Adventures of a Dentist
Adventures of a Dentist (Russian: Похождения зубного врача, romanized: Pokhozhdyeniya zubnovo vracha) is a 1965 Soviet dark comedy/drama feature film directed by Elem Klimov on Mosfilm. It is currently available to view through the Criterion Channel, and is occasionally screened at film festivals.
| Adventures of a Dentist | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Elem Klimov |
| Written by | Aleksandr Volodin (play & screenplay) |
| Starring | Andrey Myagkov Vera Vasilyeva Alisa Freindlich Panteleymon Krymov Andrei Petrov |
| Music by | Alfred Shnitke |
| Cinematography | Samuil Rubashkin |
| Edited by | Valeriya Belova |
Production company | |
Release date | 1965 (USSR) 1987 (second release) |
Running time | 82 min. |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Plot
A dentist is derided (and eventually has his life ruined) by his colleagues for his natural talent of painlessly pulling out teeth.
Cast
- Andrey Myagkov - Sergey Petrovich Chesnokov
- Vera Vasilyeva - Lyudmila Ivanovna Lastochkina
- Alisa Freindlich - Masha
- Panteleymon Krymov - the father of Masha
- Olga Gobzeva - Tanya
- Igor Kvasha - Merezhkovsky, a fighter for justice
- Valentin Nikulin - a sick man, brought for a "demonstrative" tooth extraction
- Yevgeniy Perov - Yakov Vasilyevich Rubakhin
- Andrei Petrov - Kotikov, Chesnokov's boss
- Leonid Diachkov - fiancé of Masha
- Elizabeth Nikischihina - student Zavalniuk
- Lybov Korneva - Karpova, medical student
- Svetlana Starikova - Komsomol leader
Background
The film's implication, that society inevitably ostracizes those who are gifted, horrified censors who told Klimov to change it. When Klimov refused, the film was given the lowest classification: "category three", which meant that it was shown in only 25-78 movie theatres. Only about half a million viewers saw the film when it premiered. In the West, the film has gained recognition due to it being directed by Klimov (most known for his film Come and See), and it has been screened at several film festivals in the last few years.
External links
- Adventures of a Dentist at AllMovie
- Adventures of a Dentist at IMDb
- An overview of Elem Klimov's career at kinoeye.org
- Adventures of a Dentist at official Mosfilm site