Chernobyl (TV series)
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Chernobyl |
| Original title | Chernobyl |
 | |
| Country of production |
United States , United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| year | 2019 |
| Production company |
Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint |
| length | 60-72 minutes |
| Episodes | 5 in 1 season ( list ) |
| genre | Period film , drama |
| Director | Johan Renck |
| idea | Craig Mazin |
| script | Craig Mazin |
| production | Sanne Wohlenberg |
| music | Hildur Guðnadóttir |
| camera | Jacob yours |
| cut |
Jinx Godfrey , Simon Smith |
| First broadcast | May 6, 2019 (USA) on HBO |
| German-language first broadcast |
May 14, 2019 on Sky Atlantic HD |
| occupation | |
Chernobyl is a US-American - British miniseries radio station HBO that aired on May 6 to June 3 of 2019. In German-speaking countries, it was shown on television from May 14 to June 11, 2019 on Sky Atlantic HD and was also available via Sky Ticket . It is now also available from Maxdome and Prime Video or as DVD or Blu-ray .
The series is directed by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck and starring Stellan Skarsgård , Emily Watson and Jared Harris . The most important award to date for the series has been the Golden Globe , which Chernobyl received in 2020 in the Best Miniseries or TV Movie category.
content
The series shows the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in April 1986 and is largely based on real circumstances. The central figure is the scientist Valery Legasov , who is called in by the government as an expert after the disaster and is thus given responsibility for responding to the disaster.
Cast and dubbing
The synchronization of the series was in the Scalamedia for a dialogue book by Robert Golling and the dialogue director created by Cay-Michael Wolf.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Valery Legasov | Jared Harris | Romanus Fuhrmann |
| Boris Shcherbina | Stellan Skarsgård | Detlef Bierstedt |
| Ulana Khomyuk | Emily Watson | Sabine Falkenberg |
| Lyudmila Ignatenko | Jessie Buckley | Anna Grisebach |
| Vasily Ignatenko | Adam Nagaitis | Jeremias Koschorz |
| Alexander Akimov | Sam Troughton | Gerrit Hamann |
| Leonid Toptunov | Robert Emms | Konrad Bösherz |
| Anatoly Djatlov | Paul Ritter | Uwe Büschken |
| Viktor Bryukhanov | Con O'Neill | Tobias Lelle |
| Nikolai Fomin | Adrian Rawlins | Rainer Doering |
| Viktor Proskuryakov | Karl Davies | Patrick Keller |
| Mikhail Gorbachev | David Dencik | Frank Röth |
| Pavel | Barry Keoghan | |
| General Pikalov | Mark Lewis Jones | Axel Lutter |
| KGB Chairman Kharkov | Alan Williams | |
| Sharkov (Žarkov) | Donald Sumpter | Rainer Gerlach |
Episode list
| No. | German title | Original title | First broadcast in the USA | German language first broadcast (D) | Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode 1 | 1:23:45 | May 6, 2019 | May 14, 2019 | Johan Renck | Craig Mazin |
| On April 26, 1988, Valery Legasov made a number of recordings in which he made Anatoly Dyatlov responsible for the Chernobyl disaster and denounced Dyatlow's low sentence. After hiding the recordings outside of his apartment, Legasov hangs himself. Exactly two years and one minute earlier observed Lyudmila, the pregnant wife of firefighter Vasily Ignatenko , in Pripyat an explosion in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant . In the control room of Unit 4 of the power plant , Dyatlov ignores the assessment of Akimov , Toptunov and other subordinates who realize that the reactor has exploded. The reactor core is exposed, burns and cannot be controlled under any circumstances. After the fire brigade was called to the scene, Ignatenko saw another firefighter picking up a boulder of graphite . Shortly afterwards, this firefighter suffers nuclear burns on his hand. Viktor Bryukhanov and Nikolai Fomin received a report from Djatlow but misinformation and undue reliance on the design of the RBMK - reactor entice Djatlow and the local steering committee of Pripyat downplay the incident with Moscow. Dyatlov fell ill with acute radiation sickness and Anatoly A. Sitnikov, who had insisted on the danger of the incident, was sent to the roof of the reactor to make sure again. He receives a lethal dose. At the behest of Mikhail Gorbachev , Boris Shcherbina instructs Legassov to chair the investigation committee into the accident. | ||||||
| 2 | Episode 2 | Please Remain Calm | May 13, 2019 | May 21, 2019 | Johan Renck | Craig Mazin |
| Seven hours after the explosion, Ulana Chomjuk discovers an increase in radioactive particles in Minsk . She deduces from this that there was an incident in Chernobyl. After her concerns are rejected by the Central Committee, she makes her own way to Chernobyl. In Pripyat's overcrowded hospital, Lyudmila finds out that Vasily has been flown to Moscow with other radiation patients. In Moscow, Legasov explains to Chairman Gorbachev that the situation in Chernobyl must be more serious than it was presented. Legasov is sent to Chernobyl with the still skeptical Shcherbina. From the helicopter, Legasov sees the graphite debris and makes out blue, ionizing radiation . This makes it clear that the reactor core is exposed. Shcherbina is now convinced and confronts Bryukhanov and Fomin with the facts, which in turn allege Legasov to be misinformation. But General Vladimir Pikalov drives to the reactor with a dosimeter that can measure high levels of radiation and confirms the fear and high levels. Legasov now gives the order to the military to put out the fire by throwing sand and boron . Helicopters are exposed to radiation from the core, and one of them crashes when it collides with a crane. When the news of the accident spreads, Pripyat is finally evacuated. Khomyuk also arrives in Chernobyl and warns Legasov and Shcherbina about the risk of a large steam explosion if the core burns through to the large catchment basin under the reactor. Legasov asks Gorbachev for permission on a deadly mission to drain the water under the core. The employees Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bespalow and Boris Baranow volunteer. | ||||||
| 3 | Episode 3 | Open Wide, O Earth | 20th May 2019 | May 28, 2019 | Johan Renck | Craig Mazin |
| The water in the basement was successfully drained, but a core meltdown has now begun which can contaminate the groundwater . Shcherbina and Legasov convince Gorbachev that cooling under the core is necessary. For this, Mikhail Schchadow recruits miners from Tula , who are led by Gluchow. They are supposed to drill a tunnel under the power station with their bare hands under extreme conditions. Shcherbina warns Legasov that they are under surveillance by the KGB . Legasov sends Khomyuk to the Moscow hospital to interview the survivors. Djatlow is acting uncooperatively. But she finds out from the dying Toptunow and Akimow that the power station exploded after Akimov pressed the emergency shutdown. This is a scenario that was thought impossible. Lyudmila bribes hospital staff and hides her pregnancy to see her terminally ill husband Vasily. She ignores instructions, stays longer in the room and touches her husband. Khomyuk finds Lyudmila and threatens to report everything to the Central Committee , and is arrested by KGB employees. After Legasov intervenes, she is released. Shcherbina and Legasov present their decontamination plan to the Central Committee , which requires the mobilization of masses of liquidators . Meanwhile, Lyudmila stands next to the relatives of other dead who have succumbed to radiation sickness. Vasili is buried in a welded lead coffin in a mass grave, which is then sealed with concrete. | ||||||
| 4th | Episode 4 | The Happiness of All Mankind | May 27, 2019 | 4th June 2019 | Johan Renck | Craig Mazin |
| An old woman refuses to leave the Chernobyl exclusion zone . She explains that she never fled past dangers either. A soldier forces her to go by killing the cow that gave her milk. The conscripted Pawel, together with the veteran of the Afghan war Bacho, is obliged to patrol the zone and to shoot and collect neglected animals because they are radioactively contaminated. The commander of the liquidators , General Nikolai Tarakanov , has lunar landing vehicles set down on the roof of the power plant in order to prepare the roof for the sarcophagus and to remove the radioactive debris. After a West German police robot ceases its service almost immediately due to the completely excessive radiation, Tarakanow is forced to call up 3,828 liquidators. They have to free the roof from the rubble with their hands. Everyone only has 90 seconds to spare because of the deadly radiation. Khomyuk visits the archives in Moscow and confronts Dyatlov with the charge that the government is not interested in the truth. At a conspiratorial meeting without the shadow of the KGB, Khomyuk is informed by Shcherbina and Legasov that she will have to testify as an expert in the trial against Dyatlov, Bryukhanov and Fomin. Legasov will testify before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Khomyuk reveals to them a report of a similar but more harmless accident at the Leningrad nuclear power plant in 1975, which was censored by the KGB . She also tells them that Lyudmila gave birth to a girl who died four hours later due to radioactive contamination. Khomyuk urges Legasov to tell the whole truth to the IAEA. Shcherbina advises caution and warns against reprisals by the government. | ||||||
| 5 | Episode 5 | Vichnaya pamyat | 3rd June 2019 | June 11, 2019 | Johan Renck | Craig Mazin |
| According to Legassov's testimony to the IAEA in Vienna, where he lied, Dyatlov, Bryukhanov and Fomin will be tried in Chernobyl . Shcherbina was called first to give his testimony. He explains how a nuclear power plant works. Khomyuk and Legasov testify how the accident came about. In doing so, they rely on the statements made by the people in the control room. Flashbacks show that the accident was triggered by a safety test that was delayed by 10 hours. Djatlow's impatience to conduct the test causes the reactor to come to a standstill first and then to go through due to the disabled safety mechanisms. Akimov presses the AZ-5 button, the emergency shutdown , but a flaw in the design causes the control rods to increase the reactor's performance tenfold before it explodes. Legasov also reveals the censored information about the incident at the Leningrad power plant . He thereby admits that he lied when he gave testimony in Vienna. He is arrested by the KGB and informed that his testimony will not be published in the state media. In addition, he is forbidden to speak to anyone about Chernobyl. He will not receive recognition for his role in fighting the disaster. And he will never be able to work again. The end shows pictures and video recordings of the real Legasov and other important helpers and their fates. The ongoing consequences of the accident are also shown. | ||||||
production
Production started in Lithuania in April 2018 . Shooting began on May 13, 2018 in Fabijoniškės , a residential area in Vilnius , the capital of Lithuania. The suburb comes very close to the atmosphere of the Soviet Union and serves to represent the Ukrainian city of Pripyat . The tightly packed prefabricated buildings served as a backdrop for the evacuation scenes. Director Johan Renck didn't like the flashy modern windows in the houses but didn't have them removed in post-production.
Since a large number of scientists were busy with the catastrophe and the processing of the event, it was decided to create the figure of a fictional scientist who should symbolize the work of everyone else. The character Ulana Chomjuk was also chosen to show that women in the USSR were strongly represented in society and also took on leading positions.
At the end of March, the shooting continued in Visaginas . The main setting was the interior of the Ignalina nuclear power plant , a decommissioned nuclear power plant that was selected because of its visual similarity to Chernobyl. Ignalina is sometimes referred to as the "sister of Chernobyl" and also had an RBMK nuclear reactor. From the beginning of June 2018 the film was shot in Ukraine, mainly smaller endings. The shooting of Chernobyl lasted a total of 16 weeks.
reception
Reviews
Because of the subject, the series was often discussed in the press. While critics saw weaknesses in realism, many viewers were enthusiastic. The series hit the headlines shortly after its launch because it was the portal's top-rated television series for several months in the Internet Movie Database with a score of 9.6 out of 10, and is now still one of the top with a score of 9.4 5.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung particularly criticized the exaggeration of the dangers caused by the accident:
“But scriptwriter Craig Mazin and director Johan Renck delivered a somewhat unsuccessful action drama. The five-part series is actually not badly done. [...] The creators are able to achieve the amazing creative achievement in a series about the most serious nuclear accident in human history. "
Der Spiegel saw parallels to the present:
“Even if the fates of the apparatus in 'Chernobyl' are sometimes overdone, revenants from the moth box of the Cold War film with American characteristics, the narrowing of the historical event to the struggle between ignorant government and warning science makes perfect sense. Author Craig Mazin is probably less concerned with an accurate reconstruction of the historical event (which already prevents the cast with predominantly British actors) than with its use for current debates. "
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung appreciates the urgency of the cinematic implementation and problematizes the lack of technology impact assessment and its cover-up:
“... to show the tremendous energetic, ruinous effect of this invisible and therefore uncanny power lies in the mastery of this series. It is not the obvious, disturbing and immediate processes like burns without fire or people throwing up. It is the visual vessels and vehicles that Johann Renck (director), Jakob Ihre (camera) and Craig Mazin (book) have created to make something like radiation visible and almost painfully palpable: the black column of smoke, the fine ash that blows over to the onlookers, a thrush that falls from the sky, a dead deer on damp earth, wind that brushes children's hair - only the viewer always knows what these things really stand for. It's not that you've never seen anything like this before, but the straightforward arrangement of the cinematic means and symbols is so dense and relies so naturally on its expressiveness that the action hits the viewer with a force that arouses the instinct to flee. Cities become still lifes and spaces purr on their toxic contents. Since Wolfgang Petersen's “Das Boot” there has hardly been a video offering that has caused such anxiety. A soundscape that is polished down to the last detail, the homeopathically used horror background through music and dialogues, in which much remains unsaid or can be snorted away, contribute to this. The series becomes an intense experience due to the imbalance between the ignorance of the characters and the viewer's knowledge of the destructive radiation. Although the viewer hardly knows how and when it works. This ignorance extends all the way to the head of the Soviet Union, to the General Secretary of the Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev. … This is how 'Chernobyl' works today as a reference to the failure of societal technology assessment - at a time when politics and society are only just beginning to foresee the sometimes fatal consequences that the predominance of information on digital communication companies and platforms such as Facebook or Google will have. Here, too, there is a lack of the necessary transparency. ... "
The Anglo-Saxon business magazine Forbes , which is important in the Anglo-Saxon region, criticized the exaggerated, gimmicky depictions, without presenting the consequences of radiation exposure in any serious and scientific manner:
“Whether it was the Bridge of Death scene, the Helicopter scene, pretending radiation makes you start bleeding, pretending a nuclear reactor can go off like a nuclear bomb, or claiming a dramatic spike in cancer rates across the Ukraine and Belarus, for radiation and death the script was a fictional historical drama. "
Awards
Golden Globe Awards 2020 (2 awards, 4 nominations)
- Best Miniseries or TV Movie
- Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie - Stellan Skarsgård
Primetime Emmy Awards 2019 (10 awards, 19 nominations)
- Outstanding Limited Series
- Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special - Craig Mazin
- Outstanding Directing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special - Johan Renck
- Outstanding Cinematography For A Limited Series Or Movie - Jakob Ihr
- Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) - Hildur Guðnadóttir
- Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Period Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More)
- Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Limited Series Or Movie - Simon Smith
- Outstanding Sound Editing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special
- Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Limited Series Or Movie
- Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Supporting Role
Venice TV Award 2019
- Winner of the Best TV Series category
Web links
- Official site of the miniseries Chernobyl at HBO.com (English)
- Chernobyl in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Chernobyl at Sky.de
- Chernobyl at Fernsehserien.de
- Chernobyl atRotten Tomatoes(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ HBO: The Chernobyl Podcast | Part One | HBO. May 6, 2019, accessed May 18, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Chernobyl. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on July 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Cynthia Littleton: HBO Sets 'Chernobyl' Miniseries to Star Jared Harris . In: Variety . July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ↑ Jurgita Lapienytė: Fabijoniškėse filmuojamo "Černobylio" režisierius pakeitė požiūrį į branduolinę energiją: tai pabaisa, kurios negalime suvaldyti ( Lithuanian ) In: 15min.lt . May 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ↑ Prodiuserė: HBO projektas Lietuvoje paliks ne mažiau 7 mln. eurų ( Lithuanian ) In: 15min.lt . July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ↑ Chernobyl. Retrieved June 11, 2019 .
- ↑ Axel Weidemann: TV series "Chernobyl": Destruction is carried by the wind . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed January 16, 2020]).
- ↑ https://tvmoviefix.com/chernobyl-wins-venice-tv-award-best-tv-series-2019/