White Nights (1985 film)

Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko (Baryshnikov) is a Russian ballet dancer who had previously defected from the Soviet Union. When the plane carrying him to his next performance in Tokyo has electrical problems and crash lands in Siberia, he is injured and recognized by KGB officer Colonel Chaiko (Jerzy Skolimowski). Chaiko contacts tap dancer Raymond Greenwood (Hines), who has defected to the Soviet Union, and gets them both to Leningrad. Chaiko wants Kolya to dance at the season's opening night at the Kirov, and Raymond to look after Kolya. To convince Kolya, Chaiko uses Galina Ivanova (Helen Mirren), a former ballerina who never left the Soviet Union and is an old flame of Kolya. After an initial period of racial and artistic friction, the two dancers (and defectors in opposite directions) become strong friends. When Raymond discovers that his wife Darya (Isabella Rossellini) is pregnant, he decides he does not want their child to grow up in the Soviet Union, and together, with Kolya, they plan an escape with the help of Galina, who still has feelings for Rodchenko. During the escape attempt, Raymond chooses to stay behind in order to delay Chaiko, gaining time for Kolya and Darya to get to the U.S. consulate at Leningrad. Although Raymond is captured and incarcerated, he is traded by the Soviets for a political prisoner from Latin America, and reunites with Darya and Kolya. ==Cast==

The opening ballet sequence, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, originally choreographed by Roland Petit in 1946 and performed anew by Baryshnikov and Florence Faure, was filmed at the Bristol Hippodrome. The film contains an early-career performance by Maryam d'Abo, later to star as a Bond girl in the James Bond film The Living Daylights. White Nights was dedicated "in loving memory" to Mary E. Hackford (mother of Taylor) and Jerry Benjamin (father of executive supervisor Stuart Benjamin), both of whom died prior to its release. ==Reception==

The film opened the Chicago International Film Festival on November 8, 1985, at McClurg Court. It then opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on November 22 as well as in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto before expanding nationally on December 6. The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby criticized the script as "ludicrous" but praised the acting and dance choreography, including Baryshnikov's "all of the dynamic force and intelligence that distinguish his dance performances" and Hines as "a great tap dancer but not in the same league with Mr. Baryshnikov as a film personality". Los Angeles Times film critic Sheila Benson criticized the story as "wretched high-concept, low-intelligence", the film's "oversimplification" of Russians as "hateful and corrupt" with an exception of "old Russian ''''", without the film explaining the character's transition "to kindness", and dance performances as "jazzed-up and simplistic". However, the film was a commercial success at the box office, grossing over $42 million in the United States. Accolades ==Soundtrack==

}} The soundtrack album for the film contains the most successful single on the album, "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, which reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1986. The prize instead went to Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me", another chart topper which appeared in the film but was not included on the original soundtrack due to licensing issues. It was included in the album reissue as a bonus track along with "I Don't Wanna Know" by Phil Collins. Allmusic gave the soundtrack three stars out of five. • "Separate Lives" - Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin • "Prove Me Wrong" - David Pack • "Far Post" - Robert Plant • "People on a String" - Roberta Flack • "This Is Your Day" - Nile Rodgers & Sandy Stewart • "Snake Charmer" - John Hiatt • "The Other Side of the World" - Chaka Khan • "My Love Is Chemical" - Lou Reed • "TapDance" - David Foster • "People Have Got to Move" - Jenny Burton • "Say You, Say Me" - Lionel Richie (bonus track - reissue) • "I Don't Wanna Know" - Phil Collins (bonus track - reissue) Charts ==References==