The Idiot (4 DVD Set)

I'm a big fan of The Idiot and approached this production with enthusiasm, but it's not giving me quite the pleasure I'd hoped for. Yes, the director is wonderfully faithful to the book, but by trying to include everything, he sometimes has to shave off 10 or 20% of everything, often losing material which makes a scene really comprehensible, or funny, or stinging. The early scenes between Myshkin and Ganya suffer from this cutting, so that you get a taste of Ganya's amazing petulance, contempt, and careless cruelty, but not the full flavor of it, which is riviting in the book. And despite what another reviewer has said, I find the production humorless--and this tragic story is often hilariously funny as written. It's wonderful to see really good actors in the roles. Inna Churikova's Mme Epanchin is so good she steals the show. But for all his efforts, Vladimir Ilyin playing Lebedev does not capture for me the astoundingness of that man. He seems too much a bag full of tics and tricks. Mirinov's Prince Myshkin is excellent in certain respects, but he becomes too dour, too constantly tormented, too enervated. (One exception is the magnificent charisma he exhibits when he tells the Epanchin women, on first meeting them, about his experiences Switzerland. Here I thought I was getting something that couldn't be had in the book.) Another reviewer mentions the perhaps forgivable weakness of the actress playing Nastasya Filipovna. For me this is a disastrous weakness. In no way is this actress up to this critical role. Katherine Zita-Jones would have done better. Finally, I agree with the complaints about the subtitles. Still, still... you get a great period production, one that takes the book seriously, that's intelligent, with substantial actors in even the smallest parts, a rare 8-hour production of a great novel, and the incomparable performance of Inna Churikova as Mme Epanchin.As it turns out, I was listening to an audiobook of The Idiot narrated by Robert Whitfield at the same time that I was gradually working through this TV production. Whitfield has some problems with the female voices, especially Nastasya Filipovna, and the translation is Constance Garnet, which might not be the best, but this audio experience for me was more powerful.Follow-up, after finishing all 4 DVDs:The production is even better than I gave it credit for, and I've raised my rating from 4 stars to 5. Mironov shines as Prince Myshkin. I will never forget his amazing arrival at the party at the Epanchins. He is a great actor. Lebedev and, especially, Nastasya Filipovna remain unfortunate weaknesses, as is the lack of humor, but nothing is perfect. For those who are approaching "The Idiot" for the first time, I would agree that reading it first is a great advantage. Especially given the inadequacy of the subtitles. (The translation job seems to have been given to a high school student.) Also, I would suggest watching these DVDs with remote in hand. Despite my familiarity with the text, I hit the pause buttom repeatedly so that I would have time to read what the characters are saying. For, unlike most subtitles, these are not shaved down for quick apprehension. Pausing is a drag, but you get used to it. And the benefit is that you get the full quote rather than a shaved-down version.

Yes, it is a great movie, the actors are great (did you see Mironov in "Metamorphosis" (by Kafka)- he is an impressive actor there as well as in Idiot). However, I watched this not using subtitles and my friend who did, agreed with many other reviewers - she called the subtitles "rudimentary", just that she knows the novel too well, so it did not kill the pleasure... Because of that I give four stars, not five - for ability to share the joy of viewing is also a factor and translation is a part of the finished product as it is sold in here...

When I found out that they had made a TV movie out of my favorite Novel and my favorite writer I knew I had to buy and watch it no matter what. I'm glad I did. It is the cloesest translation from book to movie and the best. The Characters I saw in my imagination where almost exactly like the actual actors. The acting was great. I loved it.The only thing I didn't like was how quickly the subtitles went by and that some subtitles didn't fit on the whole screen, but that was rare. This didn't stop me from enjoying this greatly.

The subs were tricky to turn on for this what looked like a beautifully produced series. When they were on they weee so faint you couldn’t make them out. Wondering whose brilliant idea that was.

Exactly as advertised, prompt delivery, received in perfect condition.

Incredibly faithful to the book. The video is low quality and the subtitles at times are pretty awful, but the characters and story are so true to the book that I'll swallow those flaws to be able to watch this masterpiece.

The cast and production are splendid. The subtitles are an abomination. They often make no sense whatsoever. How the director could have allowed his excellent work to be marred in this way is beyond me. With proper subtitles, this should be a best seller.

I purchased this 4 DVD set after taking a lifelong learning course based on the novel. The DVDs were used to supplement the novel. The English subtitles allow one to follow the story without a knowledge of the Russian language. If one speaks Russian, they could enjoy this excellent dramatization.One primary short-coming for persons who do not speak or read Russian is the lack of a translation for the use instructions in English or other languages.This problem could be solved by including a printed insert with the instructions in English or an English translation of the Russian words.