In The Moscow Slums, Stanislavsky and Gilyarovsky go on a mystery adventure in the adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Sign of Four. Deaf Crocodile gives us a wonderful Blu-ray edition of the film.
The Film
You don’t need to know a huge amount of Russian history, but a wee bit will only add to the utterly delightful genre, historical, fiction mashup that is In The Moscow Slums. Director/Co-Writer Karen Shakhnazarov has created a surprisingly fun, deadpan funny, adroit adaptation that’s low-key brilliant entertainment.
Before he was the father of acting and the stage Konstantin Stanislavsky (Konstantin Kryukov), was a struggling theater company director in the midst of bringing realism to his stage production of The Lower Depths. In order to help him, his producer set up a meeting with the journalist and voice of the common people Vladimir Gilyarovsky (Mikhail Porechenkov). Gilyarovsky and Stanislavsky begin their research trip to the infamous Russian slums Khitrovka ends with a true mystery with the murder of one of Gilyarovsky’s many contacts. The murder leads to a whirlwind of criminality from more murder, a stolen necklace, a dangerous Englishman (Alexey Vertkov), and an even more dangerous Russian crafty thief nicknamed The Princess (Anfisa Chernykh).
Having seen director Shakhnazarov’s wonderful, albeit very dark, The Assassination of the Tsar and Zero City – I was not expecting the lighter-than-air adventure that was In the Slums of Moscow. Shakhnazarov shows his skills as a filmmaker who’s adept at giving us a view of history from the most unique point of view. Only someone as playful a filmmaker as Shakhnazarov would think of taking a novel by the grandfather of mysteries (e.g., Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) and replacing Holmes and Watson with the likes of the grandfather of modern acting and directing and the grandfather of social reform journalism.
The result is a film that manages to make some salient points (on the sly) about class division, history, and the joys of a team-up without really sledgehammering the point home. The film is so breezy and fun it will belie most of what many think of Russian films. The action is fun and funny but has lower stakes that are as charming as anything of recent memory because it’s not gigantic CGI-infected nonsense. In fact, the finale – a boat chase involving dynamite – may be one of the most entertaining and funny set pieces of recent memory because they’re using real explosions (and the deadpan responses of the characters help).
In The Moscow Slums is a truly wonderful discovery for anyone who loves the kind of mashup genre of historical fiction that something like Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes plays in. Though In the Slums of Moscow seems to understand the charms of Doyle’s work, it does not rely on bombast as much as it does character. It is all the better for it. The result is a film that many will find as their new favorite piece of European Genre cinema.
The Transfer
The transfer provided by MOSFILMS and Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion is a flawless presentation of the 2023 film. There is no artifacting, ghosting, or any digital defects that come with a digitally shot production. The image is beautifully sharp with the film’s muted color palette perfectly representing it. Deaf Crocodile continues to show the care and effort to produce the best transfers be it a 70-year-old film or a film released last year.
The Extras
They include the following;
- “No Stranger Than Human Nature – Theatre, History, and Mystery”
- ”From Sherlock Holmes to Method Acting: Strolling Through Khitrovka”
- Interview with Director Karen Shaknazarov
- Interview with Gayane Ambartsumian, head of Mosfilm Public Relations
- Trailers
“No Stranger Than Human Nature – Theatre, History, and Mystery” (23:03) – in this all-new visual essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson deep dives into the historical and filmic context this film works in. Some of the details include why it was set in 1902 – and the importance of the date; the similarity to director Shaknazarov’s previous film The Assassin of the Tsar but how different they are; the various historical figures the film uses; Napoleon’s part in what would become the slum Khitrovka; disseminating fact and fiction and its the use of Russian historical figures; the socialist realism of the era and in the film; Holmes vs Stanislavsky and Gilyarovsky and a larger discussion of empathy; British Imperialism and how it factor’s into the film and story; and much more. The visual essay is informative and beautifully constructed/edited to give us a better context in history where this takes place and why this is so important to the film itself.
”From Sherlock Holmes to Method Acting: Strolling Through Khitrovka” (18:03) – is another all-new visual essay, this one by film historian Evan Chester, beginning with the source material and how the film brings the story to Russia adding various historical figures. Some of the other details include various Sherlock Holmes adaptations (including Russia and beyond); director’s Shakhnazarov historical work before examples included; the history of Stanislavsky and method acting and how it relates here; the rise of method acting US, because of Stanislavsky’s tour with his theater company in the 1920s; the slums of Khitrovka; the influence of Maxim Gorky’s work; the importance of The Lower Depths and Anton Chekov (who appears in the film); and much more. The visual essay adds to the context of the (historical) players involved in the film and compliments the first visual essay on the disc.
Interview with Director Karen Shaknazarov (45:10) – in this all-new video interview with director Karen Shakhnazarov (with his translator Elena Orel) moderated by Deaf Crocodile’s Dennis Bartok will instantly delight fans of Shakhnazarov and Bartok’s previous conversations of DC’s discs for The Assassination of the Tsar and Zero Grade. The Zoom interview picks up with Bartok the mention of the film in his last interview with Bartok. Some of the details include when Shakhnazarov found the Holmes stories and specifically what inspired him to adapt the novel The Sign of Four; a discussion of how they came about the adaptation and the changes they made – including who is Holmes and who is Watson; a discussion of Stanislavsky; a discussion of Gilyarovsky; a discussion of both men’s relationship and the bit of history that the incident of them going into the slums of Khitrovka; a great story about Greggory Peck; the criminal characters in the film were based on historical figures that Gilyarovsky wrote about; does Khitrovka exist today; the building of the slums at Mosfilms and how complex it was; casting of the film’s leads – and how difficult it was; the lack of rehearsal because of his faith in the casting of the role; and much more.
Interview with Gayane Ambartsumian, head of Mosfilm Public Relations (67:27) – in this all-new video interview with Mosfilm’s head of public relations Gayane Ambartsumian moderated by Deaf Crocodile’s Dennis Bartok begins the discussion of the history of film in Russia and the Mosfilm’s part in it. Some of the details include Ambartsumian’s personal history – and when her love of film began; a discussion of Mosfilm – its history, what it is as a film studio, where it’s located, what production arms it houses, how many people does it employ, and what it provides to Russia filmmakers and others; a discussion of the earliest films of Mosfilm like those of Eisenstein and if and of the original materials (negatives, props, et. al.); the creation of the original studio and “cinema town” in the late 1920s and if any of those building still exist; the origins/history of the Mosfilm logo; the early comedies of Mosfilm – and the acclaim they got from the likes of Chaplin; what happened to the studio during WW2 – how they managed to make film during that time and how that was accomplished; Mosfilm in post-war Russia and the work that was done during the 40s all the way through to the 60s; a discussion of renowned filmmaker Aleksandr Ptushko and his time at Mosfilm – many of which Deaf Crocodile released – and if any of the props, costumes, or ephemera still exists; a discussion of renowned filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and his time at Mosfilm – the difficulty of shooting at the time and his perfectionism and how divisive they were upon release; a discussion of two of the biggest films for Mos Film – War and Peace and White Sun of the Desert; why director Shakhnazarov took on the task of being the General of Mosfilm – and what that specifically means and what he’s done for Mosfilm after he was appointed in 1997; a discussion of In The Moscow Slums – how/if she helped with historical research for the film and the production of the film itself; and much more.
Trailer #1 (2:04) – Russian with English Subtitles
Trailer #2 (2:18) – Russian with English Subtitles
Teaser Trailer (0:59) – Russian with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
In The Moscow Slums is the very definition of what makes Deaf Crocodile a truly wonderful label. Take a little-known wonderfully made film, give it a beautiful picture and sound, and a mountain of wonderfully contextual special features… viola! A HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDED title you’re destined to love.