This SovKino production was a major early experiment in Soviet historical film about the oprichnina period of Muscovite history, combining the costumed drama and Gothic thrills of the genre with historical materialist commentary on the dialectical collision of scientific progress and patriarchal religious tyranny under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. It follows a self-taught inventor from the serf class Nikishka, whose efforts to build a flying machine incite accusations of witchcraft. Nikishka and his beloved Fima are persecuted by the feudal lord Kurlyatev, who took their village in a petty land squabble. They’re rescued when Kurlyatev’s lands are taken by the Tsar in his autocratic campaign against the feudal system. Ivan puts Nikishka to work in his linen mill, where the young serf is coveted by Tsarina Maria Temryukovna, who the Tsar’s been ignoring in favor of his cupbearer Feodor. A series of harrowing intrigues wind a bloody dance through bedchamber, feast hall, cathedral and dungeon.
Yuri Tarich, Leonid Leonidov
Director
Ivan Klyukvin
Nikishka
Leonid Leonidov
Tsar Ivan the Terrible
Safiyat Askarova
Maria Temriukovna
Vladimir Korsh
Tsarevich Ivan
Nikolai Prozorovsky
Feodor Basmanov
Sofya Garrel
Fima
Aleksandr Zhukov
Vaska Gryaznov
Lev Ivanov
Guard (uncredited)
Konstantin Efimov
Metropolitan
Ivan Kachalov
Malyuta Skuratov
Vladimir Makarov
Lupatov
Mr. Malcolm's List is a pleasant promenade through a fantasy Regency-era England filled with people of color. For fans of Bridgerton, this is the PG version of the show, but with completely colorblind casting and a much lighter tone.
We have a long way to go with LGBT representation in film, especially when it comes to LGBT characters of color and trans characters.
The Outer Senshi get characterization and some stellar moments in the second part of the Eternal movie duo.
Ever heard of the bad boy type? The type of man who's sexy yet broody, or the type of man who’s dangerous but has a sensitive side? It’s a well-known stereotype that women are attracted to villains. The question is: why are we?
It’s easy to dismiss Joel and Ethan Coen for writing from the world they build from outside the box of overarching Hollywood stereotypes, but their inability to compromise their collective vision is precisely what makes the simplistic nature of their world-building and characters so brilliant. It’s also what led Fargo to collect seven Oscar nominations and two wins for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress for Frances McDormand’s brilliant portrayal of the sincere, motherly detective whose wholesome demeanor seizes the day over the selfishness, corruption and evil of the men who don’t comprehend that there’s more to life than a little money.