TheLittleSongbird Wanting a 100% faithful adaptation of Master and Margarita is somewhat of a big ask, a truly brilliant and imaginative book but with material so rich and tangible that anyone adapting it is bound to come up short. This mini-series in comparison to the book is a let-down, but while it's disappointing and could have been much better it is also not that bad.Master and Margarita does benefit from some good performances, with Oleg Basilashvili, Aleksandr Abdulov, Aleksandr Galiban and Karill Lavrov coming out on top. Basilashvili may lack the demonic look, but has the cynical, sarcastically witty and mysterious traits of Woland down pat. Abdulov is exceptional, Galiban pitches Master's reserved and insane traits without a wrong note (true he was dubbed, but quite effectively) and Lavrov plays a hard role with commanding authority. Aleksandr Filippenko similarly excels in his role. In detail, the mini-series is very faithful to the book with all events intact and the dialogue as dialogue on its own is quite literate and clever stuff that really provokes thought.Had very mixed feelings on the music though. Hearing it it is very well-composed and stirring, and sometimes used cleverly and appropriately. Unfortunately, it is also rather repetitive; one does wish that more than two or three major tunes were used. While there are some good performances in the cast, attractive Anna Kovalchuk lacks the vast emotional range for Margarita and often recited her lines as if she were just reading them out aloud. Valentin Gaft's additional character was unnecessary and discordantly out of place, and Gaft plays him rather obnoxiously. While one has to admire that the mini-series of Master and Margarita tried to remain faithful to the book and the prose, the spirit unfortunately gets lost in translation, everything is here but presented in a bland way with the dialogue losing their kick and becoming rambling. The humour isn't sharp enough (apart from the Behemot and Woland in Moscow scenes), there is a general lack of emotion and ambiance and the macabre, bizarreness and mystery is presented with not very imagination on display.The mini-series has a drab colourless look to it, even in scenes that were crying out for colour to bring them to life, and the special effects are laughably amateurish. Direction is correct but a little pedestrian at the same time, and Behemot not only looks cheap and has almost everything stripped that was interesting of him as a character but is played in an over-compensated way sometimes. Overall, disappointing but not bad. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Fredegonde The advertising campaign for this series was something to behold in its own right, and it's about the only thing the people behind this film did right. Allegedly, it had decent budget which is nowhere in evidence. And M&M is the kind of film that requires special effects; in the film they are what you'd call bargain basement if you're feeling generous. Bortko followed the book faithfully enough but still removed some crucial scenes and added a ridiculous character played by Valentin Gaft made up to look like Beria. Bulgakov was never that direct. Also, Bortko shot most of the 1930s Moscow in sepia-like colors to contrast it with Woland's and Master's colorful scenes. I think it was a big mistake but it was unavoidable given that Bortko has no feel for the macabre and the bizarre. He has very a pedestrian imagination. Bulgakov's Moscow was devilish in its own right, and Bortko turned it into a bland depiction of a regular city. In the book, Woland came to the city that felt as if it belonged to him already. Here, he comes on a tour of a gray and uninteresting Moscow with nothing to distinguish it from any other city. Which shows that Bortko also has zero grasp of the philosophical and religious issues of the book. I wasn't particularly annoyed by most of the casting excluding Margarita. Anna Kovalchuk is beautiful but she couldn't act to save her life. Bortko must be fond of casting people who look right without any regard for their acting abilities (he did the same casting Lidya Velezheva as Nastasya Filippovna in The Idiot). On the whole, 3 out of 10.

ksenia_boitsova Good job on all accounts. I do agree Kovalchuk was the weakest link in this production - she is just too young and inexperienced to play such a difficult part. Galibin was amazing as Master, his voice and movements are captivating. The rest of the cast was comprised of experienced and great performers, and they all worked very hard on the roles they were entrusted with. Dubbing instead of the recording during the shoot is actually an old technique used by great filmmakers in the past. It is very tedious and hard on actors but it ensures the best tone and intonation the actor can deliver for the particular moment and lines. It has nothing to do with Soviet era movies. If it sounds unnatural, it means the actor is not experienced in this craft and is not a good actor. Unfortunately, Ms. Kovalchuk completely failed that part, her tone and voice sounded very dull and unnatural. Other than that, I enjoyed watching this movie. Even my non-Russian speaking American husband watched the movie with a great deal of interest.

eugenep13 "Master and Margareth" has always been my favorite book. I have read a lot of books, and none of them had captivated and haunted me in such a way that I would read it again and again and again. It is one of the most unusual and mysterious books ever written in the 20th century. And, finally, there is a movie which is as close to the original as possible. To be honest, there is a lot of really bad movies made in Russia, and most of them are so dreadful that it should be made illegal to pocess them! "Master and Margareth" is a pleasant and distinguished exemption from the endless flood of utterly horrible junk which is called Russian film-making. I really loved the movie. The actors are great, digital photography and the special effects aren't so bad either. Of course, it could have always been better but Russian films never have the same budget as an average Hollywood flick. I enjoyed the way the movie turns from B&W to color and opposite. And the soundtrack is amazing. They should release it separately on a CD.This long awaited version does not mean that you don't need to read the book. No matter how perfect the adaptation is (it is far above excellent in this case), it can never replace the original. If you've never read it, do yourself a favor and do it as soon as possible. If you had read it before, it is really worth giving it another go. If you do it once every 5-10 years, you will definitely find something new in it.Finally, it has been released with English subtitles. It would not be really fair to all English speaking scholars, researchers and Bulgakov's lovers who otherwise wouldn't have been able to watch this masterpiece.