GLOOMY RIVER TV SERIES
HISTORY OF LOVE, GOLD & CRIME
The latest new historical television series to arrive to us from Mother Russia this year is GLOOMY RIVER (Угрюм река) which started airing on their
national TV back in March and will continue until it airs all of its 16 episodes! I must admit that I was surprised by the trailer below, pleasantly, with its warm colours, gorgeous landscapes and beautiful costumes and cinematography. The series itself is a small screen adaptation of legendary 1933 epic novel by Vyacheslav Shishkov, telling the story of a Siberian family, deeply involved in the Siberian gold rush! Alexandar Gorbatov (you remember him from Godunov series and Mayor Grom movie), Yulia Peresild (whom we watched as the arrogant Russian princess in Golden Horde series) and Alexandar Baluev lead the cast. The series was shot back in 2019 before the Covid
outbreak and used hundreds of costumes during the production and areal shots of the breathtaking natural beauties of Siberia.
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| The series aired in Russian back in March |
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| The series is the first ever small screen adaptation of the same novel |
THE GLOOMY RIVER SERIES
is based on the novel of the same name by Vyacheslav Shishkov. It became the first full screen adaptation of this book (the Soviet television movie of 1968
used only some plot lines). In 1896, in the village of Medvedevo, Irkutsk province, the father and son of the Gromov family, Peter (Alexandar
Baluev) and Prokhor (Alexandar Gorbatov), fall in love with Anfisa Kozyreva (Yulia Peresild), and Peter, in order to get rid of his rival, instructs
his son to pass the hitherto impassable GLOOMY RIVER. Prokhor fulfills the assignment, but returns to his native land as a completely different person:
now he intends to conquer all of Siberia. Gradually, the thirst for gold and an obsession with his own greatness lead Prokhor to collapse.
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| Alexandar Gorbatov and Yulia Peresild lead the cast |
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| Alexandar Gorbatov leads the cast as Prokhor |
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| The series consists of 16 50 minute long episodes |
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| Large part of the series was shot in winter settings |