In 1990, very few mystery drama films were released. This is due to the fact that in Soviet times there were very few scenarios on this topic. The director Oleg Teptsov released two films in 1989-1990: "Mr. Designer" and "Initiate", which are mysterious and dramatic stories. The actors were carefully chosen for the filming of the second film, “Dedicated” for many now famous artists became an additional launching pad, which allowed them to move from theater to cinema.
Key facts about this movie
Actor's work is certainly important for creating a successful film, but without a good script and directorial work, the picture cannot take place. "Dedicated" was Teptsov's second film and ended his career as a filmmaker. The director later wrote the scripts and released two documentaries.
In the film “Dedicated”, the actors and roles were distributed very organically. This drama tells the story of a young man who acquired the gift of killing people using willpower. We will not dwell on the plot in detail, as we advise every reader to watch this film. Modern movie buffs have agreed that the storyline is thought out in such a way that the film as a whole is gloomy.
The premiere of the tape went on television, but this was a stripped down version of just 107 minutes. Like many paintings of those years, “Dedicated”, whose actors at that time for the most part were almost unknown, went unnoticed by a wide audience. Meanwhile, it was this tape of Oleg Teptsov that was presented at the international film festival in Berlin. They showed a full version of two hours.
Vladimir Simonov and Sergey Makovetsky
Actor Vladimir Simonov starred in this drama at the very beginning of his career. He came to the cinema in 1981. He did not expect much from the film, like many other actors. “Initiate,” in the opinion of Vladimir Alexandrovich, was only a place for additional experience. Before this film, Simonov had mostly small episodic roles, and in the film of Oleg Teptsov there were so few heroes that Vladimir’s talent did not go unnoticed.
Simonov starred in this drama with his fellow student at the Shchukinsky school, Sergei Makovetsky. They also worked in the same theater (named after Vakhtangov), and even before the film they often played together in productions. In the film “Dedicated”, the actors played two very complex roles: Simonov had to reincarnate as Mute, and Makovetsky as a butcher Lech. However, according to the director, both graduates of the Shchukin school coped with the task.
Lyubov Polishchuk
Many actors "Initiate" considered a film in which they revealed on the other side. For Polishchuk this film was not debut, at that time the whole country knew her as an actress of the comic genre. “Dedicated” was her 38th movie work, and this film was significantly different from the previous ones. The actress played the role of the mother of the protagonist. It was a supporting role, moreover dramatic, and not comedic for Lyubov Polishchuk.
Actors of the film "Initiate" were tested before filming. This is the standard screening procedure for any movie. These samples became unusual for Polishchuk. Thanks to makeup, she was able to change beyond recognition. The film crew could not recognize the famous actress in it, and Love was approved for the role immediately after watching.
Gor Oganisyan
Interestingly, Oleg Teptsov gave the main role in his film to a layman. Gor Oganisyan from childhood gravitated to drawing and writing poetry. He is still an ambiguous figure for Russian culture, but he is already known by a different name - Gor Chahal. It is not known what prompted the director to give the main role of Volodya to Horus, but he looked on the screen no worse than other actors.
The "Initiate" for Horus was akin to an experimental site. At that time, the future artist was looking for his path in creativity. He considered participating in the filming an interesting and unusual way to discover a different talent in himself.
A popular artist does not like to talk about his little experience as a movie actor, since he does not consider it important. Much more willingly now he shares his creative plans and talks about what he was able to achieve over the past years.
Alexander Trofimov
Alexander Alekseevich in the film "Initiate" starred at the peak of his career. It is not known why Oleg Teptsov chose him for the second main role. Trofimov had to play a theatrical figure Frolov, who seemed to the hero of Hor Hovhannisyan to be the embodiment of evil and a man who needed to be eliminated.
All the actors who participated in the filming of the film “Initiate” call this film complex and philosophical; Alexander Trofimov is no exception. He agreed to participate in this picture precisely because of its subtext, deep meaning. Trofimov speaks of “Initiate” as one of his best works and laments that the film was not released on cassettes and disks for a wide rental. For a long time, the picture was considered lost, but now, with the development of Internet technologies, film enthusiasts have the opportunity to watch it.