Gambler

Country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1972

Production year

1972

Premiere

17 November 1972

Runtime

96 min

Category

film

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.

Cast

Nikolaj Burljajev

Voice by Luděk Munzar
hráč rulety Alexej Ivanovič

Taťjana Ivanova

Voice by Růžena Merunková
Polina Alexandrovna

Ljubov Dobržanskaja

Voice by Marie Vášová
babička Antonida Vasiljevna

Vsevolod Kuzněcov

Voice by Josef Větrovec
generál, Polinin nevlastní otec

Vasilij Livanov

markýz de Grieux

Jitka Zelenohorská

Blanche, markýzova přítelkyně

Alexandr Kajdanovskij

Voice by Jiří Holý
anglický obchodník Mr. Astley

Božena Obrová

madame Comingesová

Marie Popelková

stařena v herně

Kateřina Klumparová

dáma před hotelem Palace

Růžena Smolíková

baronka Wurmelhelmová

Ludvík Pozník

baron Wurmelhelm

Fjodor Nikitin

Voice by Jiří Němeček
Potapyč

Helena Růžičková

majitelka francouzského obchodu

Walter Steiner

kavárník

Františka Horáková

Němka v kavárně

Miroslav Hedánek

hráč

Radko Choc

hráč

Josef Lébr

hráč

Lubomír Pavelek

hráč

Jaroslav Pospíšil

hráč

Jaroslav Soukup (2)

dirigent

Františka Drtílková-Balounová

harfenistka

Erich Bříza

hudebník

Lydie Cillerová

hudebnice

Vladimír Dubský

hudebník

Milan Galis

hudebník

Jan Gall

hudebník

Alexandr Harant

hudebník

František Harant

hudebník

Václav Hoppe

hudebník

Karel Keller

hudebník

Rudolf Kroupa

hudebník

Josef Matzke

hudebník

Václav Nový

hudebník

František Osvald

hudebník

Petr Petřík

hudebník

Karel Sedlák

hudebník

Jana Sedláková

hudebnice

Petr Skalka

hudebník

Jaroslav Sochůrek

hudebník

Josef Staněk

hudebník

František Tůma

hudebník

Václav Volín

hudebník

Jaroslav Zíma

hudebník

A. Švederskij

O. Lind

G. Tejch

K. Gun

P. Dolgorukov

J. Bakerkina

A. Kozlov

S. Mazoveckaja

I. Kondratěva

Crew and creators

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)

Dramaturg

F. Gukasjan

Director of Photography

Dmitrij Meschijev

Second Unit Photography

Antonín Holub, A. Gorkov, A. Taborov

Camera Operator

A. Gorbonosov, A. Romanov

Production Designer

Isaak Kaplan, Bohuslav Kulič

Assistent Production Designer

Přemek Longa

Set Designer

Miloslav Dvořák, M. Stručkova

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

Production info

Original Title

Hráč

Czech Title

Hráč

English Title

Gambler

Co-production Title

Igrok

Category

film

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)

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