bbc.co.uk Press Releases Archangel - an ambitious international thriller from BBC ONE Category: TV Drama Date: 25.09.2004

British born actor Daniel Craig is to star in an adaptation of Robert Harris' compelling best-seller Archangel due to be screened on BBC ONE next year.

Adapted by award winning writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (The Rotters' Club, Auf Weidersehen, Pet) and filmed entirely on location in Moscow and Latvia, Archangel follows Oxford historian Fluke Kelso (Daniel Craig) on a dangerous and thrilling race to uncover the dark mystery behind the alleged secret diaries of Josef Stalin.

Laura Mackie, Head of BBC Drama Serials, says: "Robert Harris' Archangel is an intelligent and compulsive thriller full of twists and turns, which Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais have adapted into a taut and compelling screenplay taking the audience on a journey through contemporary Russia and the secrets surrounding Stalin's death.

"Archangel is one of a number of adaptations of modern novels for BBC ONE next year, including Jonathan Coe's The Rotters' Club - adapted by Clement and La Frenais - and Sarah Waters' Fingersmith."

Set in contemporary Moscow and the frozen northern town of Archangel, the drama revisits the stark landscape of Communist Russia and takes place over four days in the life of Fluke Kelso.

His fateful meeting with a former Stalinist bodyguard of the NKVD (People's Commissariat For Internal Affairs) leads to the uncovering of one of the world's most dangerous and best kept secrets.

He is led unwittingly through murder and intrigue towards his own personal 'Holy Grail' - Josef Stalin's secret legacy - a legacy that could change the face of Russian history forever.

Producer Christopher Hall said: "I am delighted that we are bringing this international best-seller to the screen, headed by film star Daniel Craig in his return to BBC Television, adapted by two of Britain's best-loved screen writers."

Daniel Craig starred in the BBC's Our Friends In The North as well as the films Road To Perdition, The Mother, Tomb Raider, Elizabeth, Sylvia and the soon-to-be-released Layer Cake and Enduring Love.

Robert Harris is the author of Pompeii, Enigma and Fatherland.

He was a television correspondent with the BBC, political editor of the Observer and a columnist for the Sunday Times.

His novels have sold more than six million copies and been translated into 30 languages.

Harris' novels Enigma and Fatherland have both been made into films - Kate Winslet, Dougray Scott, Tom Hollander and Saffron Burrows starred in Enigma (2001) and Miranda Richardson, Michael Kitchen, Peter Vaughn and Jean Marsh starred in Fatherland (1994).

Archangel is produced by Christopher Hall (Hound Of The Baskervilles, The Lost World) and directed by Jon Jones (The Alan Clark Diaries, When I'm 64).

The executive producers are Laura Mackie, Jessica Pope and Paul Telegdy.

Episode Guide

Synopsis:

Fluke Kelso (Daniel Craig) is a maverick academic, who's in Moscow to attend a conference on the newly opened Soviet Archives. His colleagues sneer at him behind his back for his radical views on the telling of history but Kelso doesn't care. He's his own man. One night he is visited in his hotel room by Papu Rapava (Valery Chernyak), a former NKVD officer, and bodyguard to the secret police chief Lavrenty Beria (Yervant Arzumanian). Fluke listens spellbound as Rapava tells him the astonishing story of Stalin's last hours and of how Rapava helped the chief of police to steal a secret notebook from Stalin's safe and bury it in the grounds of Beria's Moscow house...where it still lies.

How can a Stalin scholar resist the lure of Stalin's secret notebook? But, equally, in the wake of the fake Hitler Diaries how can he not proceed with extreme caution? Next day, Fluke sets off for the Lenin Library to research the mysterious missing notebook. All leads seem to point to Vladimir Mamantov (Lev Prigounov), ex-KGB major, notorious bad guy, and raving Communist, responsible for the Party's political resurgence. Fluke visits him to talk about the notebook and realises that this is a man to be afraid of, a man who would like to drag Russia back to Communism with all speed.

With no new information gained about the notebook, he decides to visit Beria's house, unused for decades, and breaks in. In the garden he sees traces of digging, and realises that something has been removed, and recently. He needs to talk to Rapava again, but Rapava has disappeared without trace.

Fluke follows the only clue he has to Rapava's whereabouts, a matchbook from a Moscow nightclub, and meets his estranged daughter, Zinaida Rapava (Yekaterina Rednikova). She agrees, reluctantly, to escort him to her father's apartment. When he gets there, she scarpers and he walks up to Rapava's apartment alone. It has been professionally filleted, obviously in a search for the notebook, and Rapava himself is dead. Obviously Mamantov is not a man to be trifled with. Kelso retreats, calls the police and finds himself warned off by Feliks Suvorin (Alexei Diakov), elegant and dapper westernised policeman. It would be better says Suvorin if Kelso flew straight back to New York. He will provide an escort to see him safely on to the plane.

Kelso duly turns up at the airport and is about to leave when Zinaida appears at the departure gate. She wants to talk to him. Her father left her something - he said Fluke would know what it meant - that it was valuable. The pair go to her father's hiding place, unearth the legacy, but they've been followed, and at the crucial moment, TV newsman R J O'Brian (Gabriel Macht) shows up and demands to be let in on the secret. Fluke agrees to open the package in front of O'Brian's camera. It's a black oilskin notebook, handwritten.

They begin to read - it's a girl's diary, from 1951, detailing how she was called from Archangel to work in Stalin's house as his personal maid. Her name is Anna Safanova (Anna Gerasimova). She's a true believer and the package also contains her medical history and some notes in Stalin's hand. All the clues point to one unbelievable thing - Stalin has singled this girl out to bear him an heir.

O'Brian is determined to travel immediately to Archangel to search for some form of authentication. Stalin's secret lover and Stalin's love child is the best story he's ever likely to come upon. But it's the end of October and he has only a few days to get in and out of Archangel in the Arctic Circle before winter sets in and cuts them off for months.

Fluke and Zinaida try to cut O'Brian out of the adventure, and begin the journey alone. They start with Party headquarters and discover to their astonishment that although there is no trace of Anna Safanova - she has been carefully erased from all records - her mother is still alive, aged 85, and living in Archangel. Meanwhile O'Brian hires a plane and a pilot and catches up with Fluke and Zinaida.

In Archangel they visit Vavara Safanova (Ludmila Golubera), who confirms that Anna came home from Moscow in 1952, pregnant. She had the baby - a boy - but while the child lived, Anna died. The boy was taken away by some Moscow men and fostered deep in the forests of the north. Vavara's husband had gone to find him once and never come back - missing, presumed dead. O'Brian and Kelso can't resist this. How can they not go that little bit further if Stalin's son is at the end of the trail?

They set off next morning, leaving Zinaida behind, and reach the hamlet Vavara Safanova had pointed out to them. They separate and investigate the forest further. Suddenly Kelso hears a scream - when he reaches O'Brian, he finds him hung upside down by the foot in a deer trap. A man (Konstantin Lavronenko) is watching them from the forest, perfectly still, almost a part of the forest itself. He appears to have been expecting them.

In Moscow, Feliks Suvorin has discovered that Kelso has gone AWOL. The political situation is too unstable to risk ultra leftists recruiting Stalin's heir to spearhead a return to Communism. Suvorin must travel north, destroy the diary and the heir. He will have as much special forces back up as he needs.

In the forests of the north, Kelso and O'Brian are in the stranger's home, stunned by his physical resemblance to Stalin, terrified by his strength. He appears half-crazy, considers himself Stalin's anointed heir, and is expecting to return with them to Moscow to take his place in the world. For O'Brian this is the story of a lifetime but Kelso is a realist - this is dangerous - and they must make a run for it.

They head for a clearing beside the Dvina River, which is quickly icing up, and attempt a satellite SOS. Meanwhile Suvorin and a crack team of Spetsnaz men are making their way through the trees. But they are no match for the man brought up in the forest and all, including Suvorin and O'Brian, are picked off. Kelso escapes the forest in the wolfman's boat, heading for Archangel, then Moscow. Meanwhile Stalin's son is taken away by Mamantov's men.

Next morning, gliding through the towns between Archangel and Moscow, Kelso is puzzled to see hordes of people at every station with Stalin placards - the train is abuzz with excitement. He pushes through the train to see what's going on and sees 'Stalin' asleep in a corner seat surrounded by die-hard Stalinist admirers.

At Vologda, Mamantov boards the train, claims the 'heir' for the Party. O'Brian's film footage from the forest has been broadcast. Now all of Russia knows that Stalin lives and that he will lead the country out of chaos and back to a secure Communist future. But as the new Stalin addresses his people, Zinaida fires a shot at him. Stalin drops dead. She has avenged her father's suffering both in life and death.

Characters & Actors

Fluke Kelso (Daniel Craig)

Fluke Kelso is a maverick academic who attends a conference in Moscow about the newly opened Soviet Archives. His colleagues sneer at him behind his back for his radical views on the telling of history but Kelso doesn't care. He's his own man.

One night he is visited in his hotel room by Papu Rapava, a former member of the Soviet police chief and bodyguard to its chief Lavrenty Beria. Fluke listens spellbound as Rapava tells him the astonishing story of Josef Stalin's last hours. Rapava explains how he helped the chief of police to steal a secret notebook from Stalin's safe and bury it in the grounds of Beria's Moscow house...where it still lies.

How can a Stalin scholar resist the lure of Stalin's secret notebook? But, equally, in the wake of the fake Hitler diaries, how can he not proceed with extreme caution? Next day, Fluke sets off for the Lenin Library to research the mysterious missing notebook. What starts as an idle enquiry soon turns into a dangerous chase across night-time Moscow and up to northern Russia.

With only a few days left before ice seals off the forests of Archangel, Kelso is led unwittingly through murder and intrigue towards his own personal 'Holy Grail' - Josef Stalin's secret legacy - which could change the face of Russian history forever.

Daniel Craig Q & A

What kind of a man is Fluke Kelso?

He's a professor of Russian History. I don't know what drew him to Russian history - maybe the romantic idea of Russia and the Soviet Union and perhaps the cold war drew him there.

He studied there, fell in love and married, has written a book and he has had some fame but it's on the wane now. He is lonely and arrives in Russia to give some lectures but he is a bit cynical of the whole thing now. The break up of the Soviet Union destroyed his main subject matter and people aren't as interested in it anymore.

He meets up with an old man who tells him this story about a diary. He's not sure if it's Josef Stalin's diary but he knows it is obviously very important.

Kelso gets tangled up in an adventure that takes him up to Archangel in Northern Russia. Once there he is faced with a moral dilemma. The adventure concludes in the discovery of something that could change the course of Russian history forever. Not to mention make Kelso richer and more famous than he could ever have imagined.

He does have a romantic idea of the Soviet Union at the time of Stalin, though he clearly despises what the man stood for. But he turned the country from being a feudal state into a world superpower. It's one last chance for Kelso to prove himself as an historian.

What are Fluke's strengths and weaknesses?

His strength is that he can hold his vodka, and his weakness is that he can hold his vodka!

You are the only British actor here and you are surrounded by Russians, Latvians, Americans. How has this been for you?

It's been fantastic and Jon Jones, the producer, has cast wonderful Russian and Latvian actors who are Russian speakers. Yes, it's been a struggle at times, but it has been very rewarding. The work that we have put into this has been really different and therefore quite exciting.

Where you aware of Robert Harris' novels before?

Of course. Robert Harris' work and that of Clement and La Frenais are renowned.

What do you think the resonances of the story are for people today?

I think there's certainly a hardline element in Russia who believe that a return to communism is the way forward. I think that is a lot to do with is the way we live now, with threats of global terrorism and fear, and the only way to deal with it is with an iron fist. I don't tend to believe this myself, but that is why Putin is so popular because he's so strong. It's strange that we tend to lean towards totalitarianism when the world is in times of trouble and it is amazing that when people are afraid they believe that strength is the only way forward. It's a very Russian thing and history says in Russia that strength has always won through.

Were the historical aspects of the story of great interest to you?

It's incredible history and you can't help but be affected by it. I travelled to the old USSR and remember the wall coming down. As an actor, it's hard not to be drawn to the whole tradition of acting over there. I'd always kept my eye on Russia because of its history. You can't help it really.

How did you find your experience in Moscow this time as opposed to last time?

I was there in 1989 with a theatre tour just before the curtain fell and again just after when it really was Dodge City and it was quite scary to tell you the truth. It's just a very busy vibrant city and still scary. It's an incredibly fast city and you really do see that cross over from east to west. Parts of Moscow have what look like Arabic markets and then you have Nike signs all over the place.

How did you find Latvia by comparison?

Much quieter! Riga has offered beautiful locations but is very, very cold like you wouldn't believe. The temperature reached -16 at one point with three feet of snow!


You have been making feature films for the last few years and here you are making a TV film, what has the change in gear been like for you?

I don't think there has been much change in gear at all. A film set is a film set, there's no ephemera that makes it different. I have always said that we make the best drama in the world and I have no problem with getting involved in British television or the BBC because of that. And it's important that this continues. The language of film is the same no matter where you are: everyone just says the same thing - turnover, cut, go again...!

Your Reviews

You Said:

"The whole production was well up to the standards I have come to expect from BBC Drama."

"Having enjoyed Robert Harris' book I was a little sceptical on how the drama would cover it. My fears were unnecessary, it was so true to the book that I often felt that I had already seen the unfolding events.

The whole production, except for an unrealistic portrayal of the boat escape near the end, was well up to the standards I have come to expect from BBC Drama."

Bob Robinson, Hampshire

"Excellent stuff - more please. This is the BBC at its best. Daniel Craig was brilliant as ever. The feel of the book was reflected in the programme. Excellent."

Kathryn, England

"I was very disappointed with this poor adaptation of a very good book. The performances were ok but the direction was terrible and crucial plot lines were changed for no good reason."

Roger, London

"A very good drama - it's just a pity that Stalin looks like Terry Jones from Monty Python."

Barry W, Leicester

"It was squeezed into a two hour slot, and this did not allow time for any sort of tension to be built up."

"I enjoyed the programme, but thought it was inferior to the book. The main problem for me was that it was squeezed into a two hour slot, and this did not allow time for any sort of tension to be built up.

No sooner had one part of the mystery been solved, and we were off on the next bit. All a bit rushed."

Mark Eyers, Surrey

"The best thing I have seen in a long time. The atmosphere, pace and tension were all totally authentic. Full marks and more, please!"

Ian Jackson, St Ives

"The BBC drama of Richard Harris' book Archangel took just 15 minutes to destroy a work equalling John Le Carrie's Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, despite being adapted for the TV by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.

Daniel Craig, more recently seen in the British film Layer Cake, manages to produce a performance reminiscent of Michael Caine, just without the talent. Konstantin Lavronenko who plays Stalin, had more appeal in his 60 seconds on screen.

Being far too young to portray an aging history professor, Daniel looks totally out of place in his sleek Tony Blair style greasy suit, rather than the expected tweed jacket and leather elbow patches.

There is no doubt in my mind that my TV licence has been totally wasted. Read the book."

David Stewart, Hampshire

"The perfect British drama. Once again the BBC shows us what the TV licence is for. This made a nice change from the usual Saturday night fair."

Steve Clark, London

"A very exciting political drama which harnesses the true secrecy and corruption that was Communist Russia."

"A very exciting political drama which harnesses the true secrecy and corruption that was Communist Russia. Stunning scenery, a good plot which followed well through-out, and accurate Russian language and dialects which make it all the more enjoyable. A thoroughly riveting drama which I personally would love to see released on DVD."

Samuel J. Harcus, Scotland

"I am gutted that they filmed the second half in the Baltic instead of Arkhangel'sk (proper name). I visited Arkhangel'sk in 1999 and was looking forward to seeing some scenery I recognized. I always feel cheated when they duck out of filming an adaptation where it is set."

Kirk Kenny, Manchester

"This is an excellent production. It is extremely well acted, especially the performance by the Russian actress Yekaterina Rednikova. I would like to see her in more BBC productions."

Roddy, West Lothian

"At last something new for TV! No detectives, Dr's or Vets in sight and great production values. A tense, political drama that didn't assume the audience is too stupid to understand a complex plot line.

Fine acting and a very atmospheric setting - I felt like turning the heating up after watching! There is certainly room for more TV like this at the moment and particularly something that is so well written."

Julie Cass, North Yorks

"Although it was a little 'chopped down', and two characters were killed off, even though they survived in the book, I thought it was a fair adaptation. Very well done. I hope it comes out on DVD!"

Beckie, Wootton Bassett

"We thought the script was good, the film exciting, and the acting exceptional."

"We differ strongly with the comments by John Dugdale in a recent Sunday Times' article. Dugdale wrote that the scriptwriters reduced Archangel 'to something watched with mild interest'.

On the contrary, we thought the script was good, the film exciting, and the acting by Daniel Craig, Yekaterina Rednikova and the rest of the cast, exceptional."

M and D Morris, London

"A thrilling and explosive drama! History brought to life, proving that it is an interesting subject. The actors were outstanding and believable. I learn both History and Russian at school, but I never thought that I would see the two combined in such an extraordinary piece of drama.

As with History, it leads to more questions than answers, so the question is, will the BBC make another programme along a similar format? I do hope so! It was fascinating and good to watch. Russian history is interesting and important. To predict the future, you have to know the past."

Nathan Bramley, Nottinghamshire

"An excellent production. Very 'realistic', uncomfortably so at times. Great locations, excellent choice of actors.""

Gerry Marks, Suffolk

"The jaw-dropping revelations were communicated with such a lack of conviction that you never got a sense of just what was at stake."

"Not quite sure how such a fantastically powerful novel ended up being such a mediocre TV drama.

Despite the excellent source material and the evocative Russian backdrops, it was completely ungripping. The jaw-dropping revelations of the book were communicated with such a lack of conviction that you never got a sense of just what was at stake.

Oh well. At least its failure to fire my imagination left my memories of the book intact."

Dan Beinart, Oxford

"Bravo BBC! An excellent adaptation of Robert Harris' great novel - if only Enigma had received the same treatment.

It was good to see the backdrop of the Eastern block, which added so much realism. Let's have more of the wonderful Yekaterina Rednikova too!"

Duncan McKenna, Dundee, Scotland

"A fantastic drama with true integrity."

"Archangel is a fantastic drama, with true integrity. It lives up to the BBC of old, producing high quality drama's that are simply unmissable. Hopefully more dramas of this calibre are to be released soon."

Graeme, Sandhurst

"What a brilliant show. One of the few adaptions that actually makes you want to read the book. Acting was top notch and the locales made it gritty."

Phill Christie, Scotland

"A truly great BBC drama! Every aspect of this programme showed a very realistic view of life in post-Soviet Russia. Most of all, the haunting reality of many Russians looking back on the 'good old days' of Stalin, the world's most evil man."

Geoff Little, London

Russian Text:

http://www.datacd.ru/about.php?id=2726
Информация о фильме
Название: Архангел
Оригинальное название: Archangel
Год выхода: 2005
Режиссер: Джон Джонс /Jon Jones/
Сценарий: Ian La Frenais
Продюсер: Джесика Поуп /Jessica Pope/
Оператор: Chris Seager
Композитор: Роберт Лэйн /Robert Lane/
Жанр: Триллер, Драма, Мистика
Страна: Великобритания
Продолжительность: 116 мин.
Краткое описание:

Экранизация бестселлера известного английского писателя Роберта Харриса, пишущего в жанре «альтернативной истории» («Фатерлянд»). Историк Флюк Келсо (Дэниел Крейг - «Казино Рояль», «Слоеный пирог», «Мюнхен»), приезжает в Москву на научную конференцию, посвященную вопросам сталинизма. Но неожиданный визит непрошеного гостя - старика-грузина Рапавы, бывшего в молодости телохранителем Лаврентия Берии - меняет все его планы. Старик рассказывает Келсо, что в ночь смерти Сталина он по приказу Берии закопал в саду некий тайный дневник вождя. Подробностей Келсо разузнать не удается - на следующий же день после их беседы он находит Рапаву мертвым, со следами пыток. Когда ученый, чудом избежавший обвинения в убийстве благодаря вмешательству майора ФСБ Суворина (Алексей Дьяков), в компании с дочерью старика Зинаидой (Екатерина Редникова - «Вор») принимается за собственное расследование - выясняется, что секретный дневник Сталина существует до сих пор, и содержит в себе дикую тайну, которая со дня на день должна изменить весь ход современной российской истории...

В главных ролях:
Дэниэл Крэйг /Daniel Craig/
Екатерина Редникова /Yekaterina Rednikova/
Гэбриел Махт /Gabriel Macht/
Лев Прыгунов /Lev Prygunov/
Алексей Дьяков /Alexey Diakov/
Гарри Дитсон /Harry Ditson/
Таня Муди /Tanya Moodie/
Клаудия Харрисон /Claudia Harrison/

http://www.kinoexpert.ru/index.asp?comm=4&num=20637

Архангел / Archangel
Великобритания

В ролях [»]: Дэниэл Крэйг (...Келсо), Екатерина Редникова (...Зинаида Рапава), Лев Прыгунов (...Мамонтов), Алексей Дьяков (...Феликс Суворин), Автандил Махарадзе (...Сталин), Ервант Арзуманян (...Берия), Игорь Филиппов (...майор Кретов), Константин Лавроненко (...Иосиф).

В ролях [«]:
Дэниэл Крэйг ...Келсо
Екатерина Редникова ...Зинаида Рапава
Лев Прыгунов ...Мамонтов
Алексей Дьяков ...Феликс Суворин
Автандил Махарадзе ...Сталин
Ервант Арзуманян ...Берия
Игорь Филиппов ...майор Кретов
Константин Лавроненко ...Иосиф

Награды и примечания:
Экранизация политического триллера Роберта Харриса, пр-во BBC Drama, в 2-х сериях.

Краткое содержание:
Историк Келсо (Дэниэл Крейг) приезжает в Москву на научную конференцию. Но визит Рапавы, бывшего телохранителя Лаврентия Берия, меняет все планы. Оказывается, в ночь смерти Сталина он по приказу шефа закопал тайный дневник вождя. Заинтригованный Келсо разыскивает дочь исчезнувшего Рапавы Зинаиду (Екатерина Редникова), надеясь, что она поможет раскрыть тайну отца. Когда к ним в компанию навязывается жадный до сенсаций репортер О'Брайан, становится ясно, что они напали на след. И главное, что есть люди, которые так же яростно стремятся скрыть тайну, как они хотят ее разгадать...

Отзывы зрителей:

Отлично - сварганили новый антирусский фильм. А я-то балда, надеялся, что время всяких там "Святых", "Самолётов Президента", Рэмбо и т.п. кануло в Лету, но нет, как же жестоко я ошибался... А Редниковой только проституток и играть.

Автор: , [25.07.2007, IP 62.118.143.13]

Я бы мог назвать фильм отличным если бы не бред про лешего сына Сталина. Тем более, что у него насамом деле были сыновья, и это небыло тайной. А так - отличный загадочный фильм о раскрытии тайны. Да и сложно вспомнить, где ещё так подробно показывают настоящую, снятую здесь Россию

Автор: Дмитрий, [29.06.2007, IP 81.23.149.7]

Снежанна, и кого же вы в этом фильме сыграле? Уж больно интересно.

Автор: Лена, [25.02.2007, IP 84.95.114.178]

а я в этом фильме снималась!!!

Автор: Снежанна, [30.01.2007, IP 81.198.236.67]

ну опять на сталина наехали!!!

Автор: сер, [16.12.2006, IP 91.76.37.145]

Клёвый фильм,просто смерч впечатлений!

Автор: Митрофанова, [31.10.2005]

 

RÉSUMÉ (ENGLISH)         |         RÉSUMÉ (RUSSIAN)         |         HOME