The Idiot (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Idiot is a costume drama TV series produced by Russia TV Channel in 2003 based on Fyodor Dostoevsky
's novel with the same title
.
Series script is very close to original text of Dostoevsky and well-known Russian actors are playing in the film. According to additional materials on DVD, in order to improve authenticity, serious efforts were made to capture the spirit of the time, through proper way of speaking, and through very careful selection of costumes for the actors to wear.
The series was branded by the novel's original pre-1920's orthography title "идіотъ" (in all caps) instead of the current "идиот" as one will find it on the bookshelves in Russia (to promote the atmosphere of the tsarist time when the film's plot takes place). This branded title "ИДІОТЪ" can be seen at the beginning of each part and on the cover of the DVD release.
The series consists of 10 parts each approximately 50 minutes.
. This, however, is the director's mistake. Dostoevsky himself died in 1881, and the novel is set earlier. (It was written 1869.) While this flag was already used in tsarist Russia
, it was admitted for use on land only in 1883 (previously used on sea) and became the official flag of the empire in 1896. Thus, the black-gold-silver tsarist flag should have been used in the film.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
's novel with the same title
The Idiot (novel)
The Idiot is a novel written by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger between 1868 and 1869. The Idiot is ranked beside some of Dostoyevsky's other works as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the "Golden Age" of...
.
Series script is very close to original text of Dostoevsky and well-known Russian actors are playing in the film. According to additional materials on DVD, in order to improve authenticity, serious efforts were made to capture the spirit of the time, through proper way of speaking, and through very careful selection of costumes for the actors to wear.
The series was branded by the novel's original pre-1920's orthography title "идіотъ" (in all caps) instead of the current "идиот" as one will find it on the bookshelves in Russia (to promote the atmosphere of the tsarist time when the film's plot takes place). This branded title "ИДІОТЪ" can be seen at the beginning of each part and on the cover of the DVD release.
The series consists of 10 parts each approximately 50 minutes.
Staff and Actors
| Vladimir Bortko (Владимир Бортко) | director |
| Valery Todorovsky Valery Todorovsky Valery Petrovich Todorovsky is a Russian film director, screenwriter, TV producer.Legend has it that Todorovsky was born immediately after his mother watched Hitchcock's Psycho, in 1962. The film did not have an official release in Odessa; rather, it somehow reached Odessa Film Studio, where his... (Валерий Тодоровский) |
producer |
| Igor Kornelyuk (Игорь Корнелюк) | music |
| Actors | |
|---|---|
| Evgeny Mironov (Евгений Миронов) | prince Myshkin |
| Lidiya Velezheva (Лидия Вележева) | Nastasya Filipovna |
| Vladimir Mashkov Vladimir Mashkov Vladimir Lvovich Mashkov is a Russian actor best known to Western audiences for his work in the 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines. Mashkov has also worked as a film director, producer and writer for the 2004 Russian film "Papa".-Theatre work:... (Владимир Машков) |
Parfyon Rogozhin |
| Aleksandr Lazarev Jr. (Александр Лазарев мл.) | Gavrilya Ardalionovich Ivolgin |
| Oleg Basilashvili Oleg Basilashvili Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili is a well-known Soviet/Russian film and theatre actor of Georgian and Polish origin, as well as political figure in the former Soviet Union and in the new Russia.-Childhood:... (Олег Басилашвили) |
general Ivan Yepanchin |
| Inna Churikova Inna Churikova Inna Mikhailovna Churikova is a Soviet Russian film and theatre actress.-Biography:... (Инна Чурикова) |
Lizveta Prokof'yevna Yepanchina, general Yepanchin's wife |
| Ol'ga Budina (Ольга Будина) | Aglaya Ivanovna Yepanchina, their youngest daughter |
| Aleksandr Domogarov (Александр Домогаров) | Evgeny Pavlovich (Aglaya's suitor) |
| Aleksey Petrenko (Алексей Петренко) | general Ardalion Ivolgin, Ganya's father |
| Vladimir Il'in (Владимир Ильин) | Lebedev |
Trivia
On several occasions in the series, one can observe "today's" Russian flag, the white-blue-red TricolourTricolour
A tricolour is a flag or banner more-or-less equally divided into three bands of differing colours...
. This, however, is the director's mistake. Dostoevsky himself died in 1881, and the novel is set earlier. (It was written 1869.) While this flag was already used in tsarist Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, it was admitted for use on land only in 1883 (previously used on sea) and became the official flag of the empire in 1896. Thus, the black-gold-silver tsarist flag should have been used in the film.