Pirates of the 20th Century
Short description
A Soviet freighter transporting a shipment of medical opium is ambushed by pirates. After the attackers seize the cargo and leave the crew to perish on a sinking vessel, a small group of survivors manages to escape. The remaining sailors and crew members must then fight for their lives against the ruthless pirates in a struggle for survival.
Directed by Boris Durov and written by Stanislav Govorukhin, this Soviet action adventure was produced by Gorky Film Studios and released in July 1980. The film features a credited cast of 26 actors, including Pyotr Velyaminov as the captain, Nikolay Eryomenko as the senior mechanic, Talgat Nigmatulin as Salekh, Rein Aren as the pirate captain, Dilorom Kambarova as Maa, and Natalya Khorokhorina as Masha.
The movie has received a moderate reception from viewers. On IMDb, it holds a rating of 6.6/10 based on 1,100 votes, while on TMDB it has a rating of 6.1/10 from 41 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- Morning screenings on weekdays often had to be canceled because entire classes of schoolchildren would skip lessons to watch 'Pirates'.
- The film's director initially refused to cast Nikolai Eremenko in the lead role, but after Nikolai demonstrated his physical fitness by performing an impressive flip and showing off his well-developed musculature, the actor was immediately cast.
- During filming, Eremenko trained intensively with a karate coach.
- In one of the film's scenes (a jump from a cliff onto the roof of a motor ship), the actor jumped into the water next to the ship's hull. While surfacing, Nikolai Eremenko almost ended up under the running propellers of the ship passing directly above him. By a miracle, the actor managed to swim a safe distance away from the propellers.
- In the early 90s, Nikolai Eremenko had the idea to film a sequel to 'Pirates,' but at that time, during a period of deep crisis for domestic cinema, sufficient funding for the film could not be found. Eremenko returned to this idea a second time in 1998, but it was thwarted by the sudden onset of the economic crisis in Russia...
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
