Andrew Biliter

The Taras Bulba Trailer Russia Doesn’t Want You to See

Hey America, seems you’re riding a wave of patriotic bliss this week.Well, Russia sees your patriotism and raises you the most patriotic movie trailer ever. Vladimir Bortko’s adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s Taras Bulba actually looks decent, but the voiceover on this TV spot could keep any sane person away. There’s so much Russian pride here, you almost forget that Taras Bulba takes place in Ukraine! Watch the trailer here, but be warned: this thing was intended for Russian eyes only. The last line is “Coming April 22 to all the theaters of our undefeatable country.” Yeah. Full translation below.

Rossiya [TV network] and Central Partnership present... Taras Bulba.
Our beautiful, rich, beloved land.
Here lives freedom. Here lives brotherhood. Here lives true love.
(laughter)
Very quickly, enemies are coming to our land.
Blood. Grief. Enslavement.
But there are still great warriors.
Valiant. Undefeatable.
Bogdan Stupka… ready to die for honor.
Look here. This is your mother!
Igor Petrenko… ready to die for love.
You're mine, truly.
Vladimir Vdovichenkov… ready to die for glory.
Follow me! Follow me!
Mikhail Boyarsky… ready to die for faith.
They are Cossacks.
They fight till the last drop of blood!
For our honor! For our glory!
For our love.
Taras Bulba.
For the motherland. For love.
Coming April 22 to all the theaters of our undefeatable country.

You can also see the less international theatrical trailer, which is far less nauseating, here. PS. Don’t tell YouTube, but there are boobies in it.


Login or Sign up to leave a comment

Jason Blavatnik
January 20, 9:29 AM
Well, patriotism is one way to fight economic crisis. Screw lowering taxes. Understandable. Sad.
Claire Pywell
January 21, 1:16 AM
very insightful review, Andrew! what a great blogger. when i first saw this photo i thought it was some strange preview for LOST. this looks much...better?

Bookmark or Share

Relevant Links, According to Google

Related Articles

The Rolling “R”

We Judge the Best (and Worst) Russian Accents in Hollywood

Epic Fail

War is cool, foreigners are gay, and other lessons from Russia’s new crop of historical epics

A Beautiful Lie

Last year, Oleg Vidov and Joan Borsten Vidov researched and restored an enormous trove of Soviet propaganda cartoons dating from 1924 all the way to the perestroika years.

Related Blog Entries

Introducing 2008's Rolling R Nominees

 by Marina Galperina
Comrades and lady-comrades, let's do this thing. Here, with minimal fanfare (we don't even have our own video hosting capability yet!), are four best "Russian-acting actors," as New York Magazine' s Vulture blog snappily puts it, of 2008. The winner by online acclamation will be announced on February 15. A ceremony (seriously) will follow. In the meantime, vote for your favorite in the comments below.

Rolling R Update: Cate Killin' It

 by Michael Idov
There are only a few days left to vote (via comments right here, on YouTube, or, if you’re a big shot, on the password-protected Snob website) in our Rolling R poll, which will bestow the coveted award “For General Excellence in Acting Russian” on one of the five Hollywood performances of 2008. Let’s see which way the public opinion is leaning in the meantime.

Russianime: Red Army's Paranormal Teens in "First Squad"

 by Marina Galperina
Exalted by the Soviets in the 80s with the popular kids' book Pioner Heroes, WWII's child soldiers are back—little red scarves and all—now, with super-powers! Russia's first ever anime First Squad opens this Fall. Read on for details, trailers, and soft musings on genre exploits and exploitation.
Tags