Rex Stout with Russian Eyes This mini-series is the continuation of the 2nd season of the series, designated as “Niro Wolf and Archie Goodwin” and called “The New Adventures of Niro Wolf and Archie Goodwin”. For some reason, I did not write a review of the “first season”, which I regret very much, but on the second I hasten to tell you my rather professional opinion.
... What, of course, pleases (and the viewer, and critics, and the filmmaker): the whole series (1-2 parts) was shot as a real movie, on the film “Kodak”, very expensive, and by order of the Moscow Government (think, first of all, for showing on TVC; and do not forget that at that time (2004) the capital of Russia was headed by the now disgraced Luzhkov...). Perhaps the relatively decent financing of the project allowed to attract actors of the highest level to its implementation. Donatas Banionis (Niro Wolf) and Sergey Zhigunov (Archie Goodwin) and others. The actors adequately worked out “investments”, and Zhigunov still produced everything (he is generally a successful producer).
... And now something about the relationship between what Rex Stout wrote (a classic of the world's "detective theme") and what we see. I've read Rex Stout a lot (but not all!) and seen American film versions of the Niro Wolf stories. Therefore, I will say: the Russian (let me remind you – shot on film “Kodak”!) series about the famous detective is a worthy competitor to all “beyond-the-big” works! Only, the director-director (actually there are several!) and the screenwriter in the first part (" Gift for Lily, in the original "The Black Orchid Case") overdid with humor, especially "as if black." It is inherent in the novels of Rex Stout; it mostly refers to the "commentaries" of Archie Goodwin, but - no more! The rest of the parts are fine. Next. In the part of “Too Many Women”, there are no colorful and very important for the course of the entire investigation “hangs” of all these women, with light drinks, organized by Goodwin. But in many ways they explain the name of the novel. I never understood why the filmmakers refused them, because their description in the novel ... but just shine, for life remembered!
But I was most interested in the part of “Marco’s Last Will” (alas, I haven’t read it), from which we learn that in fact Niro Wulf is a Montenegrin from Yugoslavia and that his real name is... Niron Wolfovich! But the real sensation is that this fat gourmet, a beerie (average daily norm of 4 bottles), who leaves his mansion in rare cases and is terribly afraid to ride a car, then suddenly makes an illegal trip (of course, from Archie) to his overseas (!) homeland, makes a reincarnation (however, it soon turns out that to his colleague Sherlock Holmes he is in this act as to the moon on foot...). That's intrigue, huh? Add to it a young gangster from New York, Luciano, who also (when pushed to the wall) “worked” on the investigation and received the nickname “lucky”. Namely, Lucky Luciano. Do you know who the creators of the series are so excited about? I don’t think it’s the case with Stout...
The part called “The Secret of the Red Box” (also not read) is also curious and even, perhaps, more dramatic than all the previous ones.
... And I simply cannot say anything about the work of our brilliant composer Vladimir Dashkevich. Here he again proved himself as the highest talent and a good mystifier! Let me remind you, I hope, the well-known story about how Igor Maslennikov invited Dashkevich to “English” and write music for his series about Sherlock Holmes. The composer (I don’t know if it was really so) sat down at the piano and with his “right heel” composed an “English” theme, which became Great! So in our case, the maestro did a good job of “sweating”, in the title screensaver of the series harmoniously using the music of Charlie Chaplin himself (America of the 30s) and a hint of “detectivity” “a la Sherlock Holmes”. Magnificent and his main intra-series themes: “America, America...” (for those who did not hear) and... something jagged, fashionable in those years (real noir – add to the genres!).
In general, my score (unofficial) is 7+, and the official one is
.
7 out of 10
