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
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