White Nights (1985) on Netflix
Ballet dancer Nikolai Rodchenko defected from the Soviet Union years ago. When his plane crashes in Siberia, the KGB confines him in Leningrad, where Raymond Greenwood keeps watch over him.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.7/109,192 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes46%
Trailer
Plot summary
Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko, a Russian ballet dancer who defected to the West, is flying to a Tokyo performance when an electrical failure brings his plane down in Siberia. He is injured, and Colonel Chaiko of the KGB recognizes him. Chaiko has him moved to his old apartment in Leningrad, where Raymond Greenwood, an American tap dancer who defected to the Soviet Union, lives with his Russian wife, Darya, and is set to look after him. The KGB says Kolya's injuries require a long confinement, but Chaiko's real aim is to put him back on the Kirov stage for the season's opening night. To persuade him, Chaiko brings in Galina Ivanova, a former ballerina and an old flame. Kolya refuses to give in.
Cast
- David Savileas Pilot
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about White Nights (1985)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- For shots of the British Orient 747 after touchdown the production bought an older Boeing 707 and converted it with the famous 747 hump, a painted cockpit and a small vision slit, then used forced perspective and short actors to disguise the size difference.
- A team of travelogue filmmakers from Finland who had previously worked in the Soviet Union were hired to film locations in Leningrad, such as the Kirov Theatre and the Lenin monument; Hackford was disappointed by critics who wrote reviews believing Helsinki had been used.
- The 707 had originally been built for South African Airways in July 1960 and was retired from the airline in 1977, then operated by Panama World Airways until 1981, before Columbia Pictures purchased it in September 1984 for the making of White Nights.
- Lionel Richie's chart-topping "Say You, Say Me" appeared in the film but was not included on the original soundtrack due to licensing issues; it was added to the album reissue as a bonus track, along with "I Don't Wanna Know" by Phil Collins.
- White Nights was the international film debut of Isabella Rossellini, and Taylor Hackford met his future wife, Helen Mirren, during filming.
- 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 the mother of its director and to the father of its executive supervisor, both of whom died prior to its release.
