2005 marking the 100th birth anniversary of the Russian Nobel prize-winning writer, Mikhail Sholokhov, the new screen version of his novel And Quiet Flows the Don will be released after 13 years of shelving. Director Sergei Bondarchuk who won a 1968 Oscar for his epic movie War and Peace has not lived to see the movie: an Italian bank as a compensation for debt confiscated all the materials.
Bondarchuk conceived shooting a new version of the
celebrated novel about the Cossacks in the early 1990s when the
Russian cinematography languished in complete misery and inertia.
With the Italian producer of the movie, it was decided to "reinforce"
the crew with Hollywood stars, choosing Oscar-winning Englishman
Rupert Everett for the leading role of Cossack Grigory Melikhov who
though being disappointed with the old government, could not accept
the new Bolshevik one as well. The movie was shot by Oscar
winning cameraman Daniele Nanuzzi in Sholokhov's native village of
Veshenskaya.
Unfortunately, Bondarchuk who had not seen to it that the director
rights were spelt out in the contract was caught in a legal trap. As soon
as he sent to the producer the raw edition of the movie, he stopped
getting any news from Rome. Then, it turned out that the producer got
bankrupt. Bondarchuk was in despair, after having spent two years on
a movie whose scope (160 meters of film) can be compared to that of
War and Peace. Bondarchuk died in 1994, his effort to return the movie home remained futile.
Intrigues around And Quiet Flows the Don proved to be so intricate
that in one of his interviews, star Rupert Everett expressed doubts that
the movie would ever be released. But fortunately, it has been finally
bought out. The film has remained intact and only the sound and
music want recording. The Mosfilm studios are busy completing the
work to release the movie on the First TV Channel this season.
