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This movie ranks among the masterpieces of Soviet film art.

Really everything is good here: the acting, the shots, the timing, the scenery and its tale. Taken from a very famous short story by Chekhov, one of Russia's greatest writers. 'Dama s sobachkoj' reflects its very Russian character well: infinite boredom, caused by life in an endlessly large country with a harsh climate and a very monotonuous landscape.

The plot of this movie is timed at the end of the 19th century, an era when in Europe divorce was socially disastrous for your life, status and career. For this reason the lovers Sergueevna and Gourov cannot get together, thus being forced to consider in full the fate of their unhappy marriages and their missed chances in life.

It will not surprise you that the pace of this movie is slow. Maybe too slow for Western taste, even back in 1960. Anyway, its slowness provides you with plenty of opportunity to enjoy the magnificent shots from this very Russian movie.

In the Nineteenth Century, at the seaside resort of Yalta, the upper class Dimitri Gurov (Aleksey Batalov) from Moscow meets Anna Sergeyovna (Iya Savvina) walking with her little dog. Both have unhappy marriages: Dimitri has a marriage of convenience arranged by the family when he was a college boy and Anna married a lackey for love that has gone, and they have a love affair.

When Anna returns to Saratov and Dimitri to Moscow, he has a boring life at home, spending his time working and going to the club after hours alone to drink and play cards with his friends. On Christmas, Dimitri misses Anna and lies to his wife, telling that he has a business trip to Saint Petersburg. However, he heads to Saratov and he meets Anna in the Opera House with her husband. Their love kindles and Anna promises to meet him in Moscow. In a period when divorce would be unthinkable, Anna and Dimitri are doomed to meet each other in hotel rooms.

"Dama s Sobachkoj" is a classy and melancholic love story by Iosif Kheifits based on a short story by Anton Chekhov. The film is developed in slow pace, with magnificent black and white cinematography and music score.

Iya Savvina has one of the prettiest faces I have ever seen and it is easy to explain the initial attraction of Dimitri for Anna. Each frame is magnificently shot in beautiful planes and details. The DVD released by the Brazilian distributor Cult Classic is totally restored with perfect image and sound. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Dama do Cachorrinho" ("The Lady of the Little Dog")

Watching "Dama s sobachkoy" (called "Lady with a Dog" in English), you almost wonder if it's going to turn into "Fatal Attraction". I mean, a story about a man and woman having a brief fling, and then he follows her home. What would anyone in the 21st century expect? Just because it's based on an Anton Chekhov novel, doesn't mean we can't make fun of it (especially given its overstuffed sense of itself). The truth is, if Dr. Forrester had made Mike, Servo and Crow watch this, they could have come up with some great comments; they could have even preceded it with an "educational" (read: propaganda) film for Soviet children. But so many movies from the Soviet Union are "Mystery Science Theater 3000"-worthy; "Father Frost" for example. On other notes, the movie has everything that we expect in Russian stories, namely misery and fatalism.

It is generally believed that unrequited love is classified as impossible love. This is not entirely true as impossible love is more related to a kind of love wherein lovers try to possess something that is impracticable. This is why most instances of impossible love are similar to most incidents of unattainable love."The lady with the dog"- one of the most tender classics of Russian cinema is a film which deals with the theme of impossible love. This Iosif Heifits film describes the tragic tale of Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna who met and fell in love with each other while vacationing at Yalta, Russia. It is based on a famous short story by Anton Chekov which also takes into account the realization of the worthlessness of one's existence in an extremely dull milieu. Gurov is an integral part of this milieu which he hates with all his might. The film remains faithful to the spirit of the book as it has added rich, visual touches to the narrative which takes into account a highly puritanical Russian society where divorce had not yet made its appearance. The beauty of this film lies in the fact that both writer Anton Chekov and director Iosif Heifits emerge as true chroniclers of male-female relationships as they emphatically convey that whenever a man makes the first amorous move, a woman accepts it only when she is truly interested in getting herself involved in a love affair. Lastly, we all know that love is not a child's play and can bring trouble as the viewers watch with astonishment how Anna Sergeyevna express incessantly all unease which she feels whenever she is made conscious of her love affair.

The first classic trait of the film which captures the senses, is the outstanding cinematography - as one viewer notes, in the best traditions of silent film. Indeed, too much is left unspoken by the characters. Everything's a delicate and delightful play of fine sensations - a feast for the intelligent viewer whose thread through the labyrinth of characters' feelings is often a glimpse, a twitch, and a seemingly inconsequent line in Chekhov's text. A great burden lies on the shoulder's of the two main actors, Batalov and Savina. While the former does a brilliant job, the latter, in my opinion, is classes underneath. She is fit to play a typical Soviet-era character, not Chekhov's.

They don't make films like this any more. In film you either make it in the best time honoured classical tradition: logical sequence, irony, exquisite painstaking set-ups with perfect lighting, costumes, extras, everything pleasing to the eye and the heart and you find others watching it with a smile on their faces; or you make it so fast, jump edits, ramping, so wild that only you know the rules. Well you can do it the Clint Eastwood way which is the perfectly oiled machine: film them during the rehearsal. He really belongs to the classical genre. The problem with the second way is that you can't sit easily through two hours of a movie made like that. A pop video of two minutes fine, otherwise you emerge from the cinema with your brain fried and the stupid expression you get after sitting through three hours of watching ad commercial festivals. I've done it many times, and it's unnatural, and not good for you. THE LADY WITH THE LITTLE DOG is a perfect little story, superbly acted, observed, costumed, directed, lit, everything. A masterpiece of black and white. It cannot be faulted in any way. It must have taken ages to do the set-ups, something no one can afford to do these days; but then with the state paying the salaries, who was counting? So it was made during the Soviet era: but what is perfect, is perfect, for all time.

In my opinion, there are at least two kinds of melancholia. One has to do with a low level of passion and few, muddled emotions. Melancholia could, however, also be about truly passionate emotions of sadness and longing. There is a huge difference between the two, and they often seem to be confused. This movie is definitely about the passionate sadness and longing - at least it communicates some of the most outrageously passionate longing I've ever witnessed on film. Whoever thought "fast" automatically means "more passionate" was apparently dead wrong. There's also something realistic and very human about the characters. If you've lived for a while you've met people like these, and you may yourself have experienced (or even dreamt) similar situations. I felt immense pity for the characters, in my opinion a great achievement for any movie. Even if it's a film with "love" playing an important part, I felt it was innovative - this is simply unique stuff. I'll not give away too much of the story - go see this outstanding movie for yourself!

This film was made for the 100th anniversart of Anton Tchekhov, and like almost all Russian films made on their literature it is extremely faithful to the original. Anton Tchekhov is all there from beginning to end, and although the film mainly consists of only trivialities, like David Lean's "Brief Encounter", it is only the more exciting and spellbinding for its attention to the smallest details and the pettiest characters showing up on the way. Alexey Batalov and Iya Savvina are more than perfect in their leading roles, her melancholy frailty shines throughout the film with absolute truthfulness, and his resigned broodings, you actually get nothing to know about him until long after you learned everything about her, adds to the very romantic nature of this adorable cinematic poetry, unique and unsurpassed in its kind. Another important support and enhancement of this extreme romanticism in all its very restrained discipline - there is not one superfuous detail in the whole film - is the mesmerizing and unforgettable music by Nadezhda Simonyan. The tune will haunt you forever, and although this is a story without end, nothing is resolved, there are only question marks and incertitude in the end, that is actually where the film and story starts. You'll never know how it continues, but somehow it will continue forever.

I admired the fact that the director paid such close attention to local detail that he included several scenes to point out the Moslem presence in Yalta (some 20% of the people are Tartars). There is a scene in which two touristy looking males order drinks in the hotel and then stick a pinkie into their glasses. This is a custom among westernized Turks who wish to follow the Koran's admonition that "the first drop of alcohol shall not pass your lips." So the first drop is removed. Then the coachman does his prayers while waiting for the lovers. And a mother is shown wearing a birka as the children are drilled in their Russian declensions. My fedora is tipped for him.

I must have seen this film when it first came out because it seems so long ago now, but it made a great impression on me,especially the theme music and the tune played by the street musician on a clarinet I believe. I am so pleased to have traced the details at last courtesey of the web. I wonder if there is a chance I will ever see it once more.

"Dama s sobachkoy" or "The Lady With the Dog" is an adaptation of the famous (and rather good) Anton Chekhov short story of the same name. Director Iosif Kheifits approaches the film sensibly by adapting not only the story but also many of the sensibilities and characteristics present in Chekhov's writing.

First of all, the pacing: In keeping with Chekhov's short story the pacing is natural in the way one would relate a truly affecting story from their life- slowly but also in a sense relentlessly and without break. Also typical of Chekhov and thankfully not changed in this film version is the lack of a moral 'message' as well as the subtle characterization that depends on highlighting character traits rather than blatantly telling you what sort of character to expect.

As a film "Dama s sobachkoy" is definitely impressive with the striking black and white photography by Dmitri Meskhiyev and Andrei Moskvin perfectly accentuating the various moods of the film. There's also a memorable score by Nadezhda Simonyan to add to the film with the main theme being particularly effective.

I'm not sure if I see any real flaws in "Dama s sobachkoy" but somehow it doesn't come off as a classic. What it does succeed in is becoming an excellent adaptation of a memorable short story that is pulled off unusually but very well regardless.

8/10

This Movie was by far the greatest Russian Movie I have ever seen. I have been awake for over 72 hours rewatching the movie over and over in the hopes of finding all the greater meanings. My wife has been watching this movie with me as well and this has really spiced up our relationship. If you are also a true fan i would highly recommend watching this movie in reverse because it causes your view to change about all the characters in the movie. If you are looking for a movie that will make you laugh, Cry, and scream this is the movie for you.

(P.s. the Grey Fence in the movie is very cheaply made you can see the metal support beams sticking from the sides)

gentle, fragile, delicate. Tchekov spirit in an impressive adaptation of a very well short story. a show of nuances in which Iya Savvina is fabulous. for the measure of gestures, for the force of words, for the translation of a profound drama without any cure or limit. a film of nuances about shadow of happiness. a man, a woman, a husband, a wife, Ialta. and few walks. entire flavor of a time is recreated. entire charm of a great writer creation is exposed in magnificent mode. like an old song," Dama s sobachkoj " is a kind of time travel. in heart of lost world. in middle of bitter circle. in fact, only continuous present far from every mask.

Two weak people wandering through life probably frustrating and certainly boring the life out of their "strong" spouses. Why didn't they just develop a little backbone at home?! It would have made everybody's lives more interesting! I felt like I was reading a Thomas Hardy novel and I wanted to scream or at least shake them until their teeth rattled. But I persevered until the inevitable end, "We'll find a way." ... Maybe. But since the overwhelming impression was that their adulterous passions arose out of an inner boredom with life, it seems entirely likely that that same inner boredom will eventually quench this new passion too.