White Nights
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Movie Reviews of White Nights
Movie Review: White Nights DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
Fabulous movie---I wasn't certain that I'd be able to find the DVD since it's an older movie.Movie Review: Must have
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my alltime favorites. The dancing is breathtaking. A must have for a DVD collection.Movie Review: White Nights
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a classic and must have for anyone who has an appreciation for the arts.Movie Review: Enjoy the dance, and melodrama?
Summary: 4 Stars
Taylor Hackford took the premise of juxtaposing two premiere dancers and their two differing styles and made a taut little melodrama that explores the theme of freedom of expression in art, relationships and politics. Is ballet more free than tap? Does Hines have an 'open' marriage with Isabella Rosselini in the film? And what about those Soviets, and the funders for dance companies in the west, controlling who does what? But to return to reality, freedom could also apply to the wonderfully fluid camera used to record the dance sequences.
Enjoy the view of Roland Petit's "Le Jeune Homme et La Morte" and Baryshnikov's famous "pas de deux with a chair" (finally captured on film)as an almost participant, and the two self-choreographed studio sequences of Baryshnikov and Hines with a camera that moves as quickly over, below, and above the dancers as the dancers themselves. Having seen Baryshnikov live several times (once with the Kirov, then ABT, and from backstage wings once or twice), I had no problem guessing the outcome of that ruble/pirouette bet. So glory in the dance sequences and the views of two masters at work, and an enterprising and creative director with a political heart. (Who later did a similar romantic triangle in politicized setting with "Proof of Life".)
RE ACTING: Since Baryshnikov was playing elements of his past, it was not too big a stretch. (He scared his young daughter, Alexandra, when she viewed the airplane crash scene.) But the sequence where he visited the dance school and they had no idea who he was because the Soviets tried to make sure newer generations forgot, was a real worry at the time. Luckily, Baryshnikov's artistry lives on in several films/tapes so younger generations can see what the legend is all about. How many past performers/performances miss out that chance at a posterity other than words. Live is nice, but capture the great at least once on film/tape for future generations please.
Hines and the supporting cast had all acted much before, and again had no problem. Interesting comment about the foreign accents, Smolinowski is Polish I believe, and Helen Mirren (though of Russian extraction and able to speak the language) is English--and later the wife of director Hackford.
LOCATION: Portugal subbed for inside the Marynski Theatre. Finland for Hines' russian hometown and some exteriors. And stock footage of course for St. Petersburg. Wonderful editing with that on the drives through the city, and of course, in the dance sequences.
Overall, smile at the plot, and enjoy the dance.
Movie Review: High Concept, Medium Delivery...
Summary: 4 Stars
1985's "White Nights" pairs legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and equally legendary tap dancer Gregory Hines in a pedestrian Cold War thriller most notable for the dance sequences and the music score.
Russian defector and former Bolshoi dancer Nikolai Rodchenko (Baryshnikov essentially playing himself) ends up back in Soviet hands when his airliner makes an emergency landing in Leningrad. Overjoyed Soviet officials insist he rejoin the Bolshoi, and park him with American defector Raymond Greenwood (Hines) and his pregnant Russian wife (a young Isabella Rossellini) while he recovers from a minor injury. The KGB tasks Raymond with getting Nikolai ready to dance, but Nikolai is intent on escaping again. An abortive attempt brings him in contact with his former ballet partner (superbly played by Helen Mirren), now a director of the Bolshoi but envious of Nikolai's recent artistic freedom.
Nikolai eventually gains the assistance of both Raymond and his former partner in a scheme to escape; Raymond because he wishes to see his child grow up free, and his former partner because she does not wish to see Nikolai crushed by the Soviet system. The hair-raising escape across Leningrad ends in a dead heat with the pursuing KGB just outside the U.S. Consulate, where tough choices have to be made.
The undoubted highlight of the movie are three dance sequences. One features Baryshnikov's free interpretation of a traditional Russian ballet for his former partner. A second features Raymond's thrilling tap dance to some American music he hasn't heard in years. The third is a fascinating mixed dance sequence by Nikolai and Raymond. The movie score includes the Oscar-winning tune "Say You Say Me" by Lionel Ritchie.
This movie is well-recommended to fans of Baryshnikov and Hines who remember their prime as exceptional dancers. The storyline is somewhat contrived, but an excellent supporting cast helps carry it off.