Platonov (1971)
The title character is a married provincial schoolmaster and a notorious philanderer. He is a russian Don Juan except that he himself doesn't seek to seduce; the women around him simply find him irresistibly attractive, and he is only too happy to go along. The play predates the realism of Chekhov's later works in its desjointedness, but many of its scenes show the seeds of brilliance that would eventually emerge.
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If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
A BBC Play of the Month. A good example of Chekhov's cheerful skewering of the upper and bourgeois classes with wit, edge and humor. Very impressive for a first full length play (although I've read this two hour version is edited way down from a script almost 3 times as long – which would have been quite hard to take). Rex Harrison plays Platonov, an intellectual, teacher and sharp tongued ex-soldier who seems to have women throwing themselves at him left and right. Harrison is excellent and great fun, but arguably a bit long in the tooth for Platonov – he was 63 when this was made. But he makes it work with his warm, perversely fatherly charm. The whole cast is strong, crucial to any Chekhov play working. Patsy Byrne is wonderful as Platonov's unsophisticated wife who manages not to see her husband for the cad he is, until it's too late. Sian Phillips is terrific as Anna, a sort of proto-feminist who desires Platonov, but only on her own terms. In the end, it's a comedy (with a touch of tragedy) about how hypocritical we can be when it comes to matters of our heart (and loins). You can clearly see Chekhov's influence on, for example, some of Woody Allen's comedies. The production is fairly rudimentary technically, not pretending to be more than a filmed play, but that doesn't stop it from being highly enjoyable.