The Black Cat (1979)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The black cat |
| Original title | Место встречи изменить нельзя / Mesto wstretschi ismenit nelsja |
 | |
| Country of production | Soviet Union |
| original language | Russian |
| Publishing year | 1979 |
| length | 359 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12+ |
| Rod | |
| Director | Stanislaw Goworuchin |
| script |
Arkadi Wainer Georgi Wainer |
| production | Odessa film studio |
| music | Yevgeny Gevorgyan |
| camera | Leonid Burlaka |
| occupation | |
| |
The Black Cat ( Russian Место встречи изменить нельзя ; Mesto wstretschi ismenit nelsja , German: The meeting place cannot be changed ) is a Soviet television film by Stanislav Goworuchin from 1979 .
action
The film is set in Moscow after World War II . First Lieutenant Vladimir Sharapov (Vladimir Konkin) is a young reconnaissance officer who has just returned from the war and is now employed in the Moscow militia in the famous MUR (Moscow Criminal Investigation Department). There he becomes part of an elite detective team, led by the brilliant, strict and uncomplicated captain Gleb Scheglow (Vladimir Vysotsky). The duo is embroiled in two apparently incoherent investigations: the murder of the ambitious young actress Larisa Grusdewa and the hunt for a brazen, vicious gang of armed robbers who call themselves "The Black Cat" and who constantly evade arrest.
While the suspicion of the murder of Grusdewa initially referred to her estranged husband Dr. Grusdew ( Sergei Yurski ) falls, it gradually becomes clear that the two cases are related, as a "Black Cat" gangster known as Fox ( Alexander Beljawski ) is involved in the murder. As a result of Scheglow's successful operation to catch Fox, Sharapov finds himself undercover in the Black Cat's hiding place and deals with the menacing leader of the gang, the Hunchback ( Armen Jigarchanjan ).
Much of the series revolves around the relationship between Scheglow and Sharapov. While the two become close friends and roommates, they are essentially opposites that often clash over the course of the movie. At the root of the conflict lies disagreement on prosecution between Sharapov's idealism and Scheglow's approach that the end justifies the means. Stubborn and cynical for having spent the war years fighting organized crime, Scheglow says that a thief's place is in prison and that the public shouldn't care how he gets him there. Scheglow does not believe in using dubious tactics, such as placing evidence to justify the arrest of a notorious pickpocket. Sharapov, on the other hand, believes that the law is of greater value in itself and cannot just be used as a tool. A tense conflict also arises when Scheglow, in an attempt to mislead Fox, decides to keep Grusdew in custody, even after it becomes clear that the man is innocent.
Production and publication
The miniseries achieved cult film status in the USSR and, like Seventeen Moments of Spring , became part of popular culture for several generations of Russian-speaking TV viewers. The series features the famous singer Vladimir Vysotsky in one of his last cinema productions (his death at the age of 42 came less than a year after the film was released).
The film is based on a novel entitled Die Epoche der Barmherzigkeit by the brothers Wainer ( Arkadi and Georgi Wainer), which was published in German under the name The Black Cat .
The premiere took place on November 11, 1979 on Soviet Central Television. The second program on GDR television began under the title The Black Cat with the broadcast of the five-part television film on November 13, 1980.
Web links
- The black cat in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The black cat on Allmovie (English)
- The black cat at kino-teatr.ru