Chekhov and Maria for Academic Distribution
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 06:34PM
One of the greatest writers in the world, adored by everyone, he is close to no one except his sister. And then he secretly marries Olga. An Eric Till Feature Film, Screenplay by Jovanka Bach. Running Time: 86 minutes Ron Bottitta as Anton Chekhov and Gillian Brashear as Maria
Chekhov and Maria now on KANOPY here.
To purchase the DVD please scroll down for all ordering details.
Here is the Review from VIDEO LIBRARIAN
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The year is 1901. Handsome, charismatic Russian doctor and playwright Anton (Antosha) Chekhov has just married his lover, Olga Knipper, a beautiful actress with the Moscow Art Theater. “Medicine is my lawful wife. Literature is my mistress,” he’d once claimed. Now, seriously ill with tuberculosis, he returns to his home in Yalta, alone, and stops by the sea to gather his thoughts. And pocket his new wedding ring.
His Moscow marriage, Chekhov fears, must be kept secret from his possessive sister Maria (Masha), with whom he shares the home in Yalta.
The seeds have been sown for another of Chekhov’s famous plays, this time a family drama (some would say melodrama) which will eventually find its way to the world stage.
Sister Maria greets Chekhov warmly and fusses over his health. She is so protective of her sickly brother that she spurns another man’s overtures, intending to remain his devoted sister-companion for life.
It's a family of secrets, and Maria has a secret too. She has been hijacking Olga’s passionate letters as they arrive at the house, reading, and then hiding them. Maria is jealous, and feels betrayed.
When Chekhov finds out about the purloined letters, he and his sister have a dramatic confrontation, and he returns to Moscow to be with his beloved, leaving Maria to play the part of abandoned ‘wife’.
Yet he always returns to the house in Yalta, where Maria awaits, to adore and care for him. How far she took that devotion has long been speculated among historians and scholars, some of whom have alluded to incest in Chekov’s convoluted love life and ‘familial’ complications. As grist for the mill, those family sagas have certainly wound their way into some of his greatest plays, among them, ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘The Cherry Orchard’, and ‘The Three Sisters’.‘
Watch the trailer here...
Chekhov&MariaTrailer from sarasotafringefilms on Vimeo.
Chekhov once said of his unusual living arrangement: “By all means, I will be married . . . But everything must be as it has been hitherto. She must live in Moscow while I live in the country, and I will come and see her. Give me a wife who, like the moon, won’t appear in my sky every day.” Olga was by his side when Chekhov died of tuberculosis in 1904 at a German health spa. Both she and sister Maria became co-executors of his estate.
The actors Ron Bottitta as Anton Chekhov, and Gillian Brashear as Maria, brilliantly and passionately replay their New York stage roles in this exquisitely produced feature film gem, directed by Eric Till.
Chekhov and Olga...as happy as possible....
The screenplay and original play of ‘Anton and Maria’ were written by Jovanka Bach, who had much in common with Chekhov. Like him, she practiced medicine and wrote for the stage. And she also died prematurely (of cancer) as she completed her own story about his last days.
Standard DVD and Film File Academic and Personal Purchase Options for "Chekhov and Maria"
If your system cannot use Credit, Debit Cards or PayPal, we will accept your purchase order or send you an invoice payable by check. For details on purchase orders, please contact: nagle.patrick@gmail.com
A Note About Our Academic and Institutional Pricing
Educational DVD with PPR: $150
Anytime you want to screen a film on campus, Public Performance Rights (PPR) need to be obtained. Copyright law (USC 17§101) defines a public performance as occurring in a public space or if it is in any place if "a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its acquaintances" is gathered there. This would include classrooms, meeting rooms, auditoriums, dorm lounges, etc. However, copyright law (USC 17§110) also provides an exception for face-to-face teaching activities in a nonprofit educational institution.
Digital Site License with PPR: $200
A DSL grants educational institutions and/or non-profit organizations a limited license to host and stream a film online to students, faculty and staff on their password-protected server. This license is granted for three years. The key advantage of purchasing a DSL is that once uploaded, an unlimited number of viewers can access the film from multiple locations simultaneously.
DVD + DSL bundle PPR: $225
K-12, Non-profit, Public Library with PPR: $62.50
Personal DVD or File Download: $24.50