What I meant was the overall feeling of the "Twilight Zone" series and Bradbury's great influence on Rod Serling, not that "Twilight Zone" did a lot of Bradbury stories, as obviously they did only that one. There's some story about them meaning to do more, but Bradbury got mad at Serling, perhaps because "they butchered" everything he wrote. I don't have all the details on that.

Who'd have thought it? A Russian version of "Dandelion Wine"!

Vino iz oduvanchikov (1997)

Directed by
Igor Apasyan

Writing credits
Igor Apasyan
Aleksei Leontyev
(more)

Credited cast overview:
Innokenti Smoktunovsky
Andrei Novikov
Sergei Kuznetsov
Vsevolod Polishchuk
Liya Akhedzhakova
Yevgeni Gerchakov
Lev Perfilov
Lidiya Dranovskaya
Vera Vasilyeva
Vladimir Zeldin

Also Known As:
Dandelion Wine (1997)
Country: Ukraine / Russia
Language: Russian
Color: Color

When do we get an American one?

There's also a Russian "Martian Chronicles," titled "Trinadtsatyj apostol" (1988), or "The Thirteenth Apostle." I read once that Bradbury's works had been printed in Russia but he'd received no royalties for them. Wonder if he was ever paid for these films?

He was credited, with his name spelled "Rej Bredberi." There's a script, or something, for "Vino iz oduvanchikov" at [URL=http://www.neystadt.org/moshkow/lat/INOFANT/BRADBURY/wine.txt].

[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 01-17-2002).]

Movies aren't really my thing, but if they ever do get around to doing F451, they would be well served to cast Christopher Walken as Captain Beatty. . . .

Montag would have to be an "Everyman" actor, not a flashy face or superstar; that would detract from the message, I think. Gary Oldman, of course, can play any part you put in front of him.

Chris Walken would be a great Beatty. Brad Dourif would be good in 451, too.

I agree, too many "names" often muddy a production and the story gets lost, somehow.

Several years ago I asked Mr. Bradbury in a letter about a movie version of Dandelion Wine. His comment was, "Not yet, Drats!" He must have a very special place in his heart for this work and (it seems) would enjoy seeing a proper rendition of it on the big screen. Wasn't it done in a stage (musical) format for a short time? Though set in the 1920's -with early technology encroaching- today it remains a timeless piece that would speak to a rather wide audience.

Yes, while sitting up half the night trying to find information on the Russian version, I found a couple reviews, descriptions, and pictures of the "Dandelion Wine" musical. The list above from the Internet Movie Database is the most complete information I found on the film, and it doesn't even say who played which character. That first guy who is listed, they say died in 1994, while the movie date is given as 1996 or 1997 depending on whose list you consult. So either they have the death date wrong (nothing new for them) or it was released a few years after it was filmed. Even a movie from there would be hard enough to obtain, and this seems to have been a TV miniseries. (NOT a big market in English-speaking countries for Ukrainian TV miniseries.) I was very anxious to at least see pictures, because I would dearly love to know, did they keep it in the 1920s or modernize it? Did they try to find Ukrainian settings that fit their idea of Illinois, or did they change the setting? I wonder if buddying up to people with friends in the "old country" would result in anything? I did find what appears to be a script, in Russian (or Ukrainian if that's a different language) written in English characters. The spellings and language are a freakout! Obviously, I would not be fussy about subtitles--if they were true to the story at all I would not NEED a translator! I concluded if there is a page out there with pictures, it is in Russian characters not recognized by English-speaking computers. Darn! Or just as well...?

The URL for the text is posted above, and here is a small sample:

On vykriknul eto pro sebya raz, drugoj, desyatyj! Nado zhe! Prozhil na
svete celyh dvenadcat' let i nichegoshen'ki ne ponimal! I vdrug takaya nahodka:
dralsya s Tomom, i vot tebe--tut, pod derevom, sverkayushchie zolotye chasy,
redkostnyj hronometr s zavodom na sem'desyat let! -- Dug, da chto s toboj?
Duglas izdal dikij vopl', sgreb Toma v ohapku, i oni vnov' pokatilis'
po zemle. -- Dug, ty spyatil? -- Spyatil!
Oni katilis' po sklonu holma, solnce gorelo u nih v glazah i vo rtu,
tochno oskolki limonno-zheltogo stekla;
oni zadyhalis', kak ryby, vybroshennye iz vody, i hohotali do slez.
-- Dug, ty ne rehnulsya? ---- Net, net, net, net!
Duglas zazhmurilsya: v temnote myagko stupali pyatnistye leopardy.
-- Tom!--I tishe:--Tom... Kak po-tvoemu, vse lyudi znayut... znayut, chto
oni... zhivye?
-- YAsno, znayut! A ty kak dumal? Leopardy neslyshno proshli dal'she vo
t'mu, i glaza uzhe ne mogli za nimi usledit'.
-- Horosho by tak,--prosheptal Duglas.--Horosho by vse znali.
On otkryl glaza. Otec, podbochenyas', stoyal vysoko nad nim i smeyalsya;
golova ego upiralas' v zelenolistyj nebosvod. Glaza ih vstretilis'.
Duglas vstrepenulsya. Papa znaet, ponyal on. Vse tak i bylo zadumano. On
narochno privez nas syuda, chtoby eto so mnoj sluchilos'! On tozhe v zagovore, on
vse znaet! I teper' on znaet, chto i ya uzhe znayu.

[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 01-17-2002).]

Hello. I wondered if you heard anything new about a potential "Dandelion Wine" screenplay? Has anyone penned a version of it yet? Those things take time! I recently completed a feature in NH called "on the fringe" http://www.onthefringemovie.com/ and I would someday like the opportunity to get involved with the making of Dandelion Wine - if it ever comes to that. I think Francis Ford Coppola is perfect for that material but who knows how many more movies he wants to do. Maybe executive produce? I think if a well-written script was presented to Zoetrope Studios (Coppola himself) it might stand a chance. Coppola shot a bunch of those S.E. Hinton novels, right? Rumblefish and The Outsiders. And with Dracula... he's definitely got a thing for literature and renegade filmmaking. Who knows?? It's fun to think about it! Peace,
Jeff Palmer
Dover NH

quote:

Originally posted by fjpalumbo:
Several years ago I asked Mr. Bradbury in a letter about a movie version of Dandelion Wine. His comment was, "Not yet, Drats!" He must have a very special place in his heart for this work and (it seems) would enjoy seeing a proper rendition of it on the big screen. Wasn't it done in a stage (musical) format for a short time? Though set in the 1920's -with early technology encroaching- today it remains a timeless piece that would speak to a rather wide audience.

Three movies come to mind that in some way captured some of the needed qualities a version of Dandelion Wine would ultimately need. The most recent cinema adaptation of one of Mr. Bradbury's stories, Wonderful Ice Cream; an enjoyable neighborhood tale entitled Sandlot; and the more critically acclaimed Field of Dreams. Another that held some interesting twists (though it received less than stellar reviews) was Tall Tales: Adventures of Pecos Bill.

Each in some way captured Dandelion Wine's sense of nostalgia, loyalty of friends and family, sticking to one's principles, and fantastic ironies - which occur in an otherwise everday believeable manner.

It would be a real challenge to get it right. It would require a skillful hand on the script and a keen understanding of the author's works in general.

[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 01-22-2002).]

[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 01-22-2002).]

What about M. Nght Shamaylan?

Shamaylan (did I spell that right?) could be great for a much-needed 'Something Wicked' remake, don't you think? As for films that capture the Bradbury/Green Town feel, what about 'My Girl'? Pretty lame, but it did capture something of that small town/ childood/ summer atmosphere. AND, why has no-one mentioned Rob Reiner's 'Stand by Me'? Come to think of it, there's a bit of a 'degrees of separation' thing there .... 'S.by Me' is based on Stephen King's 'The Body' from the book 'Different Seasons', which featured '... Shawshank Redemption', which became a film by Frank Darabont, who is now making two films based on RB books...... Sorry, rambling.

Paul T,
I've been waiting for your input since you got this discussion going (movies and the Bradbury feel). Who are your picks?

Yeah, Stand By Me is a great example. Also, I'm not sure who directed it or anything, but Gattaca, along with being my favorite movie in the whole wide world, is an example of what I sort of envision. A sterile environment with a fifties feel to it. Plus, the plot line in Gattaca is very Bradburyesque, in my opinion.

A movie with a Bradbury feel, well I once caught the last half of the "Circus of Dr Lao" on TV- a George Pal film and thought it was most probably Bradbury, however it is not,

the small town elements, the stranger (Dr Lao) played briliantly by Tony Randall, a young boy, and the circus... make it feel so much like a bradbury tale....perhaps a little bit like something Wicked this way comes..

I liked it so much (and only the half I saw), the I now have the full version on DVD.

has anyone else seen "The Circus of Dr Lao"?

Didn't know it was a movie, but did know it was the title story of a paperback anthology edited by Bradbury--now extremely rare.

for green shadow:

Ed Harris is a great actor, but a little old for the part. Montag is described as having dark hair and a permanent blue/black beard. This gives me the impression that he is younger, maybe thirties early forties. However, if you brought in a slightly younger actor late twenties early to mid thirties, you would draw a larger audience. Maybe Viggo Mortensen, he is an excellent actor. Jude Law would be a good choice or maybe Hugh Jackman or Guy Pearce