IMDb > White Nights (1985)
White Nights
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White Nights (1985) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2)
White Nights (1985) -- Open-ended Trailer from Columbia
White Nights (1985) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   2,597 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Taylor Hackford
Writers:
James Goldman (screenplay) and
Eric Hughes (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for White Nights on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 November 1985 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
An expatriate Russian dancer is on a plane forced to land on Soviet territory. He is taken to an apartment... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Nine Men We Still Miss: AIDS Robs the World of Some of the Brightest Lights
 (From AfterElton.com. 12 November 2009, 2:29 PM, PST)
Hackford Named Directors Guild President
 (From The Wrap. 26 July 2009, 11:42 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Mistakenly Underrated more (32 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Mikhail Baryshnikov ... Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko

Gregory Hines ... Raymond Greenwood
Jerzy Skolimowski ... Colonel Chaiko

Helen Mirren ... Galina Ivanova

Geraldine Page ... Anne Wyatt

Isabella Rossellini ... Darya Greenwood
John Glover ... Wynn Scott
Stefan Gryff ... Captain Kirigin

William Hootkins ... Chuck Malarek
Shane Rimmer ... Ambassador Larry Smith
Florence Faure ... Ballerina (Death)
David Savile ... Pilot
Ian Liston ... Co-pilot
Benny Young ... Flight Engineer
Hilary Drake ... Stewardess #1
Megumi Shimanuki ... Stewardess 2
Daniel Benzali ... Dr. Asher
Maria Werlander ... Child Ballerina
Galina Pomerantzeva ... Dvornik
Sergei Rousakov ... KGB #1
Aleksandr Naumov ... KGB #2 (as Alexander Naumov)
Maryam d'Abo ... French Girlfriend
Marc Sinden ... Charles
Josephine Buchan ... Caroline
Helene Denbey ... Bess
Sussanah Morley ... Journalist in Opera House (as Susannah Morley)
Elisa Tornqviet ... Journalist at Consulat (as Elisa Tornqvist)
Jirí Stanislav ... Chaiko's Driver (Leningrad)
Eduard Ochagavya ... KGB Agent (as Edward Ochagavia)
Marc Michalsky ... KGB Agent
Michael Petrovitch ... Helicopter Pilot (as Michael Petrovich)
Andreas Markos ... Escamilla
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Helen Kelly ... Woman in Spandex Pants (uncredited)

Anthony Straeger ... Russian Boarder Guard (uncredited)
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Directed by
Taylor Hackford 
 
Writing credits
James Goldman (screenplay) and
Eric Hughes (screenplay)

James Goldman (story)

Nancy Dowd  uncredited

Produced by
Bill Borden .... associate producer
William S. Gilmore .... producer
Taylor Hackford .... producer
 
Original Music by
Michel Colombier 
 
Cinematography by
David Watkin 
 
Film Editing by
Fredric Steinkamp 
William Steinkamp 
 
Casting by
Nancy Klopper 
 
Production Design by
Philip Harrison 
 
Art Direction by
Richard Dawking 
Malcolm Middleton 
Austen Spriggs 
 
Set Decoration by
Joanne Woollard  (as Joan Wollard)
 
Costume Design by
Evangeline Harrison 
 
Makeup Department
Madeleine Masters .... makeup artist (as Madeline Masters)
Barry Richardson .... hair stylist
Neville Smallwood .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Stuart Benjamin .... executive supervisor: New Visions
Anja Harjula .... production manager: Finland
Denis Holt .... executive in charge of production
Juhani Jotuni .... unit manager: Finland
Maria do Carmo Moser .... production manager: Portugal
Neville C. Thompson .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Aherne .... third assistant director
Ray Corbett .... assistant director
José de Sá Caetano .... assistant director: Portugal (as José Sá Caetano)
Matti Ollila .... assistant director: Finland
Kieron Phipps .... second assistant director
 
Art Department
George Ball .... property master
Peter Benson .... stand-by props
Les Butterfield .... stand-by carpenter
Stan Cook .... chargehand dressing prop
Bill Fisher .... stand-by painter
Denis Hopperton .... stand-by props (as Dennis Hopperton)
Harold Michelson .... visual continuity
Andrew Nightingale .... stand-by stagehand
Syd Nightingale .... construction manager
Stuart Rose .... assistant art director
Mel Sansom .... stand-by rigger
Peter Walpole .... production buyer
Simon Wilkinson .... dressing propman
Emma Harrison .... scenic artist (uncredited)
Peter Mann .... constructor (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Don Digirolamo .... sound recording mixer
Doreen A. Dixon .... supervising adr editor
Robert Glass .... sound recording mixer (as Bob Glass)
Joseph Holsen .... sound editor (as Joseph H. Holsen)
Dushko Indjic .... boom operator
Jay Kamen .... adr editor
Robert Knudson .... sound recording mixer (as Buzz Knudson)
Tom McCarthy Jr. .... supervising sound editor
Trevor Rutherford .... playback
Don S. Walden .... sound editor
Clive Winter .... sound mixer
Vanessa Theme Ament .... foley artist (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Terence J. Cox .... special effects assistant (as Terry Cox)
Martin Gutteridge .... special effects aerial unit
Jeff Hawke .... performer: crash sequence/aerial unit
Garth Inns .... special effects
Roy Moores .... front projection
Tom Vaughn .... assistant: performer crash sequence/aerial unit
Ian Wingrove .... special effects aerial unit
Brian Warner .... special effects (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Peter Brayham .... stunt coordinator
Helen Caldwell .... stunt personnel
Steve Crawley .... stunt personnel
Romo Gorrara .... stunt personnel
Robert Harman .... stunt personnel (as Bob Harmon)
Dave Holland .... stunt personnel
Malcolm Weaver .... stunt personnel
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Alan Barry .... best boy
Bob Bridges .... video operator
Kevin Brookner .... video assist
Murray Close .... still photographer
Mike Connors .... focus puller (as Michael Connors)
Freddie Cooper .... camera operator
Maurice Gillett .... chief lighting technician (as Maurice Gillette)
Ray Hall .... camera grip
John Harris .... additional photographer
John Harris .... additional photographer
Frank M. Holgate .... aerial photographer: aerial unit (as Frank Holgate)
Clay Lacy .... pilot: camera plane, aerial unit
Pat Miller .... electrician
Shane O'Neill .... clapper loader
Gregory J. Schmidt .... aerial camera assistant: aerial unit (as Greg Schmidt)
Kenneth J. Withers .... additional photographer (as Ken Withers)
Brian Ellis .... focus puller: additional camera (uncredited)
 
Casting Department
Noel Davis .... casting: Europe
Paula Gilmore .... location casting
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roy Beck .... wardrobe supervisor
Ken Crouch .... assistant wardrobe
Janet Tebrooke .... wardrobe mistress
 
Editorial Department
Peter Culverwell .... assistant editor: UK
Deveril Goodman .... associate film editor
Valerie Lesser .... assistant editor: UK
Rick Meyer .... assistant editor
Paul Steinkamp .... apprentice editor
Dennis Michelson .... assistant editor (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Jules Chaikin .... music contractor (as Jules Chaiken)
David Foster .... song producer
Doug Morris .... music guidance
Phil Ramone .... music production
Phil Ramone .... music supervisor
John Richards .... music recordist
Tony Smith .... music guidance
Curt Sobel .... supervising music editor
Richard Garcia .... music supervisor (uncredited)
 
Transportation Department
J.J. Sullivan .... captain: 747 (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Alan Arnold .... publicist
Andrea Asimow .... consultant
Mikhail Baryshnikov .... additional choreographer
Allen Burry .... publicist
Juliet Clarke .... assistant to producer
Jeff Conroy .... production assistant: USA (as Jeffrey Conroy)
Mo Coppitters .... production coordinator
Peter Elford .... location manager
James W. Gavin .... aerial unit director (as Jim Gavin)
James W. Gavin .... pilot: 747, crash sequence
Bernard Hanson .... location manager (as Bernard Hansen)
Jeff Hawke .... aerial coordinator
Gregory Hines .... tap improvography
Johanna Kärävä .... production coordinator: Finland
Ron Lambert .... supervising lab timer
Jerri Lauridsen .... assistant: Mr. Hackford
Dan Perri .... title designer
Roland Petit .... choreographer: "La jeune homme et la mort"
Lissa Ruben .... continuity
Carrie Stein .... production associate: USA
Twyla Tharp .... choreographer
Tom Vaugh .... co-pilot: 747, crash sequence
Gerald C. Wheatley .... chief accountant
 
Thanks
Jerry Benjamin .... in loving memory of
Mary E. Hackford .... in loving memory of
 

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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
136 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Russian
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)
Certification:
UK:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol, England, UK more
Company:
Columbia Pictures Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The plane crash sequence was filmed at Campbeltown Airport on the south west coast of Scotland. Mainly due to its remoteness and the runway is around 2.5 miles long. A number of local people were cast as extras for interior shots of the plane. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When they are beginning their escape, Daria replaces the argument tape with the apology tape. When the tape reaches the end and flips back, playing the apology again, you see a shadow cross the player as a person hits stop and reverse on the player. more
Quotes:
Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko: I see. You and your wife, you worke in the theater. And you live here... in Siberia.
Raymond Greenwood: It's just temporary.
Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko: [dryly] Of course. Nobody is here permanently.
more
Movie Connections:
References Porgy and Bess (1959) more
Soundtrack:
Le Jeune Homme et La Morte more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
28 out of 32 people found the following comment useful.
Mistakenly Underrated, 13 June 2001
10/10
Author: (alenchik@yahoo.com) from NYC

Frankly, I don't see why everybody is so up in arms about the quality of this movie. I, for one, don't need to preface my review with a disclaimer that only its dance sequences can be enjoyed. I happen to think that it's a pretty excellent cinematographic work overall. Let me elaborate.

The camera work here is among the most original and clever out there. It's incredibly dynamic and energetic, offering unusual perspectives, delivering great close-ups, and skillfully capturing the sweeping wide spaces. An unusually large amount of footage is devoted to the city landscapes of St. Petersburg - a rarity in American flicks on Russian themes. It's all the more jarring, however, that despite attempts to ensure authenticity of the setting, at least the first couple of car rides seem to have been done in a stationary vehicle and plastered rather crudely against the city background. But this is a forgivable and almost charming flaw, considering the film's limited budget and the release year of 1985.

The film is a paradox of sorts, showcasing interesting performances from Rossellini and Hines, two actors who have since been totally under-appreciated. There's good chemistry between the impressionable and high-strung duet of Darya and Raymond. Jerzy Skolimovski (Colonel Chaiko) is the classical cunning villain with a Slavic flare. Baryshnikov himself seems a bit rigid and somewhat formulaic as Nikolay Rodchenko. That is when he's not dancing, of course. For when he dances, he unleashes all imaginable and unimaginable potential.

Obviously, the story line is sketched out in broad, exaggerated strokes. But I bet the filmmakers actually expected the overall theatricality to be taken with a grain of salt. Besides, the subject matter discussed wasn't keen on subtleties. The events depicted were behind-the-scenes operations all right, but they were as blunt and theatrically bizarre as can be. And as for those who think the circumstances and emotions of the dissidence and emigration (or defection in this case) experience are overblown - brush up on mid-20th century history and get a grip on things. Not only had the Big Brother's machinery of state control and suppression been well oiled for decades in the Soviet Union and its satellites, but the shadow of this absurd, merciless beast hangs over many of those nations still. Folks, the fictionalized account of Nikolay Rodchenko is merely a -slightly- glamorized and dramatized version of real life experience of countless victims of the era.

The scenes of Nikolay and Darya fleeing through the deserted streets of Leningrad and the subsequent humiliation they experience in front of the American embassy send chills down my spine every time I watch the movie. That threat and that danger are very real to me even though my emigration experience in the 1990s was simply peachy in retrospect and comparison. Just as disturbing and sobering, by the way, is Rodchenko's reception by the Americans and the so-called international community inside the gates. He to them is but a nimble exotic specimen...

Anyhow, let me dismount my high horse and reiterate, seconding the earlier reviews, that `White Nights' features superb, matchless dancing; and, to miss it is a deathly sin. Well, almost...

There are essentially four dance highlights in the movie. Choreography is mainly by Baryshnikov, Hines, and, very importantly, Twyla Tharp. Baryshnikov's duet with Florence Faure in the opening credits is bound to leave your breathless. It is sheer perfection - immensely inventive and impeccably executed. The second instance when you'll forget that you could blink and breathe is during the 11 rubles for 11 pirouettes number. He does it with a godly effortlessness. Hines' and Baryshnikov's dance studio number is fascinating to watch. And, then… Then, there's Mikhail's solo to Vysotsky's tape on the stage of the Kirov theatre. Its beauty is literally painful and words can never describe it.

If you haven't seen `White Nights' or haven't seen it more than once, you're denying yourself an unearthly pleasure. And you can snicker at my high-flown sighs and exclamations all you want :)

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