Tchaikovsky

The life of one of Russia's most popular composers is celebrated in this ambitious, if maddeningly unfocused, 1969 Academy Award-nominated film from writer/director Igor Talankin. Innokenti Smoktunovsky stars as Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky in this budget-busting grand epic that somehow manages over a butt-busting 2-1/2 hours to tell us nothing of particular import about the composer or his music. Kino-on-Video has lavished quite of bit of attention on this release, although the quality of their video mastering is inconsistent, swinging between very good and weak extremes. The 2-disc set includes a new 5.1 mix (highlighting the soundtrack of another celebrated Russian composer, Dimitri Tiomkin); menus and soundtracks in Russian, English and French; subtitles in 13 languages; interviews with stars Innokenti Smoktunovsky and Maya Plisetskaya, and cinematographer Margarita Pilikhina; and a b&w short about the composer's life and music. Sadly, the recipient of well-intentioned attentions, this film is of little historical or dramatic interest, and hence not recommended. (S. C. Sickles)