MovieChat Forums > Werckmeister harmóniák (2001) Discussion > The Prince and Woland from Master and Ma...

The Prince and Woland from Master and Margarita

posted 17 years ago by enovalis
5 replies | jump to latest

Just my two forints. While watching Werckmeister Harmonies I felt a remembered sense of dread; it was the same feeling as I had while reading Master and Margarita. I know Hungary is not Russia and Janos' town is certainly not Moscow, but when we first see (or do not see) the Prince, I thought: he is Woland! The talking shadow is the black magician, the itinerant bringer of doom. And the circus is his evil retinue.

I haven't been able to find any connection between Tarr and Bulgakov though. However, thank goodness that in these times someone in New York can experience both their works.

And wouldn't Hanna Schygulla (especially from the Fassbinder days) have made a great Margarita?

[–] mgorgei 17 years ago

But who on Earth would they ever find to play Behemoth? One of the most unforgettable and, quite frankly, hilarious characters in all of literature. I can't think of an actor who could pull it off, and the thought of reducing "him" to CGI is a grim one. Just my dos forints.

[–] kyle_carpent 17 years ago

While this may not be a popular sentiment, I actually imagined the last half of Master and Margarita as a Hayao Miyazaki animated film, with a tone somewhere between Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. I think all the talking animals and fantastic elements would lend themselves well to that kind of presentation, although perhaps it wouldn't find an appropriate market (Margarita is naked for much of that arc, after all).

[–] enovalis 17 years ago

An adult Miyazaki film -- that would be something. I certainly didn't have an anime aesthetic in mind while reading Master and Margarita, but what a valedictory work for Miyazaki-sensei if he would tackle an adaptation.

kyle_carpent, thanks to you, I'll never look at Kiki the same way again.

mgorgei, Behemoth will be played by... an evil Totoro.

What a surreal thread! ::checking to see if this is the Werckmeister Harmonies board::

Cheers.

[–] dzalbo 16 years ago

Brilliant comment!

[–] datacloud 15 years ago

I just find it very cool that another person on this planet enjoys both works as much as I do. I never would have put the two together, but to see somebody bring up both in the same series of breaths gives me hope.