hte-trasme When I watched "Heart of a Dog," a previous adaptation by Vladimir Bortko of another work of Bulgakov's I liked it very much but I thought it missed some of the humor that was entwined with the bitter tragedy of Bulgakov's original. "The Master and Margarita" has no such problem. The original is such an extraordinary, original, and multifaceted piece of work that a comprehensive adaptation would be a fool's errand. What Bortkodoes instead to translate many incidents from the novel and its intertwining stories in a way that approximates its spirit honorably -- and does not supplant or superannuate the novel in any way because it doesn't attempt to, but compliments it instead. Instead of reaching for the unreachable in literally filming this elusive book, Bortko produces a very visual adaptation with an enormous scope. And all these visuals are imagined with inspiration. From time to time its evident that the scope of the visual ambition of the serial is almost beyond its financial means, and we can tell that a lot of blue- screen / CSO was used. Somehow, this doesn't bother me, though -- it seems to add to the otherworldly quality of the proceedings. The cast is really commendable here, above all Oleg Basilashvili as Woland, who does seem to be summoning an infernal power. I've seen him in several different roles now, and it's easy to see this as the crowning achievement of a very skilled actor. And Anna Kovalchuk displays amazing range as the various phases of the eponymous Margarita. Kirill Lavrov seems perfect in the difficult role of Pilate, embodying power gnawed at by weakness, pain, and doubt. I had only seem Vasili Livanov as Sherlock Holmes, and it is great to see him again in a witty performance as Dr Stravinsky. And the animatronic puppetry that went into the realization of Begemot the Cat may not be an actor per se, but it seemed well-imbued with a sense of the absurd and perfectly suited. That sound track could be described as repetitive, but it's repetitive in a thoughtful way, and the use of a theme in a particular place is as carefully thought-out and effective as the use of both monochrome and color scenes to indicate when the presence of the diabolical is making itself felt. And its' simple such a good score that I don't mind that it repeats. "The Master and Margarita" has been called an anti-Stalinist novel, but things are not quite so simple as that (and they are certainly not so simple as to allow us to call it an anti-Communist novel, satirizing as its does the public's vapid enchantment with capitalistic consumer good and raining money). It is rather a work of art (and a great one), and not a work of polemic. And as such it has a deep subtlety in stark contrast to the Socialist Realism endorsed by the state when it was written. This adaptation has the respect and breadth to carry over that theme honestly -- so show us much and to tell us only that the only sin is cowardice.

mpan2006 I watched this mini on a DVD so my perception wasn't as fragmented as it perhaps would have been if I watched one episode a day on TV. I read 'Master and Margarita' at least ten times so I know it pretty much by heart. It came as a relief that Bortko followed the original text so closely and didn't turn it in one of Hollywood 'junk' adaptations. There's no point in getting hysterical about the fact that this film is not as good as the book – it could never be. I agree with other comments here that many dialogues are 'still born' because the text was transferred from the book too literally with no dramatic adaptation, particularly when Bulgakov's 'author's' commentaries were used in the dialogues. Abdulov and Basilashvili were the best. To my mind, Basilashvili, in particular, added to my previous perception of Woland and expanded this character if that's at all possible. The main complains are Begemot all of whose personifications failed miserably and Gaft's character who was completely out of context and rather weird. Gaft already played Beria in another movie and his appearance here looked like a piece cut out from that movie and pasted into this one. However this is all minor and generally I enjoyed the film. I was only really disappointed with Bortko's interpretation of the Ball. Having followed the book so maniacally to the last letter he suddenly deviated off track and not in a good way. In Bulgakov's book the Ball is an explosion of colour, light and music with walls of flowers and rainbow fountains. Whether it was a poor budget to blame or inability to use decent special effects but Bortko created some grey depressing place in the middle of nowhere which looked rather bizarre. Bulgakov featured Margarita flying through the ball halls in shoes made of rose petals and wearing nothing except heavy pendant over her neck whereas Bortko dressed her in torture chains and pinned her to the ground. It all looked a bit sado-masochistic and I doubt Bulgakov saw it that way. I'm surprised no one here commented on it. All in all I think it's not a bad attempt, certainly for a mini. I was expecting something much worse having seem some of the rubbish produced my Russian movie makers these days. To those who say it's awful, I think you should calm down and accept that Bulgakov's book and this movie are completely separate entities and the film can't be as deep because it can't reproduce all the philosophical richness of the literary work. It could try but then it won't appeal to a wider audience which prefers easily digestible adaptations.

bellemedusa Back in the 80's they showed the series in Spanish dubbing in Cuba, i remember i missed it cause i was too young, and later i did regret this cause i read the book which i have also in the Spanish version, and now i can't find the series translated, to either English or Spanish. A great movie could be made from this book, if they change some facts, it is an amazing story. Who knows, now the filmmakers are into comic books, eventually someone will decide to make a generous version of the three musketeers for instance, that is just one of the thousands, of great books waiting to be remembered. Excuse my poor English, i can write better in Spanish.

eugenep13 "Master and Margareth" has always been my favorite book. I have read a lot of books, and none of them had captivated and haunted me in such a way that I would read it again and again and again. It is one of the most unusual and mysterious books ever written in the 20th century. And, finally, there is a movie which is as close to the original as possible. To be honest, there is a lot of really bad movies made in Russia, and most of them are so dreadful that it should be made illegal to pocess them! "Master and Margareth" is a pleasant and distinguished exemption from the endless flood of utterly horrible junk which is called Russian film-making. I really loved the movie. The actors are great, digital photography and the special effects aren't so bad either. Of course, it could have always been better but Russian films never have the same budget as an average Hollywood flick. I enjoyed the way the movie turns from B&W to color and opposite. And the soundtrack is amazing. They should release it separately on a CD.This long awaited version does not mean that you don't need to read the book. No matter how perfect the adaptation is (it is far above excellent in this case), it can never replace the original. If you've never read it, do yourself a favor and do it as soon as possible. If you had read it before, it is really worth giving it another go. If you do it once every 5-10 years, you will definitely find something new in it.Finally, it has been released with English subtitles. It would not be really fair to all English speaking scholars, researchers and Bulgakov's lovers who otherwise wouldn't have been able to watch this masterpiece.