old relics forgotten by the aristocrats and the new bourgeoisie. He says to himself "my life has gone by as though I have never lived. No strings - nothing." He leans back in the chair and dies. These people are so careless that no one makes sure the old man has really been taken to a hospital, although they all talk about it, and Yasha keeps assuring everyone he 'knows' he was picked up. So they all just ride off in their carriages and the woodsmen move into

the orchard and begin chopping down the cherry trees.

The beauty of the cinematography, costumes and piano score of Tchaikovsky music set a mood that is languid and only for those who relish the type of multi-character stories like the recent "Gosford Park." I loved it. 9/10

Two points to make:

First, this adaptation of the play for the screen is absolutely first rate. Some scenes were added at the beginning to help the viewer understand the subsequent action. The rest of this movie was mostly faithful to the Chekov text, although the director took full advantage of not being bound to a stage. The end result is mesmerizing. I really felt as if I were at close hand, watching the characters trying to make sense of their lives and losses. Yes, the action is slow moving, but in the best possible sense.

Second, I have rarely seen a movie where action and soundtrack merged as flawlessly as in "The Cherry Orchard". The incidental music is Tchaikovsky's "Meditation" and "The Seasons" and is played by Vladimir Ashkenazy. One word: superb.

This is a movie that rewards repeated viewing.

Maybe it helps to be unfamiliar with Chekov's work and therefore have no preconceived notions, but I found this British made drama to be absorbing and quietly powerful in depicting the sadness and futility of pre-revolution Russia. The story of a once wealthy family slowly accepting their loss of prestige and slendor blooms like a beautiful but lonely rose, and thankfully the depths of the drama never get very sloppy, sentimental, or even tragic.

This is a study of Russia at the turn of the 20th Century and focuses on the three typical classes of the period. The Russian Aristocracy, The rising Middle Class and the future of Revolutionary Russia are all implied in characters that gather at the estate of Ms. Rampling who celebrates amid the knowledge that the estate will be sold to pay debts. It is a long play and therefore a long movie(137 minutes). You have to be a literature fan to appreciate it and I would not suggest it to anyone who has not read the play or is not familiar with Russian history. Each character is longing for something beyond what is the current reality and it is a story of the death of a way of life and hints at change not necessarily for the better. It is beautifully filmed! It is also very quiet and you have to keep your ear tuned to the conversations. If you love Chekov, you will want to see it but you may or may not fall in love with it.

This is an enjoyable production of Anton Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard', directed by Michael Cacoyannis, who interprets the play as predominantly tragic with very good aesthetic accompaniments like the cherry trees being cut down to signal the end of the era of Russian aristocracy. Chekhov specifically stated that he did not want the play depicted as a tragic dispossession of gentry land but this is Cacoyannis' interpretation of the play. Having said that, Charlotte Rampling gives an excellent interpretation of the neurotic Mrs. Ranevsky, surpassing the performances of Dame Judi Dench and Dame Peggy Ashcroft in the BBC productions of the same character, which did not come across as unstable characters. Alan Bates is an excellent Gayev, denial of impending doom written on his face and apparent in his actions and mannerisms. Chekhov is well-known for his impressionist techniques and allows readers fragmentary glimpses into characters and the actions in the text are disjointed. Cacoyannis attempts to coalesce snippets from parts of the play into continuous action in an attempt at clarity with resulting loss of emotional impact

The tempo is slower than in the BBC productions in line with the predominantly tragic interpretation of the play which creates audience impact favorably without retaining Chekhovian ideals of tragicomedy. If you read Chekhov as pessimistic and with an air of tragedy, this movie is good to watch. If you are attempting to analyze Chekhov as a dramatist, it is useful to compare this production with the two BBC productions of 1962 and 1981. The Judi Dench Collection #The Cherry Orchard [1962 and 1981 versions]/Talking to a Stranger/Keep an Eye on Amélie/Going Gently/Ghosts/Make and Break/Can You Hear Me Thinking?/Absolute Hell#

I rented this movie because of Gerard Butler and he didn't disappoint me. The movie was pretty slow but Gerard cracked me up through most of the movie because he would be laughing through out the movie for no reason I guess. He was young and very handsome. I love the part when someone asked him "Yasha why are you laughing?!" and he answers 'Because I feel like it."...and in another scene when he is laughing he says 'your voice makes me laugh"... he was just so charming and fun in this film. While everyone else seemed depressed. I did like the story. I found it sad when they were leaving the house.

Alan Bates and Charlotte Rampling are wonderful actors, and Chekhov is a great writer and The Cherry Orchard is one of his best plays, but this is a BAD movie. I have seen one very good theater production of The Cherry Orchard in English, so it can be done. This movie, though, is not it. If you love Chekhov, don't see it. If you don't know Chekhov, don't see it.

I remember seeing this film a couple of years ago at a Greek Film Festival.

With such a great cast I expected something special.

Have you ever been to see a film and after seeing it, thought to yourself that there was something really wrong with the film but you couldn't put your finger on it? Well, that's what I feel about this movie. The only saving grace was the splendid cinematography.

There was something seriously wrong with the performances. Somehow the director failed to get great performances from his actors.

It is one of the few films that I was tempted to leave before it finished.

I bought this movie just because Gerard Butler is in the cast but I must say that the whole story is great! It's a different type of movie and it's based in an old bookclassic, which makes it even better. The cast is great, besides the hunky Gerard Butler. Worth seeing.

I enjoyed the DVD, as I have never seen The Cherry Orchard before. I only wish that Gerard Butler would have had a bigger role. As a big fan of Gerard Butler I have seen almost all his movies more than once and will most likely watch the Cherry Orchard again.