Rating: 
Summary: Stalin's Terror
Review: This film is a painful look at the effect Stalin's terror had on even his closest officials. The film itself is beautiful, set at a peaceful country "dacha". The action begins to pick up when Mitya arrives. The Mitya and Kotov characters provide an interesting contrast of Russian men. Mitya is a hollowed out soul searching for reminents of his past life and Kotov is the ideal Russian who always believes in his homeland. Several scenes are very poignant, particularly the one where Marussia realizes that Mitya has returned. The conclusion is painful and frightening, but that is how Stalin's crimes were to the Russian people.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: As a student of Russian History, I sat in awe through this entire film. While my studies gave me a perspective slightly different from most of this film's viewers, I cannot give anything aside from a resounding recommendation. The pervasive symbolism of the plot leaves a tremendous impact on the heart and the mind. The acting and directing are brilliant, the story incredibly simple and at the same time deeply complicated. A truly amazing experience.
Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: this is a great movie for anyone with the patience to watch it develop. at the same time cheerful and ominous, it is deeply moving. the acting is superb - menshikov and the two mikhalkovs form a brilliant trio. though it moves slowly and it takes some time to figure out how all the characters are related, it is more than worth the wait. i don't speak russian, but i forgot i was reading subtitles by the first half hour. "burnt by the sun" is extremely accurate when it comes to the many arrests ordered by stalin. some background of the bolshevik revolution is needed, but even without it, the movie captures viewers. the emotions come through clearly, and the sets are beautiful. oleg menshikov isn't so bad looking either . .
Rating:
Summary: Excellent - very faithful to the spirit of the Stalin era
Review: This is an excellent film, but to derive the maximum from it, a viewing should be preceded by a reading of background literature and histories. Particularly useful are anything by Robert Conquest ("The Great Terror"; "The Harvest of Sorrow"); Nadezhda Mandelstam's trilogy; Yevgenia Ginzburg's "Into the Whirlewind". Other excellent films which treat similar themes are "The Thief" by Pavel Chukrai, and "East-West" by Regis Wargnier. Both are extremely insightful into the nature of Stalinist society in 1930s/1940s USSR. By the way, does anybody know if the soundtrack of "Burnt by the Sun" is available? Or similar Russian popular music from the 1930's - 1950's? E-mail above.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING....Do not watch this movie!!!...
Review: This movie is a disaster, the actors are shallow, the director is awfull and it doesn't deserve an academy award... Milcho Manchevski made a better movie than Nikita Mikhalkov,and he deserved the Oscar!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but lacking
Review: Without question this film features fine acting. But there is something lacking in the plot--it develops too slowly, is at times too confusing, and ends too suddenly. I enjoyed the film as far as the acting, but the plot left me dry, and frankly, after about an hour I stopped caring what happened in the end. Russia has produced better films.
Rating:
Summary: This movie truly expressed the terror of the Stalinist era
Review: This movie was incredibly powerful. My father is from the former Soviet Union and grew up during the Stalinist era. I also wrote a paper on the Russian Civil War, and this movie clearly demonstrated the terror that was a product of the Revolution and Civil War. With basic knowledge about the time and situation in the Soviet Union, this movie is incredibly powerful and meaningful.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie about the Stalin era.
Review: It is very difficult to express one's opinion about this film. First of all - no offence but only Russian can understand it. I really liked Mikhalkov before but started respecting him much more after seing this one. This movie finally shows that there is no one to blame for what was going on at the time - EVERYONE WAS INVOLVED. Pretty close to the times of whitch hunt in this country.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars - if you can overlook the orb
Review: This was a wonderful movie. I'm surprised at the comment from the person in Austin, claiming that the acting was sub-par - the intelligence of the daughter alone was enough to keep my interest piqued, but the rest of the characters were equally impressive. The only thing I can think of is that the reviewer in Austin doesn't know enough Russian to be able to see it...?The golden orb (which I'm assuming is supposed to represent the sun) is an enigma; at the first sight of it, I thought someone had gotten a hold of the video tape and overdubbed a different movie. Overall, though, I thought it was great!
Rating:
Summary: A film for the educated.
Review: This film should only be viewed if one has some prior knowledge of the Russian Revolution and the Civil war that took place during the early part of the twentieth century. otherwise "Burnt by the Sun" is a magnificent film that is both inspiring and suspenseful. I recommend this film to all intellectuals who enjoy true Art on film. Most non-intellectuals would get board of this film fairly quickly. It is no wonder that it won an Academy Award. You must buy it. This film is sub-titled and can be somewhat difficult to follow, yet after a few minutes reading the sub-titles becomes second nature. I also would like to recommend the film Dr. Zhivago; it too is awesome.
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