BOOK ADAPTATIONS The adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1979-1986) This collection includes some of the most popular cases, like "The Sign of Four", "His Last Bow" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles". The saga of Sherlock Holmes is immensely popular in Russia, and also recognized abroad, so much so that Queen Elizabeth II considers Vasily Livanov's portrayal of the title character to be the best of non-English speaking actors. Livanov was appointed to the Order of the British Empire for his work on Sherlock Holmes. Anna Karenina (1967) Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy. This is the most lavishly recreated, faithful adaptation of Tolstoy's psychological masterpiece that deconstructs family ties and moral codes of pre-revolutionary Russia. Boris Godunov (1987) Based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin. This quintessential Russian opera (filmed at the Bolshoi theater for television) brings to the stage one of the most curious episodes in the history of 16th century Russia. The Brothers Karamazov (2009) Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons have always had a complicated relationship, marred by passion, greed and hot tempers. When the father is found dead in his home, each son in under investigation, with an equally strong motive for such a hideous crime. The Conqueror (2009) Based on the novel "Taras Bulba" by Nikolai Gogol. In the midst of a brutal war Taras Bulba learns that his farm has been destroyed, his eldest son captured and his wife murdered. Seeking vengeance, the fierce warrior sets off on an epic mission for retribution. 1 Crime and punishment (1969) Crime and punishment (mini-series) (2007) Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. A poor student, Rodion Raskolnikov, is driven by desperation to murder an elderly loan shark. The crime is inevitably followed by pangs of conscience: his soul, burdened by the sin of murder, is torn between faith and faithlessness, hope and despair. The dawn is quiet around here (1972) Based on the novel by Boris Vasiliev. A tragic tale of a band of young girls, who are fighting on the border of Russia in World War II, and their commander, a battle-hardened soldier, who tries to do everything he can to save "his girls" from the inevitable. Doctor Zhivago (mini-series) (2011) Based on the Nobel Prize winning novel by Boris Pasternak. This adaptation stays true to Pasternak's epic tale of love in the times of war and a passion that can last a lifetime. Eugene Onegin (1958) Based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin. This motion picture of Peter Tchaikovsky's opera was filmed in and around Saint Petersburg using actors, singers and musicians from the Bolshoi Theater and Opera. Faust (2011) Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. A re-imagining of Goethe's Faust. Faust is a man in search of the ideals of Enlightenment, who becomes obsessed with lovely Margarete and sells his soul to the devil, so that he may possess her. The flight (1970) Based on the novels "The flight" and "The White Guard" by Mikhail Bulgakov. At the end of the Civil War of 1917 the members of the White movement had to flee the country, in search of a better lot and of the Russia they'd lost forever. 2 The forty-first (1956) Winner of the International Film Critics Association Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Based on the novella by Boris Lavrenyov. A Red Army detachment perishes in the Caspian sands during a hurricane. Their prisoner, White Army officer Govorukha Otrok, and his guard, the militant Malyutka, are left behind. Goodbye, Mary Poppins! (1983) Based on the novel "Mary Poppins" by Pamela Travers. The events of this beloved children's novel are set in 1980's London where the Banks family are looking for a nanny for their kids. The nanny, Mary Poppins, arrives unexpectedly from the sky, which makes the children suspect that she may be an alien. Hard to be a god (2013) Based on the novel by the Strugatsky brothers. Taking place on the planet Arkanar, which is in the midst of its own Middle Ages, the film focuses on Don Rumata, one of the group of Earth scientists who have been sent to Arkanar to observe, but not interfere with life on this mysterious planet. Needless to say, things don't go as planned from the start. Heart of a dog (1988) Based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. A science-fiction drama about a transformation of a dog into a human being. The story was believed to be a mockery of the Soviet system, and therefore banned till the end of Gorbachev's rule. The hot snow (1973) Based on the novels "The quiet", "The shore" and "The choice" by Yuri Bondarev. One of the biggest battles of World War II, the battle of Volga, is shown through the eyes of the Soviet soldiers who, at the price of heroic effort and their own lives, did not let the enemy take over their land. 3 The Idiot (mini-series) (2003) Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Count Myshkin comes home to Saint Petersburg from Switzerland, where he was treated in a mental hospital. On the way, he meets Parphyon Rogozhyn, who tells him about his passionate affair with Nastasya Fillipovna, and the story leaves Myshkin rattled and desperate to meet this mysterious lady. In the fog (2012) Winner of the International Film Critics Association Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Based on the novel by Vasyl Bykov. It is 1942 and the western edge of the USSR is under German occupation. The partisan movement is growing stronger, fighting off the occupants, but even an innocent Russian by-stander can be mistaken for an enemy during these horrifying times. Ivan Vasilievich changes his profession (1973) Based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov. Through the use of a time machine Ivan the Terrible swaps places with Ivan Bunsha, who looks exactly like him. Now a timid Soviet man has to govern a 16th century Russia on the brink of a revolution, while the terrifying Tsar must navigate the strange and alien world of 1970's Moscow. The Lady with the dog (1960) Nominee of Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Based on the short story by Anton Chekhov. Told with little dialogue and minimal action, this romantic drama is a bittersweet portrait of a doomed love affair between Dmitry, the bank manager, and Anna, a well-to-do young woman. My tender and affectionate beast (1978) Based on the novella "A hunting drama" by Anton Chekhov. Sergei Kamyshev, a successful detective, visits his friend, Count Korneyev, at his country estate. There Kamyshev meets the enchanting Olga, who is set to marry an elderly estate manager. Kamyshev and Olga embark on a passionate affair that will have dire consequences for the whole community. 4 Nest of the gentry (1969) Based on the novel by Ivan Turgenev. The film portrays the life of Russian gentry in the 1840's. After a long time spent traveling through Europe, young landowner Lavretsky returns to his family estate, eager to settle down and become the ruler of his "nest". Oblomov (1979) Based on the novel by Ivan Goncharov. Oleg Tabakov brings to the title role a delicate dignity as the gentle aristocrat who would rather sleep than compete in a modern world of expanding industrialization - a character both lovable and ludicrous. Peter the Great: the last testament (2011) Based on the novel "Evenings with Peter the Great" by Daniel Granin. This epic drama tells the story of Peter the Great's last true love for a princess who was 30 years his junior. It was a passionate affair, doomed from the start. Quiet flows the Don (1957) Based on the Nobel Prize winning novel by Mikhail Sholokhov. This is a spectacular, sprawling epic of the Russian Revolution and an honest, intimate drama of two lovers lost in the storm of history. The State Counselor (2005) Based on the novel by Boris Akunin. The film blends historical fiction with a thrilling detective story of state counselor Erast Fandorin who is being framed for the murder of a high-ranking government official, whom Fandorin was tasked to protect. They fought for their Motherland (1975) Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. Based on the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov. July 1942, the Soviet army is retreating. A group of exhausted soldiers, all that's left of their regiment, is defending a plot of rural land. The juxtaposition of fruitful nature that seems oblivious 5 to the horrors going on around, and the brutal military force serves as a powerful Biblical metaphor for the eternal struggle of good and evil. The Turkish gambit (2005) Based on the novel by Boris Akunin. Tells the story of a Serbian volunteer, Erast Fandorin, who cooperated with the Russian secret service during the war between Russia and Turkey in 1877. Vassilisa the Beautiful (1939) Based on a popular Russian folk tale. The tale of a prince who brings home a frog as his bride, to the dismay of his father. The frog turns out to be a princess who refused to marry a monster and was cursed to become a frog. War and peace (1965) Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy. Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, this epic masterpiece flawlessly recreates the events of Russia's war with Napoleon, and tells a tale of family life in such turbulent times.