Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: Beautiful little gem with the main sound leaving you humming for days. This reminds me more of a play, than a movie.. in the lines of Pride and Prejudice. The ending is an unexpected twist and Mikhalkov's real life daughter puts on a superb performance.
Rating:
Summary: Transfer to DVD could have been better
Review: The story is excellent and I really like the movie, I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for the sloppy/thoughtless effort in transferring the film onto DVD. I would let the readers read other reviews on the movie itself and I would only comment on the transfer.
As indicated on the box, this is not an anomorphic transfer and has an unusual aspect ratio (somewhere between 1.33 and 1.67). It looks really awarkard on a 16:9 screen. You cannot turn off the subtitles because it is part of the transfer. The picture is a little bit on the soft side while the color is very good. The audio is average. In conclusion, it is very watchable and I wished Columbia would just put in a little bit more effort in the transfer to promote foreign films.
Rating:
Summary: Nikita Mikhalkov's Oscar-winning take on Stalin's terror
Review: Having been born and raised in the US, I was impressed by 'Burnt by the Sun' and director/star Nikita Mikhalkov's vision of the pervasiveness of Stalin's terror as he consolidated his power. I was perplexed by the presence and significance of the 'orb' that appears from time to time. At first, I really did think there was a problem with my copy of the film...like a hole was being burned into it, a la the 8mm films of my youth. It's not so much the technique itself that's jarring...it's the fact that nothing else in the film suggests Mikhalkov is going to throw this metaphorical curveball at you. Also, I have to take seriously the criticism leveled against Mikhalkov here and other places on the web by residents of the ex-Soviet Union. It appears to be a mahority opinion among this community that: - The movie is Mikhalkov's blatant try at an Oscar nomination.
- The dialogue is stilted and unreal.
- The events themselves - as depicted - are a stretch of the imagination. Frankly, this criticism makes the movie all the more interesting. It's worth renting or buying to see what all the fuss is about.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 Stars and Probably No More
Review: This is a film that really brings us into the Russian way of life. It may not be as absorbing as Summer or 27 Missing Kisses, nor is it as shocking as those movies from early Georgia, but still it is transcendal enough. A few episodes, especially those political ones, are quite out of sort with the rest. But one would expect that to be a norm in Russia there and then. Perhaps as observed by some reviews, the acting is not great. But having scarcely been to Russia, the characters do look to a foreign viewer to be real or even typical. The plot is coherant and rhythm is reasonably fast. Russian country life in resort as depicted is quite a treat. How else can we have a glimse of them Russians, of the role of music, art, love and above all politics in their life? Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: one of the saddest movies I've ever seen
Review: Burnt by the Sun is one of those movies that you're glad you saw because it was powerful but you never want to see again because it was so sad. The movie takes place in the last happy days of a family's lives. The father is a hero of the Soviet revolution and not only does he spout the party line, he actually believes it. His wife and her family don't care much for Stalin but their sensible enought to never say so out loud. Then, like a snake in the garden a visitor arrives. He brings death and prison with him and by the time the movie is over no-one in this family will be left unscathed. This is a nice little family and Stalin will crush them. That's the movie. The stand outs are the child actress who played the spunky, adorable daughter and the actor who played her old father, the general.
Rating:
Summary: Burned by "Uncle Joe"
Review: This Russian film is a cinematic treat. Beautifully filmed on photogenic locations this film starts out strong wanders around a bit and then rushes to its' end.
At times this film bogs down in its' slice of life depiction. Nevertheless, this makes the ending even more devastating, you know that these individuals' lazy, dreamy intellectual lives are over and happiness will never come to them again. I am more willing to excuse some of the ham-handed bits of the movie, Russian movies, Russian literature; hell, most Russian art that makes it to the West has it moments of over-importance. We Americans seem to like our Russians brooding, mysterious, and over-bearing. Not being a native speaker I can't comment on the dialog or the stilted acting, to me what these people are saying in the end really doesn't matter. It's the interactions between these people and their passions, petty complaints, and obsessions that make this movie.
Granted each character has more tics than a fine Swiss wristwatch but they are Intelligentsia. "Burnt by the Sun" is solid film and yes, it does go over the top from time to time. However, the cinematography alone was worth an Oscar. I gorgeous colors used in the film breathe nostalgia and doom at the same time. Set design and costumes too add to this mix. The director succeeding in showing a certain class of people and their fragile lives and how those lives where steam-rollered by one of the 20th centuries worst despots.
Rating: 
Summary: Thumbs down.
Review: The more I reflect on this film, the more its insincerity bothers me. The choice of content might actually have made a good film, in theory, but as it is, the only surefire way to improve Burnt By The Sun would have been not to make it. Upon dissection, every move Mikhalkov made here looks like nothing but a deliberate, calculated grab for the Academy Award. The emotional manipulativeness of the film is astoundingly shameless. First off, there are all the devices that are blatantly meant to draw nostalgic sighs and sentimental tears out of West-based emigres - the recurring Vertinsky waltz, the ornate dacha, the self-conscious quoting of Pushkin. Then there are the moves designed to win over the Western critics: for instance, that ridiculous, facile scene with the fireball moving through the house, which just _screams_ "Look! Inscrutable brooding Russian symbolism, deep enough for an Academy Award!" Then there's the cloyingly precious child; that always wins points with the audience. And of course, there's that disgustingly turgid "symbol" at the end - a balloon bearing a huge portrait of Stalin, rising out of nowhere and "ominously looming over" the setting. (Wait, Nikita? So you're saying that Stalin was ruthless? Good heavens, what a visionary! Oh, I never saw _that_ one coming!) It's as if Mikhalkov knew he had to remind the audience that the film actually had an Important Message, lest they had forgotten it in the preceding two hours. Crass beyond words. Am I being too cynical here? Hardly. Certainly no more than Mikhalkov; he wouldn't have made something this artless by accident. After all, if you remove from consideration the deliberate and unsubtle political message of the film, there is absolutely nothing left. The actor playing Mitya does exude a certain menace, but his efforts are wasted in his surroundings. Despite being the sole reason for all Mitya's deviousness, whoever plays Marusya gets no screen time at all aside from the obligatory sex scene and one brief scene with Mitya, in which she doesn't say more than five lines. Mikhalkov's character likewise never does anything of any importance - his most interesting appearance is when he starts tap dancing to impress his daughter, and that's mainly due to the incredulous laughter it causes. And, in fact, aside from Mitya and Mikhalkov's daughter, and Mikhalkov himself in the final scene, the characters in this film only put in short, obligatory appearances, apparently to break up the monotony. Unfortunately, they fail to do so, and the film, whose story could safely have been told in half an hour without leaving anything out, drags on and on for over two hours. The fact that Mikhalkov really did get the Academy Award (through yet another dishonest device - it was deliberately kept from theatrical release, and was privately screened only for the favourably inclined judges) is just depressing.
Rating: 
Summary: Very solid 3 stars... not a bit more !?
Review: Yes , the subject is very important . Michalkov tells the story ... BUT ! But he doesn't really tells the story ... just uses the good subject to show off !? Acting ? Below 3 stars , including Mr. Michalkov himself . But if you don't speak Russian , you cann't tell . Dialogs VERY fake and way too made up !? Too sad . To much grotesque in the film , which supposed to be a reality movie .
I had the fealing , this was his straight shot for foriegn money maker , few awards too . No pain , no suffering ... just money ! Lookes like - it worked for him ...but not for me !
Rating:
Summary: A Pretty Movie
Review: "Burnt by the Sun" is a nice movie, quite similar in thematic content to the recent "Life is Beautiful", and shot on snazzy, high-quality, expensive film (those of you who have seen earlier Russian films will heave a collective sigh of relief). Ah, the advantages of capitalism. It's just too bad that the fall of communism in Russia had to bring along some less auspicious consequences. Unlike their predecessors, films made in Russia after 1991 had to actually make money. This resulted in an overall "Westernification"--a slicker package at the expense of complex themes and poetic photography. "Burnt by the Sun" is a perfect example of this. You won't be struggling to comprehend all of the different levels of meaning in "Burnt by the Sun" the way you might in "Andrei Rublev". Things are spelled out quite clearly here, and the plot is easy to follow and takes precedence (somewhat of a rarity in "highbrow" Soviet films--compare this one to "The Color of Pomegranates"). There's also very little of the wonderful symbolism you find in the earlier films--in "Burnt by the Sun", water is just water. It is by no means a bad movie--in fact, quite good by Hollywood standards--but I can't help but wonder what might have become of it had it not been made under the commercial pressures of capitalism. If you're in the mood to be entertained (and, perhaps, made to cry) by a good foreign film that doesn't require an inordinate amount of mental input, "Burnt by the Sun" is for you; if you want to see Russian film at its height, better go look up Tarkovsky or Eisenstein.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth
Review: In this movie main characters are from the highest society of Soviet Union, most of people didn't live like the colonel did with a maid and three dinners in a day... But the movies shows us that noone was secure of Stalins represions, doesn't matter if you are a famous Civil War heroe or a simple thief. This movie is suitable for history students, to show them what was the life in early Stalin's era.
|
