The film “A Long Road in the Dunes”, whose actors told the touching story of two heroes who survived many historical and personal cataclysms, but retained love for each other, was shot in the 80s. and became the favorite film of many women of the Soviet Union. How was the film made and how did it conquer Soviet television viewers?
The film “The Long Road in the Dunes”: actors and roles (1980)
Some leading roles in the series were entrusted to Lithuanian actors. At the same time, the creators of the film “The Long Road in the Dunes” were mostly Latvians. Of course, many were not enthusiastic about this decision of the director, but the director of the picture was firm in his decisions.
The series was released by the Riga film studio and had the same stunning success as “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, “Eternal Call” or “Shadows disappear at noon”.
The music for the film was written by the famous composer Raymond Pauls, and the director was Alois Branch (“Keys to Paradise”, “Mirage”).
As for the plot, it touches on eternal themes for humanity: the love of two people who are prevented by all sorts of prejudices or class differences. The woeful romance of Martha and Arthur lasted 40 years. And when the heroes finally met after a long separation, they cannot understand why their fates were so stupid. All that remains for them is to regret the lost years.
Actors and roles of the film “The Long Road in the Dunes”: Lilita Ozolin
Lilita Ozolina, born in Riga in 1947, is a very famous Latvian actress. The girl grew up in the family of a test pilot. Her mother worked as an assistant at one of the film studios, so she took her girl to film screenings from the age of ten.
As a child, Lilita was not lucky enough to star in a movie, but the girl did not leave this venture and entered the studio of a film actor at the Riga film studio.
In 1967, the girl made her film debut in another picture of Alois Brench - "When the rain and wind knock on the window." Then there were several more film works and, finally, “The Long Road in the Dunes”.
The actors of the film literally woke up famous after the series was released. Between the 80s and 90s Lilita starred in many films. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, cinema was not going through the best of times, so Ozolin concentrated all her forces on the theater.
But to this day, the role of the actress is considered the role of the main character of the film “The Long Road in the Dunes” - Marta.
Juozas Kiselyus
Juozas Kiselyus is a Lithuanian actor who embodied the image of Arthur Bangui - Martha's lover.
The filmmakers argued for a long time about whether to give the main role in the Latvian film to the Lithuanian. But the film “The Long Road in the Dunes”, whose actors fell in love with the viewer, was released with the participation of Juozas Kiselyus. Director Brench personally defended his candidacy.
Juozas preferred the drama theater and acted in films rarely. Throughout his career, Kiselyus has taken part in only 18 films. “The long darling in the dunes”, in which the actor played the part of an honest romantic, became his happy and at the same time unlucky ticket to a big movie, because after this picture Kiselyus was offered mostly the same roles. Perhaps that is why he was in no hurry to return to the screen and agreed to withdraw from the force once a year.
In the 91st year, Juozas died in one of the hospitals in Vilnius from aortic rupture at the age of 41 years.
Romualdas Ramanauskas
The role of the scoundrel Richard Lozberg in the film was played by the actor of the National Drama Theater of Lithuania Romualdas Ramanauskas. It is Richard Lozberg - the son of a wealthy factory owner - who causes Arthur Banga and Martha to break up. In the best traditions of melodramas, the main character is forced to marry a villain, but from her former lover she remains an illegitimate child.
The film “A Long Road in the Dunes”, in which the actors told a moving love story that lasted 40 years, was the seventh film for Romualdas in which he played the role of a negative character. The role of the scoundrel and the scoundrel in the future was firmly entrenched in the actor: for his life Ramanauskas played in 33 films, but the roles of a positive character can be counted on the fingers.
In 2015, Romualdas turned 65 years old. The last film project in which he participated was “War and Peace” by Robert Dornhelm, as well as the comedy “Jam Bank”, filmed in Lithuania in 2009.
Edward pavuls
Eduard Pavuls for the role of Martha's father was awarded the USSR State Prize. His character is Jacob Ozols, along with the main characters Marta and Arthur, from the 40s to the 80s. suffered a lot. First, he is undeservedly accused of arson, then Jacob, as a former headman of a village occupied by Germans, is forced to hide from Soviet soldiers who regained their land.
Actor Eduard Pavuls is a fairly prominent figure in the cinema. He began acting in Soviet films since 1957. Over the course of his career, he has played more than fifty screen roles. In 1986, Pavuls even appeared in Danelia’s legendary film “Kin-Dza-Dza”. The actor played his last role 6 years before his death in the film “The Mystery of the Old Council”. In 2006, Pavuls died.