Posts from The Master and Margarita

I wouldn't say so. Personally, for me, "The Master and Margarita" is not primarily a satire. Yes, there is satire, but it doesn't overshadow the main idea; rather, it emphasizes it. It's just that everyone sees what they want to see. Some see a critique of the USSR, others see a divine revelation, and still others see an adventure. But the film was reduced to some kind of anti-Soviet propaganda. It was a crude job.

Read "The Master and Margarita." I wouldn't say that the principle of "everything is known in comparison" applies 100% in this case, but there is still a feeling that it's a "prototype" and something "created based on a model." As for the film, the director simply depicted Bulgakov's work. Therefore, your words about how everyone sees what they want to see also apply to the film. Essentially, the film's "cardboard" quality is a reflection of the novel's "cardboard" quality, no more, no less, which may seem unfortunate. One of the most attractive features of the novel is the novelty and originality of the idea, but if it turns out that the idea is not original, then, apart from a few remarkable images and the same satire,

The film is good, but I especially liked the music that played during particularly important and tense moments.

"I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good."

Copyright Goethe, "Faust", Mephistopheles

Well, I did mention where it came from.

Yes, Bulgakov even borrowed Goethe’s poodle and the name “Marguerite.” :(

Well, Bulgakov borrowed even the poodle and the name "Margaret" from Goethe. :(

Why immediately "borrowed"? He merely emphasized the continuity...

I watched the first two episodes yesterday, so I can only judge based on them for now. :)

Regarding the films, Bulgakov himself was strongly against adaptations, only in favor of theatrical productions.

Well, in Mikhail Afanasyevich's time, the possibilities of cinema were several orders of magnitude lower, so anyone would have been against it.

In the role of Woland, I could only imagine Yancovsky, but he wasn't available.

There was also Mgaloblishvili (who played Cagliostro), although I probably agree that Yancovsky was the best fit in terms of type. But that's not the point. To play the three most difficult roles well - Yeshua, Woland, and the Master - in my opinion, you need to be half crazy. That's why the first two in the film didn't appeal to me as much as the others (and Basik is also too old for Woland, as is Lavrov for Pilate).

I've reread the book many times, each time finding something new. And I realized that it's impossible to make a film. Everything will be different, it's written too well.

And Woland knows! :D On the one hand, yes, in the book everyone sees something different and gets upset when the images don't match. On the other hand, Bortko, in my opinion, did almost perfectly with "The Dog's Heart." It's clear that the new task is hundreds of times more difficult, but who knows, maybe someday they will make a film that is as brilliant as the book - which each viewer will see in their own way? :confused:

As for the soundtracks, Woland's theme immediately reminded me of two others on the same devilish theme - from "The Omen" and Kurekhin's masterpiece from "The Master and Margarita." Kornelyuk is a clever guy! :cool:

Let's go through it point by point: Scenery - well, I liked it. Special effects - it's not "The Lord of the Rings," there shouldn't be many such scenes, and where they are really needed, the special effects are top-notch. Music - great, so what if they borrowed an idea? It happens all the time, but it still turned out great! The "Soldier" soundtrack is a clone of the Rolling Stones. Black and white film - well, here's a flaw; it's clear that this is a plot device, but it's still not pretty. Anti-Soviet sentiment - it's also present in Bulgakov's work in full force; you just need to see other ideas besides it. Regarding the actors: Voland - old, good, but old. Koroviev - well, Abdullayev is excellent in the role. Behemoth - also good. Azazello - excellent! Hella - cute and unpretentious, as befits a secondary witch. The Master - some kind of convict, definitely not good. Margaret - good. Pontius Pilate - great! His age doesn't detract from his performance. Yeshua - a controversial choice; on the one hand, it's quite good, but on the other hand, Sasha Bely and the local police officer are clearly visible. Judas - good. Levi Matthew - no, it's not right. Caiaphas - well, Gaft is also excellent in the role

If we analyze the film, it is built on the principle of contrasting worlds: black-and-white for the physical world, and color for the metaphysical world; in other words, color creates a different, timeless reality. It would be quite difficult to resolve this point in any other way, so the director's choice is understandable. Furthermore, the black-and-white tones effectively illustrate Bulgakov's own grimly satirical view of that Soviet reality.

Regarding the actors:
With Woland, there is the matter of the archetype, and then there is the internal conveyance of the image. Since Bortko highlighted the main idea of Woland not as some external, heterochromatic "thingamajig," but as an entity with its own inner world and vivid personal content, he cast Basmavrosili in the role, rather than Gaft, and certainly not Yankovsky—a character actor who created a convincing, grotesquely negative image under Zakharov in "To Kill a Dragon," but who would likely not have been as deep or convincing as Basmavrosili as Woland. Therefore, in my conviction, the director's choice proved correct.

Koroviev, Behemoth, and Azazello were by definition meant to be liked by the viewer, regardless of who played them; it was simply a matter of finding actors who could interestingly embody visually interesting images. But Bortko went further. This trio are also deep personalities, tired of their position just like Woland, and dragging the burden of their "obedience" with their last remaining strength. If you watch the film closely, you can see in all three characters (in Koroviev's eyes, in Behemoth's words, in Azazello's plasticity) a barely concealable longing to strip off their masks and become themselves, which is exactly what happens at the end of the film.

Hella—a charming witch—on the contrary, revels in her "high" position in the service of Woland himself. This is a contrast, and in my opinion, it succeeded.

As for the Master and Margarita—it turned out to be a very authentic drama, in my view, of two creative personalities drawn to each other not even by love, but by the hopelessness of their "cramped" existence. Both saw in the other the possibility of attaining true freedom, and this thirst for freedom carried them through all their sufferings. Note the similarity here with the previous characters; that is why Woland, Koroviev, Behemoth, Azazello, the Master, and Margarita understood and got along with each other so well—a commonality of personal experiences. And as a contrast—Hella, who treats Margarita and her problems with a certain irony and condescension.

Yeshua. Bezrukov is in the full glory of his great talent. A stunning transformation from a "brigadier" into a preacher and the image of Christ. He created, in my opinion, a living Christ—not an iconic or dogmatic one, but the one Bulgakov described. The Christ who evoked sympathy from Woland, who secretly attended the trial scene before the Procurator of Judea. That is why Woland so fervently defends the reality of Christ in his conversation with Berlioz and Bezdomny—because he saw in this man the ideal he had already despaired of finding. And for him, the existence of Christ is an integral part of the universe and its true adornment. This, in my opinion, was brilliantly conveyed by Bortko.

Pilate. Still that same man, tired of life and his position, dreaming only of having no one around him but his beloved dog. A man weak and insignificant, despite all his brilliant combat past and political present. A vivid antipode to Christ. But deserving of forgiveness, because a voice of conscience remained within him. And Woland understands this. Finding kindred spirits in the Master and Margarita, he uses the opportunity to free Pilate and provide him with the chance to explain himself to the benefactor who cured him of a grave illness, yet whom he betrayed—that is, with Christ. And the end of the film is, in a sense, a moment of truth, where everyone receives what they deserve and what they have strove for throughout their entire existence. Well, except for Woland, who remains Woland, finding solace only in the fact that he was able to assist those who were worthy.

This is what I took away from the film. Everything else, in my opinion, is secondary, although there are magnificent and beautiful scenes, and, of course, the music...

I don't know. While watching those episodes that I managed to find time for, I had the feeling that it was all "lies." I was there myself, I saw everything, and it was all quite different. The actors did a good job and tried their best, but they themselves seemed out of place.
Read the rough drafts of Might and Magic. There's no Master or Margarita there. The main focus is on the story of Christ. And it's been pushed into the background. But the anti-Soviet sentiment is very prominent. That's not why Stalin liked Bulgakov.

Anti-Soviet sentiment is clearly visible because you want to see it. There is quite a bit of it, but there are also many biblical passages. It seems everything is balanced... Although towards the end, there is indeed a slight overemphasis on communism. The same old film screenings...

I read the book at school (around 1998). In 2006, I watched the movie (on TV) and reread the book. And about 5 months ago, I downloaded the entire movie from the internet and watched it again. Now it's stored on my hard drive (at home) and is waiting for its turn to be watched again...

We were told that everyone has a doppelganger, except for Margarita.
Natasha - Hella
Judas - (who did Nagiyev play?)
Master - Yeshua
Behemoth - Banga

By the way, the demon Behemoth has an elephant's head for some reason.

The book and the series are great!