Il Maestro e Margherita

OK i read this book and was curious to see the movie to see what they would.

I had seen many Russian series before this and was generally unimpressed as i think they spent all the money on the cars and not anything else.

Furthermore Goblin and a few other reviewers and critics i read were generally so so on it.

So i was incredibly surprised to find how well they pulled this off. Its not an issue of "accuracy" (even though an acquaintances mother who is a teacher of literature in Russia and read this 20 times cover to cover was very satisfied) it is an issue of originality. The black and white to color switches, the acting, the actors, the music i found it really well done as well it should be since it is so well loved in Russia.

Really they put in the effort and i was generally pleased with the result. Again not due to "accuracy" or inaccuracy, as that is impossible to do with certain films but with the originality and what i thought was quality film making.

Btw, when Kot Begemot turned into the guy who plays Stira in ShtrafBat, my jaw dropped seeing as that was the person with the "cat eyes" who i pictured when i read Master and Bulgakov described him.

10 stars is an understatement.

"Master and Margarita", the book and the movie:

I have read "Master and Margarita" three times, and I am sure that I will read it again. I was very lucky because all three times I read it in Russian, and even the best translation can not compare to the original. Every time, I found something new in the book; it would turn to me by different facets. "Master and Margarita" is incredibly beautiful, deep, sophisticated yet playful and sparkling book with unforgettable characters. In fact, it is not one novel but three. First, about the adventures of the Devil and his company in 1920's Moscow; second, about Pontius Pilatus and Jesus in Jerusalem of the first century, and the third one, about the Master, the writer who wrote the second novel, and his eternal and true love, Margarita. The story of Master and Margarita is the story of Bulgakov and his wife and muse, Elena. All three stories are interconnected and intertwined. All three end with the exactly same phrase, "...the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the equestrian Pontius Pilatus."

So, what is the book about? Good, evil, betrayal, talent, love, forgiveness? Yes, it is. But it is so much more.

I had a lot of doubts before watching the film because as much as I wanted to see "Master and Margarita" on screen I was not sure that it was possible to adapt it and not to lose anything significant - which is everything.

I am pleasantly surprised - the film is very good. It is respectful, thoughtful and as close to the spirit of the greatest Russian novel of the last century as possible.

The movie is not perfect (and I don't think that the perfect transfer is possible) but the choice of actors, the music score, the visual palette that change as we enter the different eras, places, and dimensions are outstanding. I was initially surprised by some names but almost every actor proved him/herself very capable in bringing to the screen well known and beloved characters. I would say that some of special effects could be ...well, more special - for example, the mischievous talking cat Behemoth could be done more interestingly. I also don't see the exact reason for creating a new character, the man in uniform with the glasses and very recognizable accent who is in charge of investigating the "crimes of the band of powerful hypnotists" - how they call Woland and his entourage. One can argue that the titular couple, the tragic lovers, Master and Margarita are weaker and their story seems pale in the comparison to one of Pilatus

(bravo to 80 year old stage and screen legend, Kirill Lavrov who can be remembered as Ivan Karamazov in The Brothers Karamazov (1969) and Ieshua Ha-Notsri (incredible performance by the young bright star, Sergei Bezrukov of "Brigada"'s fame, almost unrecognizable as Ieshua). I think no one can deny that Oleg Basilashvili as powerful, cynical and eternally wise Woland, the part of Power " Which wills forever evil Yet does forever good" IS the true Master of the series. My fascination and admiration belong to Alexander Abdulov on whom I as a young girl had a huge crush in his early film "Obyknovennoye Chudo" . For many years he had been the Russian sex symbol but his enormous comical talent found its match in the part of Woland's assistant/ translator, Koroviev. His and Behemoth's adventures in Moscow are screamingly funny. I think that the film is a successful and enjoyable adaptation of the beloved cult novel and I recommend seeing it. I am going to order the sound track. As I mentioned, the music by Igor Kornelyuk is one of the film's treasures.

P.S. I used to work on the street where the last home of Mikhail Bulgakov was. He was taken to the cemetery from there.

The famous "Pashkov's House" with the rotunda on the top where Woland and his team gathered together before they left Moscow forever, was in walking distance from my work, and I remember, once, I almost got hit by a car -I walked and looked at that music in stone and could not take my eyes off it.

I watched this mini on a DVD so my perception wasn't as fragmented as it perhaps would have been if I watched one episode a day on TV. I read 'Master and Margarita' at least ten times so I know it pretty much by heart. It came as a relief that Bortko followed the original text so closely and didn't turn it in one of Hollywood 'junk' adaptations. There's no point in getting hysterical about the fact that this film is not as good as the book – it could never be. I agree with other comments here that many dialogues are 'still born' because the text was transferred from the book too literally with no dramatic adaptation, particularly when Bulgakov's 'author's' commentaries were used in the dialogues. Abdulov and Basilashvili were the best. To my mind, Basilashvili, in particular, added to my previous perception of Woland and expanded this character if that's at all possible. The main complains are Begemot all of whose personifications failed miserably and Gaft's character who was completely out of context and rather weird. Gaft already played Beria in another movie and his appearance here looked like a piece cut out from that movie and pasted into this one. However this is all minor and generally I enjoyed the film. I was only really disappointed with Bortko's interpretation of the Ball. Having followed the book so maniacally to the last letter he suddenly deviated off track and not in a good way. In Bulgakov's book the Ball is an explosion of colour, light and music with walls of flowers and rainbow fountains. Whether it was a poor budget to blame or inability to use decent special effects but Bortko created some grey depressing place in the middle of nowhere which looked rather bizarre. Bulgakov featured Margarita flying through the ball halls in shoes made of rose petals and wearing nothing except heavy pendant over her neck whereas Bortko dressed her in torture chains and pinned her to the ground. It all looked a bit sado-masochistic and I doubt Bulgakov saw it that way. I'm surprised no one here commented on it. All in all I think it's not a bad attempt, certainly for a mini. I was expecting something much worse having seem some of the rubbish produced my Russian movie makers these days. To those who say it's awful, I think you should calm down and accept that Bulgakov's book and this movie are completely separate entities and the film can't be as deep because it can't reproduce all the philosophical richness of the literary work. It could try but then it won't appeal to a wider audience which prefers easily digestible adaptations.

I have read M&M probably 10 times, the Michael Glenny English translation (the others are worthless). This series is a great effort to visualise Bulgakov's grand novel. It is immediately apparent that a series of short films is the best format, so good on the funders and producers for getting that right. Most scenes are just how I pictured them, which really says something for Bulgakov's powers of communication.

I really liked the cast. Initially I was very surprised at the 'old' Pilate (Kirill Lavrov - at 80!), but after 5 minutes of being mesmerised, I realised he must be one of Russia's greats (and indeed he is). Although his age is technically unrealistic for a Roman procurator of Judea, it is a masterclass in acting. Woland (Oleg Basilashvili) is a towering presence, just the right combination of menace and pathos. Kovalchuk certainly looks the part as Margarita - and I am not sure that she could have played her much differently: it is a difficult character to understand from the book, one whose actions but not thoughts are externalised.

Great music. Decent enough special effects & animatronics to cover the magic bits (some younger people will complain about them, but you are forgetting that good actors in a real theatre can make you believe anything, and there the sets are just painted wood). Overall the pace feels right. I think its an excellent overall effort.

Any true M&M fans will appreciate this work, and I am sure find it easy to ignore the small flaws.

I really enjoyed watching this mini-series in parts on You-tube. In ten parts and each having 1-5 10 mins video time. First i read the book from chapter one to chapter 7 and while still not from beginning to end i decided to watch this film too before the end of book!!! warning to all about how this can result into a split imaginary thinking when returning to the book. The way i imagined the characters to be was somewhat different to what i read but found the film to be of great comparison. It was fun to fill in with my memory all the details of the weather and settings and recalling beforehand what would be said next etc. i found the acting to be wonderful by all the cast. lively and extravagant in bringing to life all the mad players. Theatrical in dramatics. I was impressed with the CGI and special effects and myself found it them all to be great in bringing to life such beautiful scenes and characters. overall- i'd like to rewatch the whole series after book completion so i can enjoy it again.