Master & Margarita

Great movie!

At times, quotes from the novel are spoken word for word, at times the director changes details, but clearly just to fit everything in - the runtime is already huge.

Voland and the Master are miscast, especially the Master. They confused a melancholic alcoholic with a gothic metrosexual. The cat remains undeveloped. How the actor who played Ivanushka ended up in this movie is a mystery.

But Gella, Margarita, Koroviev, Pilate, and Maigret are good choices.

Stravinsky is very good!

Stepa Likhodeev is brilliantly played, the best role (it's a pity it's not bigger).

All the most important quotes from the book are spoken, but there wasn't enough time for the funniest ones.

The director, praise Satan, didn't fill the movie with funny scenes, although there are plenty in the book, and instead focused on exactly what Bulgakov's novel is about: censorship under a dictator, which drives not only writers but also ordinary citizens insane.

It's a great film inspired by Bulgakov masterpiece. It's better than any "anti utopian" film.

1) great actors - the fact of such a mix of actors makes it a great play, truly enjoyable by sophisticated characters 2) interesting plot twist (it's not 100% adaptation of book) - makes an interesting viewpoint of the book and in fact I liked it a lot 3) no annoying music - these days most films have this annoying background music to add whatever emotions. Here no music is needed as you are totally into the play and story 4) great visuals - how they designed Moscow and USSR is great 5) absolute must to watch simply due to the fact we are living in a repeated history, what's happening in Russia is pretty much what the book is talking about 6) one of the best films I've watched so far, like fresh air after all identical American movies-blockbusters.

Its quite an impressive result - to squeeze such a book into single movie.

If previous series were dedicated a lot for Jesus (Ganozzi) and Pontius Pilat theme, here we see quite an extensive story of Master.

I really liked that Master is shown not as crazy obsessed by his novel psycho individual, but rather as a normal person who was just killed step by step with his own genius by new Soviet ideology and traitors/slaves of this new era propaganda

You can easily build a parallel with what is happening today in Russia.

I really liked the episode in the end when city is on fire with all the stars symbols on the roof and the most famous sentence and Pontius and how he hates the city which is swallowed by the darkness

That was the epic end!

The movie is done really well. It looks great, it's well edited, has great sound design and all the performances are flawless.

The timelines and realities are so convoluted that it would make Nolan scratch his head. However, the movie does a great job at keeping the story comprehensible and engaging.

I usually don't like long movies, but in this case the two and a half hours runtime is well justified and passed by quickly. There's no runtime padding and everything feels essential.

The only reason I subtracted one star is that the humor from the book didn't properly precipitate into this movie (but that's super subjective so take with a grain of salt). Otherwise it's a nearly perfect and innovative adaptation of a good book.

The Master and Margarita (2023) is simply the best film I've seen released in years, visually stunning, the iconic novel is adapted in the most thought-provoking perspective & grabs your imagination instantly. What I loved the most is that, IS NOT about the political prosecution of the author/protagonist; but about how the love of Margarita totally frees him, more than his muse -he writes for her, aware that the manuscript will probably end up in the fire- is the force that binds the book and his world together. Reality and fantasy are beautifully intertwined, and the writer can't tell what goes on in his mind from the outside world. All actors (incl. The cat Behemoth) are fantastic; particularly Yulia Snigir as Margarita, it is simply impossible not to fall in love with her from the moment she appears on the screen. The Devil / Voland here is also playful & more than perverse brings much needed humour, like a fellow who enjoys taking the piss ruthlessly at any price. So people keep comparing it to the series of 2005, well, i do not compare all love stories to Casablanca or Gone With the Wind, each period has different takes and creative freedom, I like this film more even than the book, which, let's face it, was an unfinished draft assembled by Bulgakov's widow, so let's stop slagging masterly done stuff when the original story wasn't even finished. Do not miss, real cinema lovers!!!!