''The Master and Margarita'' (Мастер и Маргарита) is a Russian film made by director

Yuri Kara Yuri Viktorovich Kara (Russian: Юрий Викторович Кара), born on 12 November 1954 in Stalino, is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Yuri Kara was born on 12 November 1954 in the Stalino, which is now c ...

, based on the novel ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin's regime. A censored version, with several chapters cut by ...

'' by the Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov.

Background

Although the film was made in 1994, it was not released until April 4, 2011, and played only in Russia. Despite its large budget and a well-known cast, the producers decided not to release it because they found the director's cut to be unacceptable. The soundtrack, recorded by

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

, was released on CD. When journalist Valeriy Kitshin of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta saw the film in a private screening at the

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

in 2005, he tried to convince the producers to release it. However, Sergey Shilovsky, the grandson of Mikhail Bulgakov's third wife Elena Sergeevna, claimed to have the copyright on Bulgakov's literary inheritance, and asked for payment. Shilovsky eventually sold the rights to producer Scott Steindorff of Stone Village Productions, who commissioned

Caroline Thompson Caroline Thompson (born April 23, 1956) is an American novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer. She wrote the screenplays for the Tim Burton-directed films '' Edward Scissorhands'' and ''Corpse Bride'' and the Burton-produced ''The ...

to write the script. On November 15, 2010, the Russian film distributor Luxor announced that they had bought the rights to the film. It was on April 4, 2011. Luxor shortened the film to 118 minutes from the original director's cut, which was 240 minutes long. Copies are available on bootleg disks of low image quality.

Plot

The film is an adaptation of the novel ''

'' by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. Three storylines are interwoven. The first is a satire of the 1930s, the period during which

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

is in power in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The devil

Woland Woland (russian: Воланд) is a fictional character in the novel ''The Master and Margarita'' by the Russian (Soviet) author Mikhail Bulgakov, written between 1928 and 1940. Woland is the mysterious foreigner and professor whose visit to Mosco ...

comes to Moscow to have his annual spring ball of the full moon. He and his companions challenge corrupt bureaucrats and profiteers. The second story, set in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, describes the inner struggle of

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

before, during, and after the conviction and execution of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. The third part tells the love story between a nameless writer in Moscow in the 1930s and his lover, Margarita. He has written a novel on

, a subject which was taboo in the officially anti-religious atheistic Soviet Union.

Soundtrack

The "bolero" in the soundtrack references Maurice Ravel's ''

Bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

''.

Cast

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). ...

Anastasiya Vertinskaya Anastasiya Alexandrovna Vertinskaya (russian: link=no, Анастасия Александровна Вертинская, born 19 December 1944, Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian actress, who came to prominence in the early 1960s ...

* The Master: Viktor Rakov *

Valentin Gaft Valentin Iosifovich Gaft (russian: Валенти́н Ио́сифович Гафт; 2 September 1935 – 12 December 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was People's Artist of the RSFSR (1984). Biography Early life and education Gaft was ...

* Ivan Bezdomny:

Sergey Garmash Sergei Leonidovich Garmash (russian: Серге́й Леони́дович Гарма́ш; born 1 September 1958) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor. He is a People's Artist of Russia. In 2013 he was a member of the jury at the 35th Mosc ...

Mikhail Ulyanov Mikhail Ulyanov may refer to: * Mikhail Alexandrovich Ulyanov, actor * Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov, diplomat {{disambig ...

Korovyev Korovyev (spelled Koroviev in the Penguin Classics edition) is one of Woland's entourage in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, ''The Master and Margarita.'' He presents himself to others as "professor" Woland's "assistant and translator," and is capable ...

Aleksandr Filippenko Aleksandr Georgievich Filippenko (russian: links=no, Александр Георгиевич Филиппенко; born September 2, 1944) is a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of Russia (2000). Biography He was born in Moscow. His pare ...

* Behemoth:

Viktor Pavlov Viktor Pavlovich Pavlov (russian: Ви́ктор Па́влович Па́влов; October 5, 1940 – August 24, 2006) was a Russian stage and film actor. Pavlov worked in some of the most popular theatres of Moscow: 1963–1965 - Sovremen ...

Yeshua Yeshua or Y'shua (; with vowel pointing he, יֵשׁוּעַ, Yēšūaʿ, labels=no) was a common alternative form of the name Yehoshua ( he, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Yəhōšūaʿ, Joshua, labels=no) in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jew ...

Ha-Nozri:

Nikolai Burlyayev Nikolai Petrovich Burlyayev (russian: Николай Петрович Бурляев; born 3 August 1946) is a Soviet and Russian actor and film director. Born into a family of actors, Burlyayev started his career in film and theatre when he was ...

* Kaifa:

Vyacheslav Shalevich Vyacheslav Anatolievich Shalevich (russian: Вячесла́в Анато́льевич Шале́вич; 27 May 1934 – 21 December 2016) was a Soviet-Russian film, theatre actor and a People's Artist of the RSFSR. Biography Vyacheslav Anatolie ...

Azazello Azazello (in early versions of the book, Fiello, russian: link=no, Азазелло) is a character from the novel '' The Master and Margarita'' by the Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov. A demon, a member of Woland's entourage. "The demon of the w ...

: Vladimir Steklov

Soundtrack

# Meister und Margarita I - 1:47 # Voland - 2:26 # Foxtrot - 1:04 # Tango - 0:59 # Marche Funebre - 1:12 # Boléro ( Maurice Ravel) - 15:00 # Meister und Margarita II - 1:50 All tracks composed by

, except the Boléro.

References

External links

*
Master i Margarita (Yuri Kara)
on the Master & Margarita website {{DEFAULTSORT:Master and Margarita, The 1994 films Films scored by Alfred Schnittke Films based on The Master and Margarita Russian fantasy films Portrayals of Jesus in film Cultural depictions of Judas Iscariot Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate Caiaphas