[sphinx]

Movie ping list: heads up, early warning and all that.

Here is the trailer:

The Master and Margarita (2024) movie trailer

I am sure that I'm not the only freeper who read The Master and Margarita back in the day. It is a classic, though for me it falls into the "classics I read so long ago that I would need to reread before opining on it" category. (I've been tempted to reread it a couple of times when Jordan Peterson starts singing its praises, but that's a another story.) For those not familiar with the book, it may whet your interest to know that it was one of the samizdat classics circulating underground in Russia during the Stalin era. As with Dr. Zhivago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, its publication was one of the landmarks in the post-Stalinist thaw in Soviet culture, when Minitrue began to lose its grip.

The Master and Margarita premiered last November at a Russian film festival and hit the theaters in Russia on January 25, the date referenced in the article. IMDB reports that there were limited releases in Cyprus and Sweden in February and in New York on March 8. I can't find any indication that it has shown anywhere else in the U.S.; nor do I know how long it ran in NY. I have not found any information about the broader release schedule. It would not surprise me if this plays the festival circuit before a distributor picks it up. Given the stature of the source material, it would also not surprise me if this got a guerrilla marketing release, building through the arthouse circuit before going wide.

Those of you who keep an eye on your local film festivals -- you know who you are ...:) -- might want to keep a sharp eye out. Could be a good'un. And if it is a good adaptation, keep in mind that the novel was a Stalin era classic of anti-totalitarian literature ... which makes it highly relevant to the culture war today.

[sphinx]

movie ping

[Gene Eric]

Both a book & movie ping!

Thanks

[McGavin999]

Seems it would be an important film to be seen by Americans, they may recognize the tactics.

[Demiurge2]

“sharp, anti-Soviet, anti–modern-Russia theme.”
When the Powers That Be attack those in their way, they “anti” them, casting themselves as the norm and those they opposed as reactionary, abnormal “antis” (see pro-lifers as “anti-abortion.”)

[sphinx]

P.S. I will also note for the “nuke Hollywood from orbit” crowd that this is a Russian film, so you can go right on hating Hollywood and watch this with a clear conscience.

In the same vein, I will again recommend Dear Comrades! (2020). The best anti-communist films today are being made abroad.

[sauropod]

.

[Dogbert41]

Ping!

[Stosh]

“A Gentleman in Moscow” just started up as a series on Showtime - I don’t know how it matches up with the others discussed here, but in my opinion it’s well worth watching.

[GOPJ]

I am sure that I'm not the only freeper who read The Master and Margarita back in the day. It is a classic, though for me it falls into the "classics I read so long ago that I would need to reread before opining on it" category. (I've been tempted to reread it a couple of times when Jordan Peterson starts singing its praises, but that's a another story.)

Pure wordsmithery there sphinx... might be time for you to start work on that novel you always wanted to write.