The Master and Margarita (English subtitles). Part 7 (4/5)

[Fergie10rock]

did they run out of clothing for the woman or something but anyway its a great movie <3 love it

[2784035159]

Ball at Voland's.

Margarita is wearing the crown of thorns (Jesus's death symbol), fetters (orthodox rule for fools- for- Christ) and catholic inquisition boots, all made of iron. She agreed to suffer in order Voland agreed to help the Master.

[vicodinandcigarettes]

...why don't the women get clothes?

[GrexornasTid]

ABSOLUT MAGNIFICENT GENIAL LOVE IT - AWESOME

[NathalyVAinshtein]

...The Master and Margarita.....een bookje van mijn vroege jeugd!

When the Master sees that Pilate is finally able to ascend the path of moonlight with Banga... It is significant that Woland suggests listening to the music of Franz Schubert. He set several of Goethe's poems to music, including one of Faust. Schubert suffered from depression, and melancholy and suicide are themes he used often in his music.XXX

[silverbud]

Since Bulgakov I am no longer afraid of hell, where I, according to catholic dogmatism, will be certainly end in. ;-)

[more1and1more]

@silverbud: Well, truth be told, the hell shown in the Bible is absolutely different from the hell depicted by Bulgakov.

[papovitch1]

@silverbud hm... it's not hell, it's the most important deamons who are shown in the "story". Hell is where evryone is suffering for that all the high deamons can have some fun...

[YourBlackNight]

Очень люблю эту книгу и считаю ее одним из самых главных произведений, изучаемых в курсе школьной литературы. Фильм же тоже великолепный, а этот эпизод - самый главный во всем фильме.

[TrotskyL]

@YourBlackNight I am so glad to know that there are so many poklonnikov Bulgakova! Here in the US, most people neither understand nor appreciate nor seem to be even capable of doing either as regards "Master and Margarita." I read this book many times, and each reading marked yet another level of intellectual awakening.

[Angelinak26]

ME encanta la musicaaa!

[moonpianolady]

haha.. I UNDERSTAND all what they're talking about.. because i am russia.. hihi.. i can russia-language..

[GrexornasTid]

MAGNIFIQUE

[BelNatalya76]

I heard, that Bulgakov had described this ball being impressed by reception at the American embassy :)

[pietroerperugino]

Very good and faithful version of an untouchable masterpiece of Russian literature.

I also wondered, and I dare to make make a question, if you don't mind: would the song "In the Dark of the Night" from Anastasia, sung by Woland and followed by his henchmen, fit well for such an opulent Grand Ball?

[BelNatalya76]

I agree with you, in the cartoon Rasputin has really so much in common with the Devil. But that music is too fast for devilish surrounding. Our centuries for them are like minutes and their music must be namely majestic as shown here.

[AnnaPresman]

The ball is probably the best part of the book and series. That, and the epilogue.

[TheElMendigo]

The magic show is pretty great as well

[Dzhu19]

kOROLEVA V VOSHIWENII ))

[bohun28]

Good Lord!!

Special effects that I could do on my PC, a child in a monkey suit as Behemoth and what's with the iron shoes? Wasn't Margarita naked in the book??

[AnnaPresman]

I just checked the book :) - there were shoes, but they were made out of rose petals, apparently. She had a crown and a very heavy necklace.

[bohun28]

What is the point of such changes I wonder?

Iron shoes instead of rose petals.

An old man as Woland instead of a relatively young-to-middle aged gentleman.

Do the screenplay writers actually believe they can outdo Bulgakov?

[TheElMendigo]

oh shut up

[bohun28]

Screw you!!

This is a book I happen to love!!

And the changes they made for the movie were totally unnecessary and took away from the book a lot of what made it wonderful!!

[TheElMendigo]

whatever, but a few minor changes don't mean that the screenplay writers think they are better than the author of one of the best books ever. they are extremely true to the book. just stop whining.

[bohun28]

Well why make the changes then? Unless they believe that the changes make the story better?

Would they make the changes to specifically try to make it all worse??

Therefore they must think themselves better, they are after all "improving" the story no?

As for whining...if I see one of the best books ever written being massacred, just so things look "prettier" or whatever on screen, I will complain. And if you don't like it then I guess that's tough luck for you buddy.

[bohun28]

And the changes are not minor.

Turning Woland from a young-middle aged man into a wrinkled old grandad with grey hair is not a minor change...bear in mind that in the book there are references made to the fact that women find him desirable, he spends some time half naked etc...great look for an old man.

And as for changing little details, such as the shoes etc...well the beauty of such books is in the detail. If you're going to change those then you may as well set the movie in 2009 as well!!

[TheElMendigo]

if it irritates you so much, then why don't you stop watching it, go to your room or whatever, write a letter to the producers and tell them that you want them to make a new series in which every minute detail is present, from the nature of margarita's shoes to the number of eyelashes that woland has. give them a break, they did a great job and they certainly didn't massacre it. But, I guess there's always people like you who just like to complain.

[bohun28]

Now it's you who's whining away about my critique...quite ironic.

I don't care to write to any producers, and I did indeed stop watching this rubbish because it was unwatchable. B-grade crap, with bad acting and no budget by the looks of things!!

[TheElMendigo]

also, in case you didn't know, oleg basilashvili is a respected and famous russian actor. maybe they picked him because he was best for the job. i think he did it very well.

[bohun28]

I don't care if he is well respected or famous.

It is like saying that Tom Cruise should play Santa Claus because he is famous and respected. Or that Mel Gibson should play the Emperor of China!!

Stupid argument. Being respected or famous does not make you right for every role. In this case he was wrong for the role. And actually he played it in a particularly wooden and pretentious manner, again very different from the Woland in the book.

[TheElMendigo]

i did no whining actually, all I was doing was pointing out that you are a moron and that you should stop complaining about what is a very well done series. as for special effects, would you prefer it were done by hollywood and that explosions were put in every scene? the effects, aside from some scenes where they are cheesy, are just fine and not blown out of proportion which is good. watch any tv miniseries, almost without exception they dont have top notch special effects

[TheElMendigo]

also, comparing oleg basilashvili to tom cruise or mel gibson is stupid. he is considered one of the best russian actors unlike mel gibson or tom cruise(who is at best a mediocre actor). you may not have liked his performance, but keep it to yourself. go find a "master and margarita tv miniseries sucks" forum and post it there. if you at least had some valid arguments then maybe, but you are complaining about stuff that has no actual outcome on the end of the story.

[bohun28]

Well in such a case I feel sorry for the condition of Russian acting. If he is an example of what is considered really good I would hate to see what they consider mediocre or bad.

And I'll post my opinions wherever I like. I live in a country where free speech is encouraged, and a genuine right. You don't like what I have to say, so I suggest you stop reading it.

[bohun28]

And all I was doing is pointing out that this is a poorly done series.

You're a bit of a hypocrite if you call that whining and then turn around and say that you're not whining about what I have written.

And on top of that you're clearly 12 years old if you have to resort to personal insults.

[more1and1more]

(1) bohun28, I am Russian and since I was closely following the production of this movie, perhaps, I can say here something that may answer your questions. The director of this movie, no matter how strange it may sound

[more1and1more]

(2) to you, didn't have an absolute freedom here. Sponsors had a great deal of influence on the choice of actors, as well as on some minor details in this movie. The director of this film later said that he literally had to fight

[more1and1more]

(3) for some details to be preserved. However, TheElMendigo is absolutely right in saying that Oleg Bassilashvilly is a very well-respected and famous actor in Russia. Russians do like him way more than Mel Gibson or Tom

[more1and1more]

(4) Cruise. There is nothing bad about it, as Russians like their culture and their nation very much and, of course, Russian actors would be the first ones to be to their liking. The choice of Oleg Bassilashvilly for the role of

[bohun28]

Of course Russians have a right to be proud of their culture (and within this especially literature, since there are so many great Russian writers)...

To be perfectly honest I am shocked that Oleg Menshikov was not chosen for this role, since he would have been perfect for it!!

[BelNatalya76]

Thank you for such words, pleasant to hear.

[more1and1more]

(5) Voland was quite unexpected even for Russians, but the majority of Russians did like this move, though, as well as Bassilashvillys acting in this movie. Even though, this movie gets more and more acclamation outside

[more1and1more]

(6) of Russia, the movie originally was targeted at the Russian audience, so its normal and natural that some small changes in details are not understood by English-speaking audience. Its just like I will surely not

[bohun28]

I am not typical English-speaking audience, having been born in East Europe.

Generally I like Russian movies ("Burnt by the Sun" is one of my favourites), and I have found Russian acting to be quite natural and realistic.

But in this case I found the role of Woland was played in a really wooden manner. Too serious, too "old man" and not enough like he was described in the book.

[BelNatalya76]

The movie director first invited the other actor - Oleg Yankovsky, but he refused and said that's unfortunate role. I'd say he's perfect Woland. He died some months ago. You can see him in new movie Tsar, probably soon it will be posted here on Youtube.

[bohun28]

After reading what you wrote I was very curious, I had not heard of Oleg Yankovsky before (he is not known in the West and I have not lived in Eastern Europe since I was a child)...I found out some information about him online, including the fact that he was born into a noble family of Polish stock, which made me quite happy, since I am Polish, and it is nice to have this link to this fantastic Russian actor. I say fantastic because I found the Russian version of "Hound of the Baskervilles"...

[bohun28]

...in which he played Stapleton. Well first of all what a wonderful, incredibly natural, actor...without a doubt the best part of the movie!! Well Nikita Mikhalkov was also in it, and wonderful as ever, but even he wasn't as good in my opinion.

Secondly, I found it strange how closely he resembles the French actor Vincent Cassel...in a slightly diabolical way. Finally, the way he looks is almost exactly the way I actually imagined Woland when I read the book!!

[bohun28]

So I think it is a real shame that he did not take the role of Woland. I think his appearance, very naturalistic, relaxed acting, and that slightly diabolical spark in his eyes would have made him the perfect Woland!!

As for age, he was not so young either but he looked a lot younger than Oleg Bassilashvilly, and with some hair dye it would have made him look even younger. And anyway, Woland was not a young man strictly speaking.

So thank you very much for introducing me to this fantastic actor!

[more1and1more]

I agree with you. I really like watching "Hound of the Baskervilles" when I was a boy. It was just so riveting at that time. On one hand, it was like the first horror movie that we could see on the soviet screen, and, on the other hand, it was like an act of diving into those days of old good England - something we could do only in books during the Soviet era.

[more1and1more]

(7) understand all the things in a movie made in any English speaking country.

[bohun28]

My point regarding Oleg Bassilashvilly was not that he is a bad actor, or that Tom Cruise/Mel Gibson are better actors. I was only saying that certain actors are appropriate for some roles (Mel Gibson, a White American, would not be an appropriate choice to play the Emperor of China right? Or Tom Cruise, a thin young man, to play Santa Clause.)

The same here with this movie. The character of Woland, in my opinion, cannot simply be changed to this extent, it messes with the story too much!

[TheElMendigo]

the difference is that, while Woland's appearance may be important to the reader and certainly has some relevance in regards to his attractiveness and such, however, as I said, it effectively has no outcome on the end of the story. in the book woland is not a particularly emotional being, so I believe, even though he doesn't resemble him in the least, Oleg Basilashvilli does a good performance even if it is "wooden" as you put it, that is the way it was intended to be.

[bohun28]

Perhaps not particularly emotional overtly, that is true, he does not fly into a rage nor does he dance around laughing like a fool or anything quite so obvious.

But in the book it is clear that he does have a spark of energy in him as well as a dark humour, whereas Basilashvili had none.

So his appearance is different in the movie, for no good reason, and his portrayal is, I feel, untrue to the book.

[TheElMendigo]

i thought he was perfect during the magic show

[bohun28]

Well that is one scene where all Woland does is sit and watch. In the book he really takes no active part in the magic show and eventually vanishes.

Not much acting required for that really.

[TheElMendigo]

however, all the comments he makes are perfectly delivered

[bohun28]

There isn't much point continuing.

We're not going to convince each other of our point of view. You see him as a good choice, I see him as a poor choice (but in this I also understand that he was not the first choice, so considering that fact I agree he may have been the best choice of what was available).

I think whether or not we agree on this movie we will agree that the book is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. So I think we should leave it at that, and end arguments.

[TheElMendigo]

Yes, on that we can agree.