| White Nights | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Taylor Hackford |
| Screenplay by | James Goldman Eric Hughes Nancy Dowd (uncredited) |
| Story by | James Goldman |
| Produced by | William S. Gilmore Taylor Hackford |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Edited by | Fredric Steinkamp William Steinkamp |
| Music by | Michel Colombier |
| Color process | Metrocolor |
Production company | Delphi IV Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 136 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Russian |
| Budget | $10–20 million[1] |
| Box office | $42.2 million[2] |
White Nights is a 1985 Americanmusicaldrama film directed byTaylor Hackford and starring:Mikhail Baryshnikov,Gregory Hines,Jerzy Skolimowski,Helen Mirren andIsabella Rossellini.[3][4] It was choreographed byTwyla Tharp. The title refers to thesunlit summer nights ofLeningrad (nowSaint Petersburg), the setting for the majority of the film, situated just a few degrees below theArctic Circle.
The film is notable both for the dancing of Hines and Baryshnikov and for theAcademy Award-winning song "Say You, Say Me" byLionel Richie in1986, as well as "Separate Lives" performed byPhil Collins andMarilyn Martin and written byStephen Bishop (also nominated). The film was the international film debut of Isabella Rossellini[1] and Taylor Hackford met his future wife, Helen Mirren, during filming.[5]
Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko (Baryshnikov) is a Russianballet dancer who had previously defected from theSoviet Union. When the plane carrying him to his next performance inTokyo has electrical problems and crash lands inSiberia, he is injured and recognized byKGB officer Colonel Chaiko (Jerzy Skolimowski). Chaiko contactstap dancer Raymond Greenwood (Hines), who hasdefected to theSoviet Union, and gets them both toLeningrad. Chaiko wants Kolya to dance at the season's opening night at theKirov, and Raymond to look after Kolya. To convince Kolya, Chaiko uses Galina Ivanova (Helen Mirren), a former ballerina who never left the Soviet Union and is an old flame of Kolya.
After an initial period of racial and artistic friction, the two dancers (and defectors in opposite directions) become strong friends. When Raymond discovers that his wife Darya (Isabella Rossellini) is pregnant, he decides he does not want their child to grow up in the Soviet Union, and together, with Kolya, they plan an escape with the help of Galina, who still has feelings for Rodchenko. During the escape attempt, Raymond chooses to stay behind in order to delay Chaiko, gaining time for Kolya and Darya to get to theU.S.consulate at Leningrad. Although Raymond is captured and incarcerated, he is traded by the Soviets for a political prisoner from Latin America, and reunites with Darya and Kolya.
The opening ballet sequence,Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, originally choreographed byRoland Petit in 1946 and performed anew by Baryshnikov and Florence Faure, was filmed at theBristol Hippodrome.[1] The gentleman paging the curtain for Baryshnikov is John Randall, the theatre's technical director at the time.
In 1985, many westernCold War movies supposedly set in Russia would use locations in theFinnish capital with an architectural style resembling Leningrad. ForWhite Nights, a team of travelogue filmmakers from Finland, who previously had done work in the Soviet Union, were hired to film a number of locations in Leningrad, such as theKirov Theatre and theLenin monument, as well as aChaika state-limousine. These scenes were then inserted into the movie, some being in-car scenes. Hackford was disappointed with critics who wrote negative reviews based on their belief that Helsinki had been used.[citation needed]
The film was also shot inFinland (including the island ofReposaari) andLisbon, Portugal, as well as other parts of theUnited Kingdom, includingElstree Studios andRAF Machrihanish inScotland.[1]
Filmmakers normally use models to film the crash-landing of an aircraft as expensive as a Boeing 747. For the filming of the crash sequence of a British Orient 747 at the beginning ofWhite Nights, two different full-sized aircraft were used.
The film contains an early-career performance byMaryam d'Abo, later to star as aBond girl in theJames Bond filmThe Living Daylights.
White Nights was dedicated "in loving memory" to Mary E. Hackford (mother of Taylor) and Jerry Benjamin (father of executive supervisor Stuart Benjamin),[1] both of whom died prior to its release.
The film opened theChicago International Film Festival on November 8, 1985, at McClurg Court.[7] It then opened at theZiegfeld Theatre in New York City on November 22 as well as in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto before expanding nationally on December 6.[8][2]
White Nights received mixed reviews from critics, as it currently holds a 46% rating onRotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews.[9]The New York Times film criticVincent Canby criticized the script as "ludicrous" but praised the acting and dance choreography, including Baryshnikov's "all of the dynamic force and intelligence that distinguish his dance performances" and Hines as "a great tap dancer but not in the same league with Mr. Baryshnikov as a film personality".[10]Los Angeles Times film criticSheila Benson criticized the story as "wretched high-concept, low-intelligence", the film's "oversimplification" of Russians as "hateful and corrupt" with an exception of "old Russianbabushka", without the film explaining the character's transition "to kindness", and dance performances as "jazzed-up and simplistic".[11] However, the film was a commercial success at the box office, grossing over $42 million in the United States.[2]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Original Song | "Say You, Say Me" Music and Lyrics byLionel Richie | Won | [12] |
| "Separate Lives" Music and Lyrics byStephen Bishop | Nominated | |||
| BMI Film & TV Awards | Most Performed Song from a Film | Won | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Score – Motion Picture | Michel Colombier | Nominated | [13] |
| Best Original Song – Motion Picture | "Say You, Say Me" Music and Lyrics by Lionel Richie | Won |
| White Nights: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | October 16, 1985 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Singles from White Nights: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| |
The soundtrack album for the film contains the most successful single on the album, "Separate Lives" byPhil Collins andMarilyn Martin, which reached the top of theBillboard Hot 100 singles chart and was nominated for anAcademy Award in1986. The prize instead went toLionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me", another chart topper which appeared in the film but was not included on the original soundtrack due to licensing issues. It was included in the album reissue as a bonus track along with "I Don't Wanna Know" by Phil Collins.
Allmusic gave the soundtrack three stars out of five.[14]
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] | 17 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] | 15 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] | 14 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 30 |
| USBillboard 200[19] | 17 |
