Historical drama. Looking for a picture for the evening, purely by chance I went to this historical drama, filmed a year after the end of the Great Patriotic War, and I became curious. And in the end I was not disappointed, and here is my brief opinion - an unequal battle that immortalized the Russian fleet. Since I had no desire to look out for the shortcomings of this picture at all, then you will not hear about them here, there will be fair comments on the technical part, but I will tell you about this later, but for now let me tell you about the expressive advantages of this historical drama.
So, here they are:
1. The topic touched upon - the theme of the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905 rarely visits world cinema, since this war is of interest only to two countries - Russia and Japan, respectively, and no one else will shoot fiction and documentaries on it. This picture was the first to touch upon this topic, and apart from the joint Soviet-Korean film "The Coast of Salvation", then this is all that was filmed by Russia on this topic. Japan in this regard is already far ahead of us, except for the series, the Land of the Rising Sun has shot five art pictures on this topic. Why is there a problem in Russia? Yes, we lost that war, but the heroism and courage of Russian soldiers and sailors cannot be overshadowed by the decision of politicians. The topic is very fertile, so why do our filmmakers procrastinate the Great Patriotic War until they turn blue? As if there had never been anything besides her? Well, about the feat of "Varyag" you can no longer shoot, because this picture shows it well, but the battle of Mukden? Defense of Port Arthur, Tsushima? With modern technologies, with the support of the Cinema Foundation, there are excellent directors and screenwriters. There is only one thing - desire!
2. Anxious expectation - these words can describe the whole mood of this picture. Anxiety hovers everywhere, the expectation of danger, from the very first frame to the famous unequal battle. Surroundings, conversations, and well-chosen music draws in the viewer.
3. Decorations and costumes - I don't think I'll open someone's eyes, saying that the legendary cruiser Aurora starred in the role of the legendary cruiser Aurora (why it's legendary, I hope I don't need to explain, because cultural and educated people), to which they attached another pipe, so that it was practically indistinguishable from the prototype, because both cruisers are from the same series. As for the rest, with a minimum of details, the creators were able to show the life of the Korean port of Chemulpo (modern Incheon), the international situation of that time, the patriotism of Russian sailors and officers. My praise to the creators!
4. Unequal fight - of course now it does not look as exciting as it did in the year it was released, but it gives a certain pleasure. The creators only briefly introduced us to the chronology, so that the layman could understand. But at the same time, it was possible to show, with a minimum of details, the heroism and courage of the crews of Russian ships, their readiness to die for their Motherland, without lowering the St. Andrew's flag. In the finale, a particularly sentimental viewer may even cry, because at the same time it is sad and takes pride for the soul, because with this battle the Russian fleet has written another imperishable page.
A little about the main characters:
1. Captain Rudnev performed by Boris Livanov - the commander of the legendary cruiser. An example of a Russian naval officer, a competent and calculating captain who is not indifferent to the lives of his subordinates. By the way, an interesting fact, for this battle the captain received from the Japanese emperor the Order of the Rising Sun - the highest honor. Boris Nikolayevich skillfully performed this role, and in general the roles of historical figures he turns out to be excellent, it is clear who Vasily Borisovich has such talent for. Bravo!
2. Captain Belyaev performed by Alexander Zrazhevsky is the captain of the gunboat "Koreets", who no less courageously and competently guided his ship during the battle. Alexander Ivanovich got the role of an old sea wolf who cannot live without the sea. Bravo!
And one more thing, I came across a rewired version of the mid-sixties, from which they cut out about ten minutes, which is sad.
Unfortunately, the picture has technical problems, namely the picture that urgently needs restoration, and the sound, which is too loud. Well, re-issues in blu-ray format, you can even look for additional materials so that a new generation of viewers can appreciate this wonderful picture. And how can I finish this review? The answer suggests itself:
"Our proud" Varyag "does not surrender to the enemy,
Nobody wants mercy! "
As a result, we have an excellent historical drama about an unequal battle between the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" with excellent decorations, atmospheric music, and great acting work.
