Gambler

Country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1972

Production year

1972

Premiere

17 November 1972

Runtime

96 min

Director

Alexej Batalov

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Hráč

Czech title

Hráč

English title

Gambler

Co-production title

Igrok

Summary

F. M. Dostoyevsky’s eponymous psychological novel from 1867 provided Soviet actor and director Alexsey Batalov with subject matter for this 1972 film that received support from Czechoslovakia (Czech actors were engaged in several supporting roles, while shooting took place in Mariánské Lázně). Hráč (Gambler) is the dramatic story of Aleksei Ivanovich, a young aristocrat fatefully in love, who succumbs to his gambling passion in the fictitious spa town of Rulettenburg. As a precise adaptation of a classic work of Russian literature, the motion picture stylishly evokes the period in which Dostoyevsky framed his captivating study of obsession. The lead role was performed by Nikolay Burlyaev, who had debuted in the title role of wartime drama Ivanovo dětství (Ivan’s Childhood, 1962) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Appearing in Hráč, he met another actor regularly cast by Tarkovsky: Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy (Stalker, 1979) who took on the part of English merchant Mr Astley.

Synopsis

Film based on F. M. Dostojevsky's novel of the same title. In the morning two men meet in a park in the spa Rulettenburg. The English businessman Astley and the young Russian Alexej Ivanovič loved both two years ago Polina, a step-daughter of the widowed Russian general. Alexej was then a tutor of the general's two younger children and he secretly loved Polina, who played with his feelings in a whimsical way. The general is due to losses in roulette deeply in debts with a Frenchman who used to call himself marquis de Grieux and he wanted to marry Polina. The marquis friend's Blanche planned to marry the general. Everybody was waiting for an inheritance after the general's rich relative, who was allegedly dying in Moscow. Alexej made because of Polina an impertinent joke on a colonnade that cost him his job. But the young man got work from the grandmother who instead of dying arrived to the spa to visit the family and she lost a lot of money in the casino to despair of her inheritors. She returned poor to Russia. Polina did not want to make up with the fact that the general wants to marry her with the marquis when he forgets about a part of his debts in return. Alexej visited a gambling club and won one hundred thousand. He covered the beloved Polina by banknotes and the girl becomes for one night his lover. However, in the morning she disdained his money and ran away. Astley tells to Alexej that the grandmother and the general died and Polina, who loved Alexej is travelling around Europe. Alexej has a hope. But he bets ten pounds which Astley borrows to him immediately in the gambling club.

Photos

O. Lind

G. Tejch

K. Gun

P. Dolgorukov

J. Bakerkina

A. Kozlov

S. Mazoveckaja

I. Kondratěva

Crew and creators

Director

Alexej Batalov

Second Unit Director

Jiří Růžička st., M. Davydova, Viktor Sergejev

Assistant Director

Michal Vostřez, B. Moločnik, L. Berger

Based on

Fjodor Michajlovič Dostojevskij (Hráč /Igrok/ – román)

Screenplay

Michail Olševskij

Dramaturg

F. Gukasjan

Director of Photography

Dmitrij Meschijev

Second Unit Photography

Antonín Holub, A. Gorkov, A. Taborov

Camera Operator

A. Gorbonosov, A. Romanov

Film Editor

R. Izakson

Sound Designer

Anna Zvereva

Production Manager

Igor Lebeděv, Václav Cajthaml

Unit Production Manager

D. Koptěv, V. Jegorova, Josef Mathauser, Milana Melcerová

Unit Production Manager

Alena Lípová

Consultant

U. A. Guralnik

Cooperation

Jana Vohryzková (klapka), Josef Vítek (fotograf), V. Kostin, Michail Suzdalov

Dialogues of Czech version

Irena Skružná

Direction of Czech version

Irena Skružná

Music

Music Composed by

Oleg Karavajčuk

Music Performed by

Státní symfonický orchestr kinematografie SSSR

Production info

Original Title

Hráč

Czech Title

Hráč

English Title

Gambler

Co-production Title

Igrok

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1972

Production Year

1972

Production specifications

projection approval 25 September 1972
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1977

Premiere

premiere 16 November 1972 /suitable for youths/ (kino Sevastopol, Praha)
premiere 17 November 1972 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov, Lenfilm

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Studio

Lenfilm Petrohrad

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

96 min

Original length in metres

2 692 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Gambler

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Co-production title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Nikolaj Burljajev

Taťjana Ivanova

Ljubov Dobržanskaja

Vsevolod Kuzněcov

Vasilij Livanov

Alexandr Kajdanovskij

Fjodor Nikitin

Walter Steiner

Miroslav Hedánek

Radko Choc

Josef Lébr

Lubomír Pavelek

Jaroslav Pospíšil

Jaroslav Soukup (2)

Františka Drtílková-Balounová

Erich Bříza

Lydie Cillerová

Vladimír Dubský

Milan Galis

Jan Gall

Alexandr Harant

František Harant

Václav Hoppe

Karel Keller

Rudolf Kroupa

Josef Matzke

Václav Nový

František Osvald

Petr Petřík

Karel Sedlák

Jana Sedláková

Petr Skalka

Jaroslav Sochůrek

František Tůma

Václav Volín

Jaroslav Zíma

A. Švederskij

O. Lind

G. Tejch

K. Gun

P. Dolgorukov

J. Bakerkina

A. Kozlov

S. Mazoveckaja

I. Kondratěva

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Based on

Screenplay

Dramaturg

Director of Photography

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Assistent Production Designer

Set Designer

Costumes

Make-Up Artist

Film Editor

Sound Designer