juneebuggy
I hadn't seen this movie in 20 plus years and had forgotten most of it except that I'd really liked it. I enjoyed it in my rewatch too, a unique story, worth checking out for the opening dance number with Mikhail Baryshnikov if nothing else. Its incredible, showcasing a true athlete. Gregory Hines is pretty great too, tap dancing and singing, the two together are fantastic.White Nights is from the mid 80's and except for some cheesy music stands up well. Baryshnikov plays a touring ballet dancer who, after defecting to America years earlier finds himself back in Russia when the plane he's travelling on is forced to make a crash landing in Siberia. Trapped in the country he'd once escaped, 'Nicolai' is taken to stay with American (Gregory Hines) who himself defected during the Vietnam war. Together they dance and plot an escape.This role must have been written exclusively for Baryshnikov because I can't think that anyone else could have done it. Isabella Rossellini plays Hines' Russian wife. Her character is well acted but a bit of a twit. If I was making a run for the American embassy and my life was on the line I would not be wearing a bright red sweater, especially during white nights when the sun doesn't set. We also get an appearance from a very young Helen Mirren as Nicolai's former love that he left behind when he defected. Worth checking out for views of the old soviet union, fantastic dance sequences.A couple songs from Phil Collins on the soundtrack and some other bad 80s music is used
blanche-2
I'm in shock over the low rating "White Nights" (1985) has on IMDb. I don't know why, unless some people hear the word ballet and go running.Taylor Hackford directed this excellent film, which stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren, Isabella Rossellini, Geraldine Page, and Jerzy Skolimowski. It was filmed in Finland, England, Portugal, Scotland, with exterior Russian footage. Hackford wanted to get the specific lighting of the "white nights," the midnight sun, and found the closest to be Finland.The story concerns a brilliant dancer, Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko (Baryshnikov) who boards a plane with his manager (Page) bound for Japan. During the flight, a technical problem develops and the pilot announces the plane has to land in Siberia. Nikolai, a defector, rips up his passport in an attempt to hide his identity, but it's no use. He is sent to a Russian hospital to recover from a head wound, and needless to say, they have no intention of letting him go. In fact, they want him to dance at the Kirov again.Nikolai is ultimately housed with an American performer, Raymond (Gregory Hines) and his Russian wife (Rossellini). Raymond, a Vietnam deserter, left the U.S. for Russia where he thought people were treated more equally (yeah, badly). The relationship between the two men is antagonistic at first but a friendship develops as they plot to escape from the oppressive society.The star of the film, of course, is the incredible dancing, choreographed by Roland Petit, Twyla Tharp, Baryshnikov, and Hines - modern, ballet, and tap, the highlight being Raymond's and Nikolai's dual dance. In the beginning, Hines does a scene from Porgy and Bess and sings and dances to "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York" - terrific.Add to this a fantastic soundtrack that includes "Separate Lives" and "Say You, Say Me," and the stunning Helen Mirren - I don't know what else anyone would want. Suspenseful, thrilling, and well acted, White Nights is a must-see, a political story about friendship and freedom.
bvsfan
I don't know how it is that I've never seen this movie especially since my daughter was a tap dancer for 12 years and we were both such huge fans of Gregory Hines. The dancing is superb by both Mikhail and Gregory. The acting a little stiff especially by MB. Predictable but for me, the dancing and the music make the movie. The plot is ridiculous. It's too bad that Gregory Hines wasn't bigger during the 80's and 90's, it's a shame that dancing didn't make a comeback in films the way it should have. Loved the background music, loved the sole dance scene by Hines, loved the duet by both of them, HATED the opening sequence, everything I always hated about "modern" dance. Still worth seeing, if only for the dancing and the somewhat factual USSR defection problems. Seems so long ago now that artists and others actually had to "escape" a country. But the question still begs to be asked: If Raymond needed to leave the U.S. why in the H*** would he end up in freaking Siberia vs. all the other European countries he could have moved to??
