The painting "Time of the First", reviews of which are given in this article, is a domestic historical film by Dmitry Kiselyov. It was released in 2017. The tape is dedicated to the first manned EVA. The feat was made by the Soviet pilot Alexei Leonov. The main roles were played by Konstantin Khabensky and Evgeny Mironov.
Creating a picture
About the film "Time of the First" reviews came from critics mostly positive. Despite this, the tape almost failed at the box office. Work on it began back in 2015. According to the initial plans, Sergey Bodrov Sr. was to become the director. The project received government support from the Cinema Fund. Moreover, both on a returnable and irrevocable basis. Filmed in two stages: on the summer nature and in the pavilions, the astronauts landing scene, as well as a staging of space flight.
More than half of the picture was shot by Yuri Bykov, but he had a conflict with the producers, among whom were Yevgeny Mironov and Timur Bekmambetov. He was suspended from work. The shooting was completed by Dmitry Kiselev, who had previously shot the fantastic action movie Black Lightning, a comedy remake of the Soviet film of the same name, Gentlemen, Good Luck, as well as several parts of the New Year comedy The Fir Tree. The pilot of the picture was pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Leonov himself.
Plot of the film
In 1965, events unfold in the film "Time of the First." In the reviews of the film, it is noted that the technological race between the Soviet Union and the United States is in full swing. The USSR has already pulled ahead, sending the first man into space. To consolidate this superiority, the Soviet leadership sets the task: to be the first to go into outer space.
This manages to be done by Alexei Leonov (his role was played by Evgeny Mironov). The picture tells about the preparation for the flight with Pavel Belyaev (actor Konstantin Khabensky). As a result, Leonov was the first to triumphantly welcome earthlings from outer space, and safely returned aboard the Voskhod-2 ship.
The creators of the tape tried to show how heavy this feat was. Five meters to the airlock became the most painful walk in the life of an astronaut. Moreover, I had to sit down urgently and in manual mode. Here, the incredible will to live of Leonov himself and the skill of his commander Pavel Belyaev played a key role.
"First Time" at the box office
The film was received in Russian rental in April 2017. To ensure the film is full of halls, the federal Ministry of Culture even insisted on moving the premiere of the action movie Fast and Furious 8 in Russia. The largest cinema networks provided a third of the sessions of the domestic premiere. She walked for two weeks.
In the first weekend, the film raised 150 million rubles. Although the producers were counting on more. According to movie theaters, this weekend was the worst for them in a few years. Ultimately, Time of the First raised more than half a billion rubles with a budget of 400 million. Many analysts and critics rated this result as a complete failure. The fact is that half of this money was received by distributors, so the tape ended up being unprofitable.
Positive reviews
The film initially received positive reviews from critics. Complimentary reviews were published by the largest domestic publications - Kommersant, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Arguments and Facts. Based on 25 reviews, the average rating of the film was determined at 76 points out of a hundred. Critics' reviews about the Time of the First were very diverse. Some wrote that the picture seems to be singing a song to the madness of the brave, but at the same time invites you to think, and this does not happen so often in Russian cinema.
Many praised the almost Hollywood effects that the audience saw on the screen. Reviewers admitted that the creators managed to make a truly action-packed and exciting movie. Some film critics so highly appreciated the work on the film that they even offered to write a textbook on it for all other domestic filmmakers.
Negative reviews
True, there were enough negative opinions about the film "Time of the First". In the reviews of opponents of the picture, it was often claimed that the tape is very mediocre. Too straightforward and sovereign. However, the picture itself was made with high quality, but because of the desire to please everyone at once, the creators abuse accuracy and caution. There were still no sharply negative and devastating reviews, there were no reviews for the film "Time of the First".
Discrepancy with reality
Some experts noted that in the film there are a lot of deviations from the real story. For example, astronautics historian Anton Pervushin, author of several popular science books on this subject, notes them. For example, he claims that the film lacks the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who also took a direct part in the preparation of the flight. And as a person who first went into space, he was one of the main consultants.
Also in the tape there are many fictional episodes that are aimed at adding drama to the plot. Ultimately, Pervushin admits that the film turned out spectacular and spectacular. Yuri Bykov, who removed most of the working material of the picture, first admitted that he had not watched "Time of the First" and did not feel such a desire at all. Since the original story was completely changed, and the orientation was made on the audience, according to Bykov, the level of "Auchan". The director also stated that after his separation from the project, the tape was almost completely re-shot.
"It was even worse"
With such a phrase he described the film "Time of the First" in Leonov’s recall. The astronaut came to the premiere of the picture. Everyone was looking forward to his assessments, because he is known as a demanding person. Speaking to reporters after the premiere, astronaut Alexei Leonov admitted that he had found flaws in the film. But he did not spread about them, as he called it a professional secret. At the same time, Leonov noted that in outer space, especially when he was going back to the airlock to get back on board the ship, it was even worse.
Viewers reviews
Having watched "Time of the First", in reviews, viewers often wrote that the picture is visual and at the same time, a very fascinating study guide on Soviet history. That is precisely its importance and uniqueness.
This picture tells about examples of unlimited courage, which is worthy of the widest public attention. In this film, almost everything has worked out successfully. Starting from the selection of actors for the main roles, ending with a high level of filming and animation. In terms of quality of work, the tape is comparable to foreign prototypes. For example, the films "Interstellar" and "Gravity".
One of the main advantages of the film is a deeply thought out plot. The script tells the sincere story of the true patriots of their country. The plot keeps in incredible tension throughout the film. The viewer has the opportunity to touch the great moments of world history, the heroes of our time, many of whom are still alive. For example, Alexei Leonov can still be met today on the street. But it was he and the people who surrounded him that, in the literal sense of the word, influenced the course of world history.
Why did the picture fail at the box office?
The answer to this question is sought by most of the creators of the film "Time of the First." Reviews, reviews that pointed to the shortcomings of the tape should help to figure this out. Many did not like the fact that the great Soviet designer Korolev was shown as an enemy of the people, and the leadership decided to send Belyaev untreated after a serious injury into space. Leonov appears on the screen as an unbalanced and near-minded person.
The audience was annoyed that he often violated the flight regulations, as well as the charter of service, while he managed to heroically save the space ship several times, as well as his partner. Some called the picture anti-Soviet, which irritates the way Soviet engineers are shown. Bad and stupid. And they are allegedly run by careerist party workers who strive only to show the world the superiority of the Soviet Union, albeit at the cost of human lives.
Even the scene of the evacuation of astronauts after the flight is not true. In addition, the script has many far-fetched and false episodes that were written just to make the film more dramatic. This is the death of an electrician, the risk of remaining in outer space without oxygen. As a result, all these inconsistencies pushed many viewers away from the tape, and those who watched the film were not satisfied with it. On the other hand, the movie needs to be watched and rated.