''The Killers'' (russian: Убийцы, translit. ''Ubiytsy'') is a 1956 student film by the

Soviet 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, ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n film director

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

and his fellow students Marika Beiku and

Aleksandr Gordon Aleksandr Vitalyevich Gordon (russian: Алексaндр Витaльевич Гордoн; pronunciation: ) (26 December 1931 – 7 December 2020) was a Soviet filmmaker and Russian author. Biography Gordon was a classmate of Andrey Tarkovskiy a ...

. The film is based on the short story ''

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

'' by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

, written in 1927. It was Tarkovsky's first film, produced when he was a student at the

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

(VGIK).

Plot

''The Killers'' is an adaptation of a short story by

. The story is divided into three scenes. The first and third scenes were directed by Beiku and Tarkovsky, the second by Gordon. The first scene shows Nick Adams (Yuli Fait) observing two gangsters (Valentin Vinogradov and Vadim Novikov) in black coats and black hats entering a small-town diner where Adams is eating. They tell the owner, George (Aleksandr Gordon), that they are searching for the boxer Ole Andreson and that they want to kill him. They tie up Nick Adams and Sam the cook, and wait for Ole Andreson to appear. Three customers enter the restaurant and are sent away by George. One of the customers is played by Tarkovsky, who whistles '' Lullaby of Birdland''. The second scene shows Nick Adams visiting Ole Andreson ( Vasily Shukshin) in his hide-out, a small room. He warns Andreson about the two gangsters, but Andreson is resigned to his fate and unwilling to flee. The third scene shows Adams returning to the diner and informing the owner of Andreson's decision.

Cast

* Yuli Fait as Nick Adams *

as George * Valentin Vinogradov as Al * Vadim Novikov as Max * Yuri Dubrovin as 1st Customer *

as 2nd Customer * Vasily Shukshin as Ole Andreson * Ermengeld Konovalov as Sam the cook

Production

Students were required to work on films in groups of two or threes due to a lack of equipment at the film school VGIK. Andrei Tarkovsky and Aleksandr Gordon asked Marika Beiku to work with them. The idea for adapting

's short story was Tarkovsky's. All roles were played by students of the VGIK, and the camera and lighting was handled by fellow students Alfredo Álvarez and Aleksandr Rybin. Beiku, Gordon and Tarkovsky set up an American bar in the studio of the film school, at this time a symbol of depravity and becoming a minor attraction among students. Props were brought by students from their homes, and from relatives and friends. The film was praised by Mikhail Romm, the professor and teacher of Beiku, Gordon and Tarkovsky.

References

External links

* * (English sub-titles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Killers (1956 film), The 1956 films Films based on works by Ernest Hemingway Films based on short fiction Films directed by Andrei Tarkovsky Russian independent films 1950s Russian-language films Soviet short films Student films Soviet drama films 1956 drama films Soviet black-and-white films