(Dyadya Vanya). “An exceedingly graceful, beautifully acted production that manages to respect Chekhov as a man of his own time, as well as what I would assume to be the Soviet view of Chekhov as Russia’s saddest, gentlest, funniest and most compassionate revolutionary playwright” (Vincent Canby, The New York Times). “The best Uncle Vanya I’ve ever seen” (Woody Allen). Chekhov’s masterwork about the breakdown of a family held together by a tissue of lies and self-deceptions is brought to stunning life in Andrei Konchalovsky’s brilliant adaptation. The all-star cast includes Innokenti Smoktunovsky as Vanya; Irina Miroshnichenko as Yelena; and Sergei Bondarchuk as Astrov.

—Richard Peña

• Written by Konchalovsky, based on the play by Anton Chekhov. Photographed by Georgi Rerberg, Yevgeny Guslinsky. With Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Sergei Bondarchuk, Irina Miroshnichenko, Vladimir Zeldin. (104 mins, In Russian with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Seagull Films)