White Nights

1985

Action / Drama / Music

17
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 74% · 13 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 74% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 8952 9K

escape kgb tap dancing ballet airplane crash siberia

Plot summary

After his plane crashes in Siberia, a Russian dancer, who defected to the West, is held prisoner in the Soviet Union. The KGB keeps him under watch and tries to convince him to become a dancer for the Kirov Academy of Ballet again. Determined to escape, he befriends a black American expatriate and his pregnant Russian wife, who agree to help him escape to the American Embassy.

Director

Taylor Hackford Photo
Taylor Hackford

Top cast

Helen Mirren Photo
Helen Mirren as Galina Ivanova
William Hootkins Photo
William Hootkins as Chuck Malarek
Isabella Rossellini Photo
Isabella Rossellini as Darya Greenwood
Michael Petrovitch Photo
Michael Petrovitch as Helicopter Pilot
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.12 GB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 16 min
Seeds 5
2.16 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 16 min
Seeds 15

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Idocamstuf 7 / 10

Great music and dancing, the rest is so-so

"White Nights" is one of those films that was a hit at the time of its release but after a few years it kind of became forgotten. The film has some great songs in it, including music by Phil Collins, and Lionel Richie's academy award winning "Say You, See Me". The dancing is also very fun to watch. The problem is that the story and plot are not as well devolped as they should be. The performaces are very good, especially Isabella Rosellini's and Helen Mirren's. The direction is also great, it was directed by Taylor Hackford who is done some very beautiful films such as "An Officer and A Gentleman" and "Doloris Claiborne", his direction styles are very similar to Alan Parker's(if anyone knows who he is or cares) who did "Midnight Express", and "The Commitments". Overall its not a bad film, take a look if you like the actors in the film or dance. 6.8 out of 10
Reviewed by PredragReviews 8 / 10

Way before Dirty Dancing there was White Nights!!

Enjoy the view of Roland Petit's "Le Jeune Homme et La Morte" and Baryshnikov's famous "pas de deux with a chair" (finally captured on film)as an almost participant, and the two self-choreographed studio sequences of Baryshnikov and Hines with a camera that moves as quickly over, below, and above the dancers as the dancers themselves. Having seen Baryshnikov live several times (once with the Kirov, then ABT, and from backstage wings once or twice), I had no problem guessing the outcome of that ruble/pirouette bet. So glory in the dance sequences and the views of two masters at work, and an enterprising and creative director with a political heart. The music is great (I particularly remember the sticky rhythmic beat of "My love is chemical" by Lou Reed). Despite the obvious age that the picture shows "White Nights" is a beautiful movie, with spectacular dancing sequences, definitely worth watching. Personally to me, it is certainly a pity that the whole story is still as appealing as it was over twenty years ago.Overall, the acting is very good. Quite frankly, the pairing of Mikhail Baryshnikov, Greggory Hines and Isabella Rosselini is reason enough to see this film. Not that I'd recommend it to everybody. Sure, it feels kind of dated with the 80's music. And like every single dance movie I've ever seen, it's a little difficult to take it seriously when the characters suddenly stop their dialogue and dance because the screenplay says "insert stunning dance sequence here". In any case, I have always liked the tension in this movie, the struggle to be free and the dancing as a way to demonstrate all the forbidden thoughts and feelings. Baryshnikov and Hines were great dancing partners. Actually, just the dancing alone is worth watching this movie.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
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