2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy film of a great novel...., October 11, 2008
This review is from: Crime and Punishment / Prestuplenie i Nakazanie (DVD)
This is a masterful adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel, a film worthy of one of the greatest books ever written. It's also nice to see in it an excellent, widescreen transfer on DVD after seeing it in horrendous, white on white subtitled VHS versions for years. It's a difficult film (much like the novel itself). It's long (nearly 4 hours), very deliberately paced, very cerebral (it is Dostoyevsky, you know), but it's brilliant, and I really feel it's the best way to tell the story on film. There really is no way to make Dostoyevsky "fun", you know. There are many great performances, but the kudos have to go to the actor who plays Raskolnikov. He's absolutely perfect in the role. He's dark, brooding, scary, yet deeply human. All of the performances are brilliant here, especially the ones portraying Sonia and her father. If you really like the book, I suggest you watch this film. It's one of the best adaptations ever filmed.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice adap. of Crime and Punishment, October 11, 2008
This review is from: Crime and Punishment / Prestuplenie i Nakazanie (DVD)
I got this version because I figured that who can do better an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's work then a Russian film maker? I thought I was pretty much right on that.
I thought that the main actor did a beautiful job at playing Raskolnikov. As much as I remember from the extra info on the third DVD, Georgi Taratorkin was a young actor at the time, he just came from a theater school. He pretty much was Raskolnikov; He was cast well because he looked to be the right age, had the right attitude, and his looks were pretty much like I thought they should be. Maybe the actors looks and his performance made me like this movie more then for anything else; so beware of that.
Yes, its a long film, but I think its worth it because it's as similar to the novel as you can find. The director makes a great effort in fitting all the important scenes in the film. He really is able to show the atmosphere and he understands the novel. He gives the characters time to grow, and the characters don't seemed rushed, especially Raskol. The audience follows him and sees the changes in his mood and behavior. The scenes are simple, but look as gloomy and dirty as you would expect or think they would look like while reading C&P. For ex: Raskolnikov's little coffin room, is perfect. The way I saw it, maybe even smaller and less comfortable then I thought. The scenes do feel like you are watching a theater act because there is a lot of dialogue, (which I was looking forward to in the first place because I loved the speeches in the book delivered by the diff. characters), and the actors are standing around in simple backgrounds.
Con:
The movie is long, and the music is not that great, but it fits the movie. It might also be annoying to read the subtitles to understand what is going on.
What I can only say is that the ending doesn't include the epilogue, but the ones who are interviewed to go into more detail, explaining the reasons it wasn't included, so i dont blame them if they thought it wouldn't work. Some people dont even like it anyway.
The first and second discs are the movie. The third disc is the extra material.
I can tell you that you will be disappointed in the extra stuff if you are looking for something fancy. There are a few things on that disc that i just don't get lol. However, there are two good interviews that I think are worth listening to. I wish that the main characters were interviewed, but that didn't happen :(. There are also a few funny extra materials, showing the actors mess up their lines. Georgi is pretty funny.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Coffin Without a Body, January 9, 2009
This review is from: Crime and Punishment / Prestuplenie i Nakazanie (DVD)
"Atmosphere" isn't enough in a cinematic transcription of Dostoevsky's great philosophical/political novel, but it's all you get in this four-hour black-and-gray snoozer. I'm astonished that other reviewers have praised it. I ordered it on their recommendations, but never have I been so disappointed. There is not a single indication in this film of Raskolnikov's thinking before his crime, or of the intellectual ferment in mid-19th C Russia, the potting soil from which C&P sprouted. Even Dostoevsky's religious message is cast aside in the film-maker's lugubrious effort to include every bit of the "story" without even a hint of the ideas.
There's also a problem with the technology. If you choose the English dubbing rather than the original Russian with English subtitles, the film flip-flops from English to Russian every three or four 'chapters'. If you choose Russian over dubbed English, and depend on the subtitles, you'll find it hard to read them fast enough while also keeping an eye on the actors. It's a botched job of editing all around. Skip it. Read the book, and if you read it years ago, read it again.
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