Topic: Rasputin
Gerard Depardieu as Grigory Rasputin, the resemblance is remarkable!
The film “Rasputin”, with Gerard Depardieu in the lead role that was shown in Moscow on the last day of the Moscow International Film Festival on June 22nd and created a sensation there, is gradually making its way to the Russian screens. As you know, the attitude towards Grigory Rasputin, a ‘holy man”, a prophet and a confidant of the family of the last emperor of Russia remains ambiguous, and there is a great deal of interest in the personality of Grigory Rasputin today. And not only in Russia.
Leonardo DiCaprio, an American actor, said he is going to play the role of Rasputin in a movie, which Warner Bros is set to shoot. And as regards the work of Gerard Depardieu, it is meant for the French television, and what was shown at the film festival in Moscow was the Russian version of the French film “Raspoutine|”. This film was edited by the Russian film director Irakly Kvirikadze, who used the material of the French film maker Josee Dayan. In fact, what has emerged is a new film with the same actors. “For many years I had a dream to play Rasputin because, as it seems to me, I understand him very well”, Gerard Depardieu said.
“I believe that Rasputin lives in each of us. What is Rasputin? The answer is very simple - life energy.”
It should be said in all fairness though that Depardieu has failed to outperform the prominent Russian actor Alexei Petrenko, who played the role of Rasputin in the film “Agony” by film director Elem Klimov. This film was released in this country in the 70s of the last century.
During his lifetime and after his death some people called Grigory Rasputin a vicious demon, saying that he was responsible for the death of the family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia while others said that he was a wickedly calumniated prophet. Grigory Rasputin was an uneducated person – a muzhik (a dark peasant) from Siberia. Despite that, he managed to become a confidant of the Russian tsarina and a friend of the Russian tsar, and also the ruler of the destinies in the Russian empire. He caused irritation, envy, and hatred, and finally, he was killed by plotters in December of 1916. But how can one explain the fact that there is much interest in the personality of Grigory Rasputin nowadays? “People need such extraordinary personalities today”, the author of the book about Rasputin, Alexei Varlamov, a well-known writer, said in an interview with the Voice of Russia.
"What we can see now is a dramatic degeneration process, which is developing fast. Information is putting pressure on all of us. Hence, there is a great deal of interest today in extraordinary, charismatic, deep, and versatile personalities – such as Grigory Rasputin was."
Nearly 300 films about Rasputin were made last century, and the work continues.
© The Voice of Russia. 09 July, 2013
Posted by Paul Gilbert
at 6:09 PM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, 9 July 2013 6:18 PM EDT
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Updated: Tuesday, 9 July 2013 6:18 PM EDT
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