Schastlivyye lyudi

I have seen both the original four episode version and the subsequent 2 hour documentary(which is an edited film by Werner Herzog).

I believe the two hour documentary captures the highlights of the original production with a much more haunting score, which better reflects the vast isolation, beauty, and simple wisdom of the townsfolk and trappers.

This four episode production is more in depth, since it is almost double the length of the two hour documentary, and it is still very enjoyable. Again, I thought the kitschy piano music was completely out of place. It just didn't work for me.

I saw this production on YouTube, so the image quality was not as good. The images were not as crisp as the two hour version that I saw on Amazon prime. Natural beauty and shots of the river in all its stages throughout the year are stunning.

In case you ever thought, simplicity would not be riveting enough to glue you to your TV., think again!