And Quiet Flows the Don (film)
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''And Quiet Flows the Don'' (russian: Тихий Дон, translit. Tikhiy Don) is a three-part Soviet epic film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by
Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...
.Как снимался «Тихий Дон»
, Arguments and Facts - Don, September 12, 2007
The first two parts of the film were released in October 1957 and the final third part in 1958. The film tells the story of Russia's involvement in the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, the fate of ordinary people, the crumbling ideals of the
Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...
and the personal tragedy of the protagonist, Grigori Melekhov (anglicised Gregory Melehoff). The protagonist is described by Gerasimov as in fact "a man without a road, doomed by history."


Plot


Part One

The young Cossack Grigori Melekhov is in love with a married Cossack woman called Aksinya Astakhova and she reciprocates, but those around him are against it, viewing it as a shameful union. The situation is aggravated after the return of Aksinya's husband from military training, and the husband beats his wife. Grigori is wed to another woman, Natalia Korshunova. Grigori and Aksinya decide to run away from their families, but their new life is cut short by the start of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Aksinya tells Grigori she is pregnant, though Grigori doubts his paternity. Grigori is conscripted into the Imperial Army and his unit battles with the
Austro-Hungarians Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
. For his actions, he is wounded but receives the St. George's Cross for bravery. Aksinya loses her child and is comforted by an estate owner's son. Returning on hospital leave, Grigori finds out that Aksinya was unfaithful to him. In a fit of jealousy, he beats the man and Aksinya with a whip, after which he returns to his father and wife Natalia.


Part Two

A few years later in 1916, Russian officers in a dugout are playing cards and discussing the war under the distant roar of cannonade. Their soldiers are reading an
anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...
leaflet. During the next attack, the Germans use
poison gas Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
. In the midst of the chaotic retreat, Grigori stumbles upon and saves Aksinya's husband. Back home, at a meeting of the villagers, they announce the deposition of Emperor
Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
and the transfer of power to the
Provisional Committee of the State Duma The Provisional Committee of the State Duma () was a special government body established on March 12, 1917 (27 February O.S.) by the Fourth State Duma deputies at the outbreak of the February Revolution in the same year. It was formed under th ...
. Discord arises among the Cossacks.
Yesaul Yesaul, osaul or osavul (russian: есау́л, translit=yesaul, uk, осаву́л, translit=osavul) (from Turkic yasaul - ''chief''), is a post and a rank in the Ukrainian Cossack units. The first records of the rank imply that it was introdu ...
Kalmykov advocates joining General Kornilov's forces and restore order in Russia, while the cornet Bunchuk wants to defend the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
. Kalmykov is disarmed, and Bunchuk kills the yesaul, his superior officer. Grigori finds himself in a full room with portraits of
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and red banners, where the fight with General
Kaledin Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin (russian: Алексе́й Макси́мович Каледи́н; 24 October 1861 – 11 February 1918) was a Don Cossack Cavalry General who led the Don Cossack White movement in the opening stages of the Russian C ...
, a leader in the
White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв ...
, is discussed. However, the Cossacks argue about whether they should support the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
or whether they can cope on their own. Melekhov witness two groups of Cossacks fight, Podtyolkov's 'Red' Cossacks and Chernetsov's 'White' Cossacks; the Whites lose, and Podtyolkov cuts down the captive Chernetsov with his sword. Grigori returns to his father and distributes gifts, but even here the Cossacks have no unity. Grigori is leaning toward the idea of 'Soviet power,' but his father wants nothing to do with it. The power is changing, and Grigori Melekhov, with shoulder straps and royal medals, observes the execution of Red Cossacks, recalling in his mind Podtyolkov's massacre of Chernetsov's Cossacks. The Bolshevik Shtokman demands the arrest of Grigori, but Grigori manages to escape. The Reds capture and shoot Peter, Gregory's brother. Grigori, at the head of a hundred Cossacks, cuts down revolutionary sailors in an attack. However, his mind remains cloudy from the war at the front and the ensuing war at home.


Part Three

Part Three opens up with Grigori on the Tatarsky farm against the background of flowering trees, hearing the cries of his wife Natalia. At a watering hole by the river, he meets Aksinya with buckets and admits out-loud that he cannot throw her out of his heart. Daria, the widow of Peter, Grigori's brother, kills a captive fellow villager from the Reds who had participated in the murder of her husband. Subsequently, for this act of retaliation, she receives encouragement from the command of the White Guards in the presence of a British officer. Natalia Melekhova, who had become pregnant with Grigori's child, tries to abort her pregnancy, saying that she "doesn't want to give birth to Grigori anymore." She dies as a result and the child is born anyway, and is named Mikhail (Mishatka as the diminutive). Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the White
Don Army The Don Army (russian: Донская армия, ) was the military of the short lived Don Republic and a part of the White movement in the Russian Civil War. It operated from 1918 to 1920, in the Don region and centered in the town of Novocher ...
in Balashov, Grigori remains unaware of his son's birth and drinks cognac with other officers. When the Whites retreat, Grigori takes Aksinya with him, but when she gets sick in the winter, he is forced to leave her in the care of a peasant family. In the spring of 1920, Grigori arrives in
Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...
, where the evacuation of the Whites takes place on a steamer. Life on the Tatarsky farm goes on, but tensions remain among the Cossacks with Grigori's mother unable to forgive the neighbors who killed her son. A Red Cossack responds, saying that "all the murderers are in the war," including her other son Grigori. A wounded (with an amputated right hand) Cossack Proshka arrives at the farm, telling Aksinya that Grigori in Novorossiysk has joined the
First Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (russian: Первая конная армия, Pervaya konnaya armiya) was a prominent Red Army military formation. It was also known as "Budyonny's Cavalry Army" or simply as ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horse ...
of General
Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonnyy ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian ca ...
and is in command of a cavalry regiment. Grigori Melekhov arrives. He is warned that the Reds have come to arrest Grigori, and so he runs away from the farm. Having stumbled upon some anti-Soviet rebels, Grigori chooses to leave them as well. He tries to leave with Aksinya to the
Kuban Kuban (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Pontic–Caspian steppe, ...
, but a bullet fired from a horse patrol kills her. He buries her under a great tree. Throwing his weapons into the river, Grigori returns to his native farm and hugs his son from Natalia, Mishatka, who is now a few years old.


Cast

*
Pyotr Glebov Pyotr Petrovich Glebov (russian: Пётр Петрович Глебов; 14 April 1915 – 17 April 2000), was a Russian film actor from the aristocratic Glebov family, whose early generations are listed in the 17th-century Velvet Book. Glebov's ...
as Grigori Melekhov *
Elina Bystritskaya Elina Avraamovna Bystritskaya (4 April 1928 – 26 April 2019) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress and theater pedagogue. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses in the Soviet and Russian film industry. Her career spann ...
as Aksiniya *
Zinaida Kiriyenko Zinaida Mikhailovna Kiriyenko (russian: Зинаи́да Миха́йловна Кириенко; 9 July 1933 – 12 February 2022) was a Russian actress and singer, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965), People's Artist of the RSFSR (1977). She wa ...
as Natalia *
Lyudmila Khityaeva Lyudmila Ivanovna Khityaeva (russian: Людмила Ивановна Хитяева; August 15, 1930 in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), USSR) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress, TV presenter. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1983). Filmo ...
as Daria Melekhova *
Daniil Ilchenko Daniil (russian: Даниил) is a Russian language, Russian masculine given name; equivalent to that of the English given name Daniel. Notable examples People named Daniil include: Arts and literature *Daniil Andreyev (1906–1959), Russian wri ...
as Pantelei Melekhov *
Boris Novikov Boris Kuzmich Novikov (russian: Бори́с Кузьми́ч Но́виков; 13 July 1925, Ryazhsk, Ryazan Governorate, RSFSR — 25 July 1997, Moscow) was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema. People's Artist of Russia (1994). Biography Bo ...
as Mitka Korshunov *
Igor Dmitriev Igor Borisovich Dmitriev (russian: И́горь Бори́сович Дми́триев) (29 May 1927 – 26 January 2008) was a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor who specialized in playing aristocratic characters in costume productions ( ...
as Eugene Listnitsky *
Vadim Zakharchenko Vadim Viktorovich Zakharchenko (russian: Вадим Викторович Захарченко; 19 February 1929 — 2 January 2007) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1954 to 2002. Honored Artist of th ...
as Prokhor Zykov *
Mikhail Gluzsky Mikhail Andreyevich Gluzsky (russian: Михаи́л Андре́евич Глу́зский; 20 November 1918 – 15 June 2001) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. He starred in the 1972 film, ''Monologue'', which was entered ...
as Esaul Kalmykov


Reception

In 1958, the film won Crystal Globe award at the
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...
and the Best Picture Award at the
All-Union Film Festival The All-Union Film Festival (russian: Всесоюзный кинофестиваль; tr.:''Vsesoyuznyy kinofestival'', also known as ВКФ; ''VKF'') was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and hel ...
.


See also

*
List of longest films This list of longest films is composed of films with a running time of 300 minutes (5 hours) or more. Cinematic films Note: Some releases are extended cuts or director's cuts, and are ranked according to the longest verified running time. Expe ...


References


External links

* *
''And Quiet Flows the Don'' – Part 1
on YouTube
''And Quiet Flows the Don'' – Part 2
on YouTube
''And Quiet Flows the Don'' – Part 3
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:And Quiet Flows The Don (1958 Film) 1958 films 1950s historical drama films Soviet historical drama films 1950s Russian-language films Films set in Russia Gorky Film Studio films Soviet black-and-white films Films directed by Sergei Gerasimov Crystal Globe winners Films based on Russian novels Soviet epic films Films released in separate parts World War I films set on the Eastern Front Films set in 1916 Films set in 1920 Russian Civil War films