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List Price: $19.95 | | Label: Mti Home Video
Salesrank: 40070
Released: November 7, 2006 |
| Our Price: $11.96 |
| Used Price: $2.20 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Soviet historian fluke kelso is preparing to leave russia for good. But a surprise visit from papu rapava a former soviet officer suddenly changes his mind. Rapava reveals a deadly secret one which promises to incover russias most closely guarded & mind-blowing conspiracy. Studio: Mti Productions Release Date: 11/07/2006 Starring: Daniel Craig Run time: 120 minutes
Archangel Reviews:
very good 
2009-07-04 - On time and as discribed.
A lot of dark stuff about Stallin's son in modern Russia.
Surprised! 
2008-12-03 - I was very surprised that I enjoyed this movie. The cover and the title through me off. It kept my interest all through the movie.There was compelling dialogue, and the action scenes where well done. It is definitely a movie to see.
Archangel is named after the Archangel Michael the Angel of War
2008-07-06 - The city of Archangel was named by Peter the Great (who ordered its' construction) for the Angel who fights at Gd's right hand against Satan. It was to be Russia's naval base on the Arctic Sea, and was the home of the USSR's nuclear submarine fleet during the Cold War. All this has nothing to do with the movie!
The movie, which is written and filmed by Russians, is a commentary on the loss of power and prestige after the death of Stalin (apres moi le deluge). Except for Krushchev, all the leaders who followed Stalin were forced to live in his shadows. The man who killed over 30 million of his own countrymen is remembered fondly by those who survived because of what he accomplished. He took a totally rural country and turned it into a superpower in less than thirty years, during which he defeated on of the strongest armies that ever existed.
This story follows a group that wants to revive Stalinism in modern Russian by rallying the people behind a 'new' Stalin. Professor Kelso (David Craig as an expert on Russia) is duped into exposing the new dictator as the son of Stalin by an ingenious series of machinizations. But, is he really being duped?
Being filmed in Russia, we get to see the dark side of the country, the drunken brutality and the 'anything for a buck' economy. It's very interesting to see the parts of the cities that were built under communism and how they are deteriorating. Except for the ending (which is very Russian) most of the movie is very entertaining and plausible.
The Angel Gene
2008-01-28 - Archangel is the name of a city in a northern province of the same name in Russia. Once the chief seaport of medieval Russia, its population has been decreasing; now at under 400,000. The city was taken by the Russians from the Norwegians during the 15th century. Sometime in the year 2005, close to the city, in the woods, lives the long forgotten son of Joseph Stalin.
Finding him, and possibly bringing this son of the "man of steel" to lead the Russian people raises interesting questions. Even questioning the existence of a "cruelty" gene.
This could possibly be Daniel Craig's best movie--even better than the James Bond movie.
Until the Final Gun Explodes
2008-01-04 - Jon Jones' second feature (after an obscure "When I'm 64") is a tense thriller. Jones does a good job with pacing and benefits from excellent cinematography. The screenplay is by the writing team Ian LaFrenais and Dick Clement who recently wrote Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition) and have "Bank Job" with Jason Statham due for release. La Frenais won the British Academy Award for writing for "The Commitments" in 1992.
Daniel Craig portrays historian Fluke Kelso who is presented with a secret from Josef Stalin's past. The film unfolds like a lower budgeted Russian version of The Da Vinci Code (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) where a historian scrapes with the police to uncover an important secret. Daniel Craig was nominated for Best Actor by the British Academy Awards in 2006 for his portrayal of James Bond in Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) and has appeared this summer in "The Golden Compass" and in 2005 in Munich (Widescreen Edition). He does a good job as the historian teetering over the hill who could use one great story and another book to bolster his career. His work is impressive with a surprising emotional range in this plot-centered thriller.
Yekaterina Rednikova plays the Russian Zinaida. She does a good job as the hard-edged woman who works by day and is a lady of the evening by night. Gabriel Macht who was in "The Good Shepherd" and A Love Song for Bobby Long plays the tenacious reporter R.J. O'Brien who won't let go of the story. The Russian secret police captain Suvorin played by Alexey Diakov also turns in an excellent and controlled performance.
This film gripped me from the first frame and kept me on the edge of my seat until the final gun explodes. It seems like one needs a rudimentary appreciation of Soviet Russian history to fully appreciate what is being uncovered, not unlike "The DaVinci Code" in that regard. This is an interesting and tight drama well worth an evening's viewing. Enjoy!
