''The Idiot'' (russian: Идиот) is a costume drama TV series of

Vladimir Bortko Vladimir Vladimirovich Bortko (russian: Владимир Владимирович Бортко; born 7 May 1946) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, producer and politician. He was a member of the State Duma between 2011 and 2021, and was aw ...

produced by Telekanal Rossiya in 2003, based on

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

's 1869 novel of the same title. The series' script is very close to Dostoevsky's original text, and the series features well-known Russian actors. According to bonus materials included on the DVD, in order to improve authenticity, serious efforts were made to capture the spirit of the time, through proper way of speaking, and through very careful selection of costumes for the actors to wear. The series was branded by the novel's original pre-1920s orthography title "идіотъ" (in all caps) instead of the current "идиот" as one will find it on the bookshelves in Russia (to promote the atmosphere of the tsarist time when the film's plot takes place). This branded title "ИДІОТЪ" can be seen at the beginning of each part and on the cover of the DVD release. The series consists of 10 parts each approximately 50 minutes.

Cast

Evgeny Mironov Yevgeny Vitalyevich Mironov (Russian language, Russian: Евгений Витальевич Миронов; born 29 November 1966) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor. Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (1996), People's Artist of ...

—

Prince Myshkin Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, князь Лев Николаевич Мышкин, knyazʹ Lev Nikoláyevich Mýshkin) is the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1869 novel ''The Idiot''. Dostoevsky wanted ...

* Lidiya Velezheva — Nastasya Filippovna *

Vladimir Mashkov Vladimir Lvovich Mashkov ( Russian: Владимир Львович Машков; born 27 November 1963) is a Soviet and Russian actor and director of cinema, known to Western audiences for his work in the 2001 film '' Behind Enemy Lines'' and 2 ...

— Parfyon Rogozhin *Aleksandr Lazarev Jr. — Gavrilya Ardalionovich Ivolgin *

Oleg Basilashvili Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili (russian: Оле́г Валериа́нович Басилашви́ли; ka, ოლეგ ბასილაშვილი, ; born 26 September 1934) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist ...

— General Ivan Yepanchin *

Inna Churikova Inna Mikhailovna Churikova (russian: Инна Михайловна Чурикова; born 5 October 1943) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress. Biography Churikova was born in Belebey, Bashkir ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. In t ...

—Elizaveta Prokofieevna Yepanchina, General Yepanchin's wife *Olga Budina — Aglaya Ivanovna Yepanchina, their youngest daughter *Aleksandr Domogarov — Evgeny Pavlovich (Aglaya's suitor) *Aleksey Petrenko — general Ardalion Ivolgin, Ganya's father *Vladimir Ilyin — Lebedev

Trivia

On several occasions in the series, one can observe "today's"

Russian flag The national flag of Russia (russian: Флаг России, Flag Rossii), also known as the ''State Flag of the Russian Federation'' (russian: Государственный флаг Российской Федерации, Gosudarstvenny fla ...

, the white-blue-red

Tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

. This, however, is the director's mistake. Dostoevsky himself died in 1881, and the novel is set earlier. (It was written in 1869.) While this flag was already used in

tsarist Russia Tsarist Russia may refer to: * Grand Duchy of Moscow (1480–1547) *Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721) *Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of ...

, it was admitted for use on land only in 1883 (previously used on sea) and became the official flag of the empire in 1896. Thus, the black-gold-silver tsarist flag should have been used in the film.

References

External links

*
Movie Trailer
an
ScreenshotsPage on Yevgeny Mironov’s Official Website
Russia-1 original programming Films based on The Idiot Television shows directed by Vladimir Bortko Russian television miniseries Russian drama television series 2003 Russian television series debuts 2003 Russian television series endings 2000s Russian television series {{Russia-tv-prog-stub