Desyat Negrityat

Desyat Negrityat (Russian: Десять негритят, 'Ten Little Negroes') is a 1987 Soviet film adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1939 novel of the same name, now known as And Then There Were None. It was directed by Stanislav Govorukhin, who also penned the script.[1][2]

Desyat Negrityat
Ten Little Negroes
Film poster for Desyat Negrityat
Directed byStanislav Govorukhin
Screenplay byStanislav Govorukhin
Based onAnd Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
StarringVladimir Zeldin
Tatyana Drubich
Alexander Kaidanovsky
Aleksei Zharkov
Anatoli Romashin
Lyudmila Maksakova
CinematographyGennadi Engstrem
Edited byValentina Olejnik
Music byNikolai Korndorf
Production
company
Release date
  • December 28, 1987 (1987-12-28)
Running time
137 min
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

This version was, upon its release, unique in that virtually no part of the novel is altered (although a sexual relationship between Vera and Lombard is introduced, and the latter's revolver is changed into a small automatic pistol). Unlike the previous Hollywood/British adaptations of the story, none of the characters or their respective crimes are altered in any way and the film concludes with the grim finale from Agatha Christie's original novel, rather than the upbeat ending from the 1943 stage version that most other adaptations chose to follow.[3] The Soviet adaptation is a bit more fanciful in that the murderer expounds at some length, in solitude, about their methodology and the critical twist (aloud instead of on paper as in the novel).

Plot

On a hot, early August day sometime in the late 1930s, eight people arrive on a small, isolated island off the Devon coast of England. Each appears to have an invitation tailored to his or her personal circumstances, such as an offer of employment or an unexpected late summer holiday. They are met by Thomas and Ethel Rogers, the butler and cook/housekeeper, who state that their hosts, Mr Ulick Norman Owen and his wife Mrs Una Nancy Owen, whom they have not yet met in person, have not arrived, but left instructions, which strikes all the guests as odd.

Cast
The Swallow's Nest
Vorontsovsky Palace
Steps of Diva Rock

Locations

The film was shot in Crimea, utilizing the peninsula's two famous mansions, the Swallow's Nest and the Vorontsov Palace. However, when the house is seen on a cliff in the exterior scenes, it is actually a scale model, shot with actors using forced perspective.[4] The stone staircase leading up to the house was filmed at Diva Rock.[5]

Reviews

Croatian film critic Hrvoje Milakovic described "Desyat Negrityat" as "the first and — until 2015 — the only true adaptation" of the novel, noting the screenwriting and directing work of Govorukhin, "who demonstrated not only a masterful knowledge of the entire text of Agatha Christie, but also a deep understanding of it, which was not found either before or after," as well as "outstanding acting work and solid technical embodiment".[6]

References
  1. Richard Taylor, British Film Institute The BFI companion to Eastern European and Russian cinema 2000 p.88 "and Desiat' negriat/Ten Little Niggers (1987), from the Agatha Christie story, ..."
  2. Andrew Horton, Michael Brashinsky The Zero Hour: Glasnost and Soviet Cinema in Transition 0691019207 p176 1992 "Stanislav Govorukhin can once again serve as a model figure. He started his glasnost period with a purely commercial adaptation of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (Desyat' negrityat, 1987), intended to be a blockbuster."
  3. "И негритят не стало…". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  4. IMDB.com
  5. Десять негритят. Тайны нашего кино, a Russian documentary about the making of the film.
  6. Vremeplov: Desjat negritjat (1987). In Croatian
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