Die schwarze Katze

The movie is an almost word by word adaptation of the Vayner brothers classic novel "Era of Mercy" - one of the few good book adaptations I ever saw... and also a good reason why word by word adaptions don't work --> The novel being 350 pages long, the movie turned out at just over 5 hours, broken into 5 series... the original theatrical debut took 3 daily shows... the streets of Russia were empty during the screenings and zero crimes were recorded throughout the country - all the criminals were busy watching the movie. The movie is still shown approx twice a year on Russian TV channels...

So, why do so many people like it? Or, to be more exact, what makes it such a great film?

The "core of the film" - the detective story is excellent, unpredictable, yet logical. The attention to the details of the late 1940's criminal and civil environment is incredible... Sharapov's personal life, and love interest, rather then being just filler between the investigation scenes, do a lot to show us what Volodya is fighting for and what he stands to lose. The film is chalk full of quotes that remain popular even to this day. And, of course, Visotzky...

Every time I see this movie I feel a sharp sense of loss, due to his untimely death... I feel that I should have seen him perform on stage, I film I should have heard what kind of songs he would write when he reached 50, what kind of movies he would enchance with his presence...

Vysotzky isn't the natural casting choice for the the novel's Jeglov. If the film was filmed in the US, a Brian Dennehy type of actor would probably be cast for the role... But Vystozky takes the role of Jeglov, and makes it thoroughly impossible to imagine anyone else in that role...and, as his second to last role, Jeglov defines him...

While the novel ultimately condemns Jeglov's methods and personality, the movie Jeglov remains sympathetic even after we have seen the uglier side of him... not because Vysotzky downplays it, but due to his sheer charisma and force of personality...

Great movie overall, one worth watching time and time again.

Detective. The film adaptation of the novel by the Weiner brothers "The Era of Mercy", they also acted as screenwriters. And since I haven't read the book, I rate the series as an independent work. So I decided to review this epoch-making and popularly beloved detective series by all citizens of the former USSR, and at the same time write a review, because it deserves it. Before watching, I heard a lot of "winged" phrases and was a little familiar with the images of the main characters, and of course I saw some scenes, but I saw it all completely only in 2016. And here's my brief opinion - Zheglov and Sharapov against the "Black Cat". I will note right away that there are no shortcomings in the series, but there are several jambs that do not affect the final assessment, and which I will describe in a separate paragraph, but for now I will focus your attention on the expressive merits of this masterpiece of Soviet cinema.

So, here they are: 1. The scenario is 1945. Moscow. The Great Patriotic War has just ended, and a former front-line soldier, scout and medal-bearer, senior lieutenant Vladimir Sharapov, is being sent to work in the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department (MUR). He will have to, together with his boss, Captain Gleb Zheglov, eradicate crime, which has multiplied over the years of the war, and now has also been replenished by front-line soldiers. But a special place in the everyday life of police work is occupied by the daring gang "Black Cat" (copied from the real gang of Ivan Mitin), which keeps the whole of Moscow in fear and whose raids are distinguished by audacity and victims. Therefore, Sharapov and Zheglov, people so different in character, will have to solve many crimes and neutralize the "Black Cat". It's not worth talking about "winged" phrases, because everyone knows them. Charismatic and prescribed characters, interesting dialogues. Fans of detectives cannot but admire this masterpiece, which reveals the work of the Soviet police in many details. And the finale (made at the insistence of the Soviet government) will make you cry and rejoice at the same time!

2. The atmosphere is post-war Moscow. Posters of that time and still remaining from the time of the war are everywhere. Everywhere front-line soldiers with iconostases on their chests, men and women in tunics and overcoats, war invalids on the streets, people's aspirations and the joy of victory, and against this background commercial restaurants with sky-high prices when the country lives on a card system, thieves' raspberries with whole food warehouses, bandits and thieves who have not put on orders and medals they won in battle, the monstrous cruelty of bandits, the unsettled former front-line soldiers. This is all the truth of life, which is perfectly shown in this series. Yes, only for the atmosphere this masterpiece deserved praise!

3. The scenery, the costumes - the scenery were made at the Odessa film Studio, and the full-scale filming took place in Moscow, and very thorough, because Moscow of the seventies was very different from Moscow of the forties, so the creators had to work almost jewelry, so as not to destroy the atmosphere (there were mistakes, but more on that below). The costumes correspond to the era one hundred percent, especially the uniform of the police, and the everyday wardrobe of the inhabitants of the country.

4. Music - the composer Evgeny Gevorgyan was responsible for it, and he did an excellent job, because the music from the series became no less iconic than the phrases of the characters. There is not a lot of music itself, but it is competently written into the narrative and with its presence emphasizes important points of the story being told.

5. Bright heroes - I will tell you about the main operatives later, but the secondary characters are no less interesting. Larisa Udovichenko as Manka Bond, Leonid Kuravlev (alas, who left this world quite recently) as Smoked, Stanislav Sadalsky as Brick, Yevgeny Evstigneev as Petka Ruchechnik. I'm not talking about Armen Dzhigarkhanyan in the role of the Hunchback. There is not a single "passing" character here, everyone is remembered for something, and clings to the viewer, even if this character has only a few replicas for the entire series. And I also remember Zinovy Gerdt and Viktor Pavlov as the bandit Levchenko.

The scenes of fights, chases and shootouts will now seem completely stupid to boring people, but the actors did all this themselves, and now these scenes look good.

Now about minor shoals. Blunders with a microphone, cars from the "future", minor blunders with paper. All these are such little things that just drown in the sea of those advantages that I listed above.

A little bit about the main characters: 1. Captain Gleb Zheglov, played by Vladimir Vysotsky, is the head of the anti-banditry department in Moore, Sharapov's boss, who teaches a novice the subtleties of a policeman's work, sometimes using deception to catch criminals, but always succeeding. He has a very difficult character, which he has acquired over many years of service. Bold, impulsive, sharp-tongued. But at the same time, I am always ready to come to the aid of my neighbor, colleagues, ordinary citizens of a huge country. Maybe he will be put under bullets, he does not hide behind the backs of colleagues, for which he has a lot of respect from them, and even in good standing with his superiors. Well, who else could play such a controversial, but good policeman, if not Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky, who at the time of filming was already terminally ill, but despite this he found the strength to play Zheglov and thus he went into immortality. Bravo Vladimir Semyonovich! Bravo!

2. Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Sharapov, performed by Vladimir Konkin, is a front-line soldier, scout, company commander with a whole iconostasis of orders and medals, sent after the war to the MOORE, where he has a lot to learn. At first, he does not agree with his boss Zheglov in any way, but the common cause, as they say, unites. Behaves with detainees more friendly and humane than Zheglov, with all his perseverance trying to delve into the police work. Although he still remains in the shadow of the charismatic Zheglov, because Sharapov is modest, silent, but when necessary, he will definitely say his word. Vladimir Konkin was no less convincing and good in his role than Vladimir Vysotsky, so well-deserved applause!

This series deservedly has a cult status, and all modern Russian series are equal to it (even "Liquidation" could not avoid this), although Gleb Zheglov himself is clearly written off from the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, only with a touch of Soviet flavor.

And I also remember the dreams and aspirations of this generation that won the most terrible war in the history of mankind. They dreamed of a better life for their descendants, it's not for nothing that the novel is called "The Era of Mercy". Eh! If they knew what would happen in thirty years ... As a result, we have a masterpiece detective series about Moore's work, with an excellent script, great music, a chic atmosphere and great acting!

My rating is 10 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!

This film is a masterpiece of the Soviet cinema, comparable to the role "Godfather" has been playing in the American culture. In addition to the brilliant performance by Vladimir Vysotsky, this is an all-star movie with the best Soviet actors of the 70s--80s: Udovichenko, Evstigneev, Kuravlev, Yurski, etc. With its level of dramatism and realistic depiction of Russia of the 40s, the movie is a artistic monument to the WWII generation.

When I was a kid and we were playing hide and seek on the street, one of us would rush around eight o clock and find out what movie plays on TV. If he or she came out and shout "Russian movie!", we were making like a "bleah..." and continue play until dark. If a movie with John Wayne or an American movie of any sort was playing we all rushed into our homes to watch it.

Now, after thirty years or more, I rediscover part of this Russian movies, some of them magnificent, which Romanian TV was broadcasting , and I have to, I feel the need to make justice to them, even in this small way, writing a review on IMDb.

And, to be honest, when I watch right now, let's say "High noon" or a western, I am not impressed at all. But this happens with time, you become wiser and justice and true value surface eventually in your life. Dear friends, this is the single most perfect TV series about criminal police in history, and I don't need to say more. It seems written by a great Russian novelist, and I said it all.

This film (actually a series) is one of the best the Russian cinema has to offer. It cannot compare with the works of Eisenstein or Tarkovsky but it is an above average work of art. The fact that it is more that 4 hours long does not hinder it a bit. There are several superb performances including one by the late Vladimir Visotsky.