On Monday, November 23, the TV channel "Russia 1" starts showing the historical series "Grozny", filmed as part of the cycle "Love Story.
Russian history".
The same team worked on the project that created the multi-part films "Sofia" and "Godunov": film director - Alexey Andrianov, production designer - Yevgeny Kachanov, costume designer - Natalia Saltykova (known for the film "Godunov"), cameraman - Denis Alarcon Ramirez (worked on a cycle in the series "Sofia").
The cast of the series also partially overlaps with the cast of the previous projects of the cycle: Ivan the Terrible at the age was played by Sergei Makovetsky, who was involved in Godunov.
The role of the young tsar went to Alexander Yatsenko.
Also Vladimir Steklov (Duma clerk Andrei Shchelkalov), Viktor Sukhorukov (Malyuta Skuratov), Evgeny Tsyganov (Ivan III) returned to their images.
Joined the project Igor Mirkurbanov (governor of the governor Afanasy Vyazemsky), Vitaly Khaev (governor of the governor Alexei Basmanov), Viktor Dobronravov (Fyodor Basmanov), Konstantin Kryukov (prince Andrey Kurbsky), Lyudmila Polyakova (grandmother of Ivan the Terrible) Anna Glinskaya Ivan Chelyadnin) and other actors.
The events of the series cover the first 26 years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
Moreover, the action begins in the summer of 1571, when the Crimean Khan Devlet Girey made a famous raid on Moscow.
From the first shots, the already experienced king appears before the viewer, who thinks about how he will go down in history.
To convey his views to posterity, the ruler decides to leave a chronicle to them.
It (like the main plot of the series) dates back to 1547.
At that time, the still young tsar met his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna.
A small part of the narration is also made up of flashbacks telling about the key events of Ivan IV's childhood.
© TV channel "Russia 1"
The plot of the series is based on the book by Ruslan Skrynnikov "Ivan the Terrible".
The historian studied the era of Ivan IV for several decades and published a number of scientific works on this topic.
The book was adapted by screenwriter Timur Ezugbaya, known for such projects as "You all enrage me", "Pupil Messinga" and "After you".
The series follows the general outline of historical events, but the filmmakers focused on creating a multifaceted image of Ivan the Terrible and paid the greatest attention to his personal life.
Already in the first episode, the ruler is shown from different angles: soft and timid, in the next scene he succumbs to emotions and mercilessly punishes the subject for a frivolous offense, and then, meek and doubting, goes to the metropolitan for advice.
Rethinking the events that influenced the personality of the tsar, the creators of "Terrible" tried to reveal the difficult character of the monarch and understand how Ivan IV became the way he is reflected in historical sources.
“From everything that I have read, an image of a suffering person appeared in front of me.
An orphan who, from a very young age, was bitter with humiliation.
A sinful man who dreamed of becoming a righteous man, but could not.
A man who was surrounded by betrayal and conspiracies all his life and whose cruelty was the only possible response, ”explained screenwriter Timur Ezugbaya.
"Grozny" charms with its authenticity.
The filmmakers managed to recreate the unusually colorful atmosphere of the 16th century in the frame.
The shooting took place in the scenery.
Particular attention is paid to the details of the interior: due to the presence of old furniture, fittings, books and various household items in the frame, the viewer is unlikely to have a feeling that events are unfolding in a museum (and this is often the case with historical tapes).
Locations look convincing and feel "alive".
© TV channel "Russia 1"
Emphasis was placed on the traditions and customs of that time.
An example of this is the reaction of the tsar's subjects to the dancers sent with gifts from the sultan.
Looking at their outfits with deep cleavages and bare bellies, some guests look at each other in confusion and whisper, others cross themselves.
There are also darker scenes in the series - the same bride with a preliminary thorough examination of naked candidates for the bride.
On the set, Nikolai Borisov, professor of the history department of Moscow State University, worked as a consultant.
He was just making sure
the scenes were staged in accordance with historical reality.
So you can believe in the existence of many traditions shown on the screen, no matter how strange they seem today.
The elaborate costumes and complex makeup deserve special attention.
Some of the actors in the plot had to age, which required additional efforts from the make-up artists.
At the same time, all the artists look quite organically in new images.
Konstantin Kryukov had a difficult time in matters of reincarnation.
As the artist said in an interview with RT, he was covered with silicone the most on the set, and the makeup sometimes took about four hours.
It was not easy to work in such conditions.
“It’s hard: it’s like being chained into some kind of rubber mask.
But it's amazing that she retains her facial expressions, so you can continue to play and express your emotions, "Kryukov noted.
© TV channel "Russia 1"
At the same time, the appearance of Ivan the Terrible at different stages of his life does not correspond to the real age of the ruler in those years.
In the series, the young tsar looks 30 years old, whereas in fact in 1547 he was 17. Adult Ivan on the screen is an old man at all, although at the time of the Crimean Khan's raid he was a little over 40.
The atmosphere of the series is complemented by music on which composers Eduard Artemiev and Artem Vasiliev worked.
It is interesting that in the picture, among other things, the stichera of Ivan the Terrible sound (they, however, have been revised).
“We do not quote Grozny's music directly, but stylize it.
We have little information about the music of that time, so there is room for understanding how to create a sense of archaism for the modern listener, how to transfer the viewer to that era, to this imaginary world and find an understandable modern sound, ”said Artyom Vasiliev.
On the whole, Grozny is a vivid, atmospheric and convincing adaptation of historical events.
True, someone may not have enough entertainment and scale - at least in the first episode.
The scene of Devlet Giray's raid is filmed very succinctly: with the exception of one panorama, only a cut of short fragments with more than modest locations and a minimum number of characters appears on the screen.
The scene of a fire in Moscow in 1547 looks a little more intricate.
However, it is possible that such moments are more than compensated by the promising dramatic component of the picture.