A still from ‘The Prisoner of Château d’If’ based on the novel ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’
Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich/Odessa Film Studio, 1988
Soviet children grew up on the ‘Three Musketeers’ book, but also on the movie where d’Artagnan speaks… Russian! And, in the 1990s, the whole country watched a TV show based on French history.
1. ‘D’Artagnan & Three Musketeers’ (1979)
This is a truly cult movie. Three episodes of a musical adventure extravaganza that brought unearthly popularity to actor Mikhail Boyarsky, who played the lead role. “French” landscapes and scenery were filmed in Soviet Odessa and Lviv. In addition to the excellent acting and reverent attitude to the plot and text of Dumas, the Soviet adaptation is famous for its music and songs: ‘The Ballad of Friendship’, ‘Song of the Musketeers’, ‘Song of Milady’, ‘Pourquoi pas’ and a dozen other songs performed in the film are still nationwide hits.
Watch the movie online for free here.
2. ‘The Prisoner of Château d’If’ (1988)
Ten years after the release of ‘Three Musketeers’, director George Yungvald-Khilkevich again took on Dumas. This time, the choice fell on the novel ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, one of the most often adapted for the screen.
This is an incredible story about a young man named Edmond Dantès, who is unjustly imprisoned and then breaks out and avenges the offenders. The script was written specifically for ‘d’Artagnan’ Mikhail Boyarsky. He refused the main role, but still participated in the movie as the villain Fernand. Young Dantès was played by Evgeny Dvorzhetsky, while the mature Count of Monte Cristo by Victor Avilov.
Today, this three-part movie is a recognized Soviet classic.
Watch the movie online for free here.
3. ‘Musketeers Twenty Years After’ (1992)
The success of the movie about the Musketeers neither gave rest to the director nor to the audience. They longed for a sequel. And, 13 years later, Yungvald-Khilkevich released a sequel: a four-part movie titled ‘Musketeers Twenty Years After’, based on the novel ‘Twenty Years After’. And it featured already familiar characters and actors. To the delight of the public yesterday’s Count of Monte Cristo, actor Viktor Avilov, played Mordaunt, the son of Milady and the enemy of the Musketeers.
A year later, Yungvald-Khilkevich also directed the movie ‘The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After’ (1993), based on the novel ‘The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later’ and, in 2008, once again returned to his favorite characters in the film ‘The Return of the Musketeers or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin’ (2008).
Watch the movie online for free here.
4. ‘Queen Margot’ (1996)
This series is based on the novel of the same name. The sister of King Charles IX of France is given in marriage to Huguenot Henry of Navarre. Their union is supposed to bring peace to the religious war between Catholics and Protestants. However, the story ends with a bloody Bartholomew’s Night, in which Margot saves a wounded Protestant from death and falls in love with him. The star of the series was Dmitry Kharatyan, who played this lover. He was well known to the public after the same romantic role in the TV series ‘Gardes-Marines, Forward!’ (1987). Producer Sergei Zhigunov (he also played one of the roles) and director Alexander Muratov had many disagreements during filming, in particular in the choice of actors. Therefore, many of the roles were re-dubbed during editing.
Watch the series online for free here.
5. ‘La Dame de Monsoreau’ (1998)
The focus here is on the tragic love of a beautiful countess and a brave swordsman, Count de Bussy. And, in the backdrop, a religious war between Catholics and Protestants rages. In fact, it is a continuation of the story described in ‘Queen Margot’. The two TV series were filmed simultaneously and some historical characters were played by the same actors. Evgeny Dvorzhetsky from ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ also appeared in the role of King Henry III of France. By that time, director Vladimir Popkov had already become a favorite of the public, having adapted the novel ‘Hearts of Three’ by Jack London a couple of years earlier.
Watch the series online for free here.
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