Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageWhite Nights (1985)
Director: Taylor Hackford
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
After the romance of An Officer and a Gentleman and the frequent excitement of Against All Odds, one would never have guessed that Taylor Hackford would prove just plain boring. Indeed, the premise of White Nights is good: the plane on which a Russian ballet dancer (Baryshnikov) is travelling makes a forced landing in Russia, the land from which he defected to the US ten years previously. But the grinding ins and outs of just what the KGB will use him for are constantly held up for long sequences in which he dances in partnership with Gregory Hines, a black American tap dancer who went to Moscow in protest over Vietnam; nor are these sequences filmed with the formal rigour that dance requires. The virulence of the film's anti-Russian stance makes Rambo looks distinctly spineless; and the happy ending is risible. Sole point of interest: Skolimowski as a KGB officer with a smile like liquid nitrogen. CPea.Author: CPea
Cast & crew
Director: Taylor Hackford
Producer: Taylor Hackford, William S Gilmore
Cast: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren, Geraldine Page, Isabella Rossellini, John Glover full cast
Duration: 135 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now