The Cherry Orchard
1999, 141 minutes, Rated PG
A acclaimed international director Michael Cacoyannis (Zorba the Greek) and a dream cast of British screen talent revive Anton Chekhov's masterpiece of imprisonment in wealth and regret. Working from his own translation, Cacoyannis expands and condenses The Cherry Orchard with a fidelity that preserves Chekhov's emotional extravagance and unblinking eye for human frailty.
In pre-Revolutionary Russia, Madame Ranevskaya (Charlotte Rampling) returns to her decaying estate after an exile in Paris. Ranevskaya's dissolute brother Gaev (Alan Bates), her insecure adopted daughter Varya (the late Katrin Cartlidge in one of her final film roles) and elderly butler Feers (Michael Gough) are as ill-prepared for the grim financial realitites that threaten their existence as Ranevskaya is. As the seasons change and memories contend with reason, the family must either find their footing in a Russia that is changing or languish in their past way of life, a bittersweet luxury that they can literally no longer afford.
- Director:
- Michael Cacoyannis [2],
- Starring:
- Tushka Bergen [3], Gerard Butler [22], Alan Bates [23], Katrin Cartlidge [6], Charlotte Rampling [21], Xander Berkeley [52], Owen Teale [2],
- Screen Formats:
- Full Frame 1.33:1
- Language and Sound:
- English Dolby Digital Stereo
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