Unfinished Piece for a Mechanical Piano (1977) ( Neokonchennaya pyesa dlya mekhanicheskogo pianino ) ( Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano )

Unfinished Piece for a Mechanical Piano (1977) (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Neokonchennaya pyesa dlya mekhanicheskogo pianino
Alternate Title: Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano
Screened, competed or awarded at:
San Sebastian International Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
Arabic ( Subtitles )
Chinese ( Subtitles )
Dutch ( Subtitles )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
German ( Subtitles )
Hebrew ( Subtitles )
Italian ( Subtitles )
Japanese ( Subtitles )
Portuguese ( Subtitles )
Russian ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Russian ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )
Swedish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
103 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Biographies
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Featurette
Filmographies
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1977 and produced in:
Soviet Union ( Russia, Eastern Europe )

Directed By:
Nikita Mikhalkov

Written By:
Aleksandr Adabashyan
Anton Chekhov

Actors:
Aleksandr Kalyagin ..... Mikhail Vasilyevich Platonov
Yelena Solovey ..... Sofia Yegorovna
Yevgeniya Glushenko ..... Aleksandra
Kseniya Minina ..... Liza
Sergei Nikonenko ..... Yakov
Yuri Bogatyryov ..... Sergei Pavlovich Voynitsev
Antonina Shuranova ..... Anna Petrovna Voynitseva
Sergei Guryev ..... Petechka (as Seryozha Guryev)
Oleg Tabakov ..... Pavel Petrovich Sherbuk
Nikolai Pastukhov ..... Glagolyev
Pavel Kadochnikov ..... Ivan Ivanovich Triletsky
Nikita Mikhalkov ..... Nikolai Ivanovich Triletsky
Anatoli Romashin ..... Petrin
Natalya Nazarova ..... Vera
S. Bachkyrova
Gennadi Ivanov
Valentin Komissarov
Vyacheslav Maksakov
Marat Yusim

Synopsis:

A dacha is a summer home for Russians, away from the hurly-burly of the city, and can be as primitive as a cabin or as elaborate as a palace. A much-favored place for gatherings of intellectuals, dachas are a favored literary setting. In this film, adapted by Nikita Mikhailkov from Anton Chekhov's first play and some of his other works, the schoolteacher Platonov (Alexander Kalyagin) has come with his wife to spend a summer weekend at a friend's dacha. Among the other guests there, he meets his former lady-love Sophia (Elena Solovei), who is now married to another. Even though he thought he had recovered from his disappointed affection for her, he finds that this is not so for at least two reasons. First, she only recently got married; secondly, she is married to an idiot. Nostalgia spurs them to investigate their affection for one another, but eventually, as they remember their stations in life, their old love does not seem so important. In the middle of the night, Platonov is overtaken by grief over his lost youth and lost loves, and he awakens the entire household with his cries. Everyone returns to bed soon after, and by the morning all is forgiven, or forgotten, as the guests prepare to return to their lives in the city.

Early in the 20th century, family and friends gather at the country estate of a general's widow, Anna Petrovna. Sofia, the new wife of Anna's step-son, recognizes Misha, the brother-in-law of one of the widow's admirers: a few years before, they had been idealistic lovers and now she can't believe he has settled for a dim wife and a job as a teacher. Amidst parlor games and idle talk of women's rights and peasants' capabilities, Sofia and Misha rekindle their love. Will they flaunt convention, abandon families, and run away to pursue lost dreams? Rescue comes from an unexpected place.

In this drama based on the works of legendary Russian author Anton Chekhov, a village teacher undergoes an emotional crisis that also torments his young wife. Meanwhile, a local doctor hates his work and takes out his frustration on his patients.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 08 May, 2014.