Burnt by the Sun

UPC: 043396009752

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children]

Summary: Stalinist Russia, circa 1930, is recreated in this Russian-French film that focuses on a small, elite gathering of family and friends who appreciate the idealism of Stalin's visions because they do not have to experience its darker side of gulags and purges. The story focuses upon a single day in Soviet revolutionary hero Serguei Kotov's life. Kotov lives an idyllic country life with his lovely wife Maroussia, and their feisty daughter Nadia. He is highly respected by the locals. On this day, the Kotovs are visited by the roguishly handsome Dimitri, who was a former lover of Maroussia. Dimitri is on a dark mission that may have profound effects on Kotov's peaceful, happy, and idealistic existence. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Foreign Language Film – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Grand Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival

Features: cc[None specified]

Burnt by the Sun

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/15/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 135 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) Russian

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Start [7:20]
2. Tanks! [2:28]
3. Looking for Kotov [2:38]
4. Pulling Rank [6:17]
5. "Burnt by the Sun" [2:11]
6. Kirik Arrives [6:08]
7. The Wizard From the Maghreb [2:14]
8. Mitya [8:38]
9. At the Lake [8:08]
10. Nadya & Her Father [5:36]
11. Remembering Their First Night [3:05]
12. "Gas Warning! We're Under Attack!" [5:00]
13. Piano Duets [1:57]
14. Eating Alone [5:55]
15. A Story for Nadya [7:23]
16. "As the Crimson Sea Did Run" [1:22]
17. Nadya, Mitya & Kirik [3:08]
18. On the Staircase [11:20]
19. Still Lost [3:56]
20. The Truth About Mitya [3:08]
21. The Car Arrives [5:34]
22. Small Talk [2:57]
23. Helping Father Get Ready [2:41]
24. Farewells [4:01]
25. Nadya at the Wheel [1:37]
26. Taking the Colonel for a Ride [1:51]
27. Wrong Place, Wrong Time [2:38]
28. 7:00 AM [2:38]

Tom Wiener

By the early '90s, it was finally possible for filmmakers working in the former Soviet Union to deal honestly with the horrors of the 1930s, when Stalin and his regime "reassessed" the contributions of many heroes of the Revolution, resulting in mass imprisonments and death for many millions. Nikita Mikhalkov's brilliant film about those dark days is ironically set at a sunny summer retreat where Serguei Petrovich Kotov (Mikhalkov), an officer who has been honored for his contributions to the success of the state, and his family are enjoying an idyllic summer's day. The film's deliberate pacing for a full half-hour (we might think we're watching the Russian equivalent of Renoir's Partie De Campagne) lulls the viewer into a false sense of serenity. When Dimitri, an old lover of Kotov's young wife and now a government official, arrives, Mikhalkov allows our suspicion that Dimitri's visit isn't merely personal to accumulate slowly. The film flirts with sentimentality, especially in casting Mikhalkov's real-life daughter as Kotov's irresistibly cute little girl, but after all, the filmmaker's goal is to show the toll that a repressive political regime can exact on the lives of individual citizens. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Eduard Artemyev  Composer (Music Score) 
Rustam Ibragimbekov  Screenwriter 
Nikita Mikhalkov  Director 
Nikita Mikhalkov  Screenwriter 
Leonid Verechtchaguine  Producer 
Leonid Vereschagin  Executive Producer 
Nikita Mikhalkov  Actor 
Oleg Menshikov  Actor 
Ingeborga Dapkunaite  Actor 
Vladimir Ilyin  Actor 
Vyacheslav Tikhonov  Actor 
Svetlana Kryuchkova  Actor 
Avangard Leontyev  Actor 
Nadia Mikhalkov  Actor 
André Oumansky  Actor 
Yevgeny Mironov  Actor 
Lyubov Rudneva  Actor 
Alla Kazanskaya  Actor 
Nina Arkhipova  Actor 
Inna Ulyanova  Actor 

Country: France,Russia