Urga, filmed on the steppes of Inner Mongolia, was the first film made by Mikhalkov outside Russia. A celebration of the vanishing world of the Mongolians, it is also an investigation of post-Soviet Russian malaise.
Sergei, a Russian driver engaged on a road-building project, crashes his truck and is rescued by Gombo, a Mongolian who herds sheep and horses and lives a traditional life with his wife Pagma and their children. Their brief friendship leads Gombo to question his own heritage.
At the end of the film, Gombo and Pagma leave their tent with the ‘urga' of the title, a pole with a noose for catching cattle which is also used to mark out a private space for lovemaking - a symbol, according to Mikhalkov, of love, solitude and power.
The narrator, finally, identifies himself as the child of that union. Named after the Mongol leader Genghis Khan, he is employed by the gasworks that now stands where Gombo's tent once stood.
Characteristic of Mikhalkov's films are Urga's emphasis on cultural identity, history and memory, while the exquisitely observed family scenes, complemented by beautiful shots of the prairie, helped the film to win the Golden Lion at Venice. NICK THOMAS
Prod cos: Camera One/Hachette premiere/ UGC/Studio TriTe Dir: Nikita Mikhalkov Scr: Roustam Ibraguimbekov, from a story by Ibraguimbekov and Mikhalkov Ph: Villenn Kaluta Ed: Joelle Hacher Prod des: Aleksei Levtchenko Music: Eduard Artemiev Cast: Vladimir Gostukhin, Larissa Kuznetsova, Badema, Bayaertu Running time: 118 mins
US filmmaker Arthur Hiller
Love Story - Arthur Hiller
US director Arthur Hiller had the world in tears, when Ali McGraw passed away to the music of Francis Lai (which also won him an Oscar), a victim of what was in an age of innocence considered the worst of diseases - cancer.
In Love Story, which bagged another seven Academy Award nominations in 1970, McGraw and Ryan O'Neal had otherwise overcome an American taboo almost as strong as the illness: class distinctions. He was Oliver Barrett, a rich Ivy League student, and she was Jenny, of poor origins and Radcliffe, who has worked her way to high academic status. At the outset just another wealthy man's athletic-oriented son, he develops true manliness from his affection for her. As her condition deteriorates he learns that life is worth dying for, and that true love means you never have to say you are sorry.
Although Hiller, a former psychology and law student, is generally considered at his best in light comedy, Love Story gave him an opportunity to reach deep basic sentiments and deliver a genuine 10-handkerchief epic. JØRN ROSSING JENSEN
Prods: Howard G Minsky, David Golden Dir: Arthur Hiller Scr: Erich Segal, from his own novel Ph: Dick Kratina Ed: Robert C Jones Art dir: Robert Grundlach Set des: Philip Smith Mus: Francis Lai Cast: Ali McGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland Running time: 99 mins
The Hospital - Arthur Hiller - US, 1971
In this mordant satire George C. Scott is a chief surgeon buckling under the strain of running a New York hospital. Demonstrators are picketing the building and a serial killer is bumping off his patients. He has been a failure as a husband and despises his children (‘Shaggy-haired Maoist,» he snarls at his son). Scott's invective only dries up when he is allowed a glimpse of a better life by Diana Rigg. But Rigg has her own reason for befriending the suicidal consultant…
The Hospital remains Arthur Hiller's most satisfying film, thanks to screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's dazzling screenplay, Scott's excellent performance and the deftly-handled black humour of the subject matter.
«Not many films of its year were as entertaining or touching,» wrote film critic David Thomson. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences agreed with Thomson and nominated Scott as best actor. On the day the Academy Award for Best Original Story and Screenplay went to Paddy Chayefsky. TIM ADLER
Prod co: United Artists Dir: Arthur Hiller Prod: Howard Gottfried Scr: Paddy Chayefsky Ph: Victor J Kemper Ed: Eric Albertson Mus: Morris Surdin Art dir: Gene Rudolf Cast: Goerge C Scott, Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes, Nancy Marchand, Stephen Elliott, Donald Harron Running time: 103 mins
The Babe
John Goodman (The Flintstones) stars as baseball legend George Herman «Babe» Ruth in Arthur Hiller's biographical drama. The film is a tribute both to an all-American hero and that country's most-loved game, which has formed the backdrop for several fine films.
Beginning with young Ruth's incarceration in a Baltimore boy's school at the turn of the century, through his glittering career with the Baltimore Orioles then the New York Yankees, and ending with his retirement from the game in 1935, the film follows the roller-coaster career of this talented player who was famously subject to regular bouts of overeating, drinking and philandering.
Some critics argued that John Fusco's screenplay took some liberties with the real-life history of Ruth. But this is not a documentary, and few could argue with John Goodman's bravura characterisation. Beyond any physical resemblance, Goodman captures the spirit of a great natural talent who instinctively rejected authority. NICK THOMAS
Prod co: Waterhorse/Finnegan-Pinchuk Prod: John Fusco
Dir: Arthur Hiller Scr: John Fusco Ph: Haskell Wexler
Ed: Robert C Jones Prod des: James D Vance Music: Elmer Bernstein Cast: John Goodman, Kelly McGillis, Trini Alvarado, Bruce Boxleitner
Running time: 113 mins
Urga
