hasimova-aygul After having read this incredible book by Mikhail Bulgakov I thought how Sharikov and Professor Preobrazhensky would look like in real life. Borthko found them! Sharikov and Professor are in the flesh! The satire and allegory of this superb piece of art is 'the cherry top'. I must confess, it's so rare when you see a film on the same pace of the book. The film is a brilliant screen where your fantasy heroes come true. Evstigneev's and Tolokonnikov's talent is irreplaceable! Did the director change anything from the book? God forbid, NO! Borthko has put every detail in this incredible masterpiece! It's that Bulgakov we see and would love to see! 10 out of 10!

Efenstor The cult movie for every true Russian intellectual. Everything is brilliant, especially acting: it's beyond any praise. The movie, as the book, is full of symbols: my favorite one is the brightest symbol of Razrukha (colloquial Russian word for "devastation", often signifies the period of lifestyle chaos after the 1918-20 Civil War) -- the wide-opened dirty door in the bricky wall squeaking in the snowy wind and the pitch-black hole of the doorway behind it.Now the film is released on DVD with fully restored image and the 5.1 sound, there are well-translated English subtitles too, though some obscene words of Sharikov were replaced by the more mild versions in the translation. I don't know is that DVD available abroad but if you'll find it grab it immediately, it's really worthy of watching.And, in conclusion, a fact: about the 50% of Russians today, mostly youth, can be identified as Sharikovs in a considerable degree. It's the post-Soviet effect: Soviet people appeared to be wholly unprepared for the informational attack of the Western civilization, TV-producers and movie makers have made the entertainment industry and the mass media amazingly aggressive, soulless and thoughtless so that it abetted the darkest instincts of every Russian. Even among the Internet users every third one uses the obscene language in forums and chats because it's amazingly common in colloquial speech.

tributarystu There are people and people on this world, of which some, we must agree, are of arguable "pedigree". Like...a dog, let's say. So what is the difference between man and dog? The fact that an animal doesn't aspire to greatness? Or is it that an animal knows, more or less, its limits and man often doesn't? Debatable, but my guess would be something in this direction. And, just one more question: is it the heart or the mind that counts more?In the "natural" surroundings of the year 1924 in Russia (shortly after the Russian revolution came to an end - the war between the Reds and the Whites) a professor devoted to his science, but not obsessed by it, conducts an experiment on a dog, implanting some gland which, in effect, causes the animal to evolve into a man. It does sound a bit silly, I must say, but it's arguably a thing of evolution which one might consider. The result of the experiment is a human being which adapts amazingly well to the "simple" doctrine of the bolsheviki, while denying any intellectual rights a person might have on the world as it is. The simple man who desires philosophical concepts such as equality without being able to fully comprehend what it'd mean. In a way, this is what communism relied on and too many people relished this utopist dream.It's a satire, yes, but not to a huge extent. Don't watch the film expecting to see a phenomenal comedic act, as you definitely won't. The cast does deliver some strong performances, although not constantly and I suppose the directing went rather swell. I'd say well shot. There's not really much to say, given the strange character of the film. Maybe the subject isn't that catchy, but the movie itself has some very interesting strong points dispersed throughout the whole film. It's not Frankenstein, but you have to wonder how close it comes to being the infamous monster.

Jack OntheNet This film is totally garbage. Some imbecilic intellectual comforting himself by making all his best to claim superiority of aristocrat over working class. Nothing more than a piece of self-complacence catharsis. Disgusting.If this kind of a movie is set in US, it will sure make itself a big joke. And simply because it comes out from 'the other side', it makes itself a masterpiece, a wonderful amusement for certain brain-washed and/or brain-washing westerns (some George W. maybe:). A typical cold-war sequelae, some kind of joke anyway.I would say, if this -- like expressed in this film -- is all what Soviet intellectuals had been thinking about all those years, then maybe they deserve all the miseries they claim they had gone through. BUT NO! 'cause like many others, I've read and watched real masterpieces made by real outstanding Soviet intellectuals. For example, something also relevant with dog, "White Bim Black Ear" -- both Gavriil Troyepolsky's book and Stanislav Rostotsky's movie -- is a real masterpiece. Real life, real tragedy, real sad, real pride and dignity, one of the real best of the Soviet era.