White Nights is a
1985-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.-Top grossing films :source:...
film starring
Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet-born Russian American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada...
,
Gregory HinesGregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
,
Jerzy SkolimowskiJerzy Skolimowski is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious Polish Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début Oko wykol...
,
Helen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career.-Family:...
and
Isabella RosselliniIsabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background:Rossellini is the daughter of Swedish...
. It also contains early-career performances from
Marc SindenMarc Sinden is an English theatre producer, artistic director and actor, whose career has spanned stage, screen, radio and television. His father is the actor Sir Donald Sinden....
and French girlfriend
Maryam d'AboMaryam d'Abo is an English film and television actress, best known as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights.-Early life:...
. Directed by
Taylor HackfordTaylor Edwin Hackford is an Academy Award-winning American film director.-Early life:Hackford was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Mary , a waitress, and Joseph Hackford. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1968, where he was a pre-law major focusing on...
, it was shot in
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, and the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
.
The film is notable both for the dancing of Hines and Baryshnikov and for the Academy Award winning song "
Say You, Say Me"Say You, Say Me" is a Golden Globe and Academy Award winning song written and recorded by Lionel Richie for the film White Nights starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. The single hit number one on the soul singles chart and on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 21, 1985...
" by
Lionel RichieLionel Brockman Richie, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer who has sold more than 100 million records.- Early years :...
, as well as "
Separate Lives"Separate Lives" is a 1985 song recorded by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin and featured on the soundtrack to the motion picture White Nights. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also topped the adult contemporary chart in the U.S. for three...
" performed by
Phil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins LVO is an Academy Award-winning English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
and
Marilyn MartinMarilyn Martin is an American singer best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, "Separate Lives."Born in Tennessee but raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Martin gained notice as a back-up singer for such artists as Stevie Nicks, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Tom Petty and Kenny Loggins, touring...
and written by
Stephen BishopStephen Bishop is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist.Bishop was born in San Diego, California. He had a major hit in 1977 with the song "On and On," which was a #11 hit in the U.S.; his other hits include "Save It for a Rainy Day," "Everybody Needs Love" and "It Might Be You," the...
(also nominated).
Taylor Hackford met his future wife, Oscar Award-winning actress Helen Mirren, during the filming of
White Nights. As a young woman, Mirren had vowed never to marry, but after 12 years together she and Hackford tied the knot on December 31, 1997 at Ardersier Parish Church near
InvernessInverness is a city in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is promoted as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/entertainment/helen_mirren.html
Hines plays an American tap dancer, Raymond Greenwood, who has defected to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
.
White Nights is a
1985-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.-Top grossing films :source:...
film starring
Mikhail BaryshnikovMikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet-born Russian American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada...
,
Gregory HinesGregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
,
Jerzy SkolimowskiJerzy Skolimowski is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious Polish Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début Oko wykol...
,
Helen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career.-Family:...
and
Isabella RosselliniIsabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background:Rossellini is the daughter of Swedish...
. It also contains early-career performances from
Marc SindenMarc Sinden is an English theatre producer, artistic director and actor, whose career has spanned stage, screen, radio and television. His father is the actor Sir Donald Sinden....
and French girlfriend
Maryam d'AboMaryam d'Abo is an English film and television actress, best known as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights.-Early life:...
. Directed by
Taylor HackfordTaylor Edwin Hackford is an Academy Award-winning American film director.-Early life:Hackford was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Mary , a waitress, and Joseph Hackford. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1968, where he was a pre-law major focusing on...
, it was shot in
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, and the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
.
The film is notable both for the dancing of Hines and Baryshnikov and for the Academy Award winning song "
Say You, Say Me"Say You, Say Me" is a Golden Globe and Academy Award winning song written and recorded by Lionel Richie for the film White Nights starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. The single hit number one on the soul singles chart and on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 21, 1985...
" by
Lionel RichieLionel Brockman Richie, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer who has sold more than 100 million records.- Early years :...
, as well as "
Separate Lives"Separate Lives" is a 1985 song recorded by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin and featured on the soundtrack to the motion picture White Nights. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #4 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also topped the adult contemporary chart in the U.S. for three...
" performed by
Phil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins LVO is an Academy Award-winning English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
and
Marilyn MartinMarilyn Martin is an American singer best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, "Separate Lives."Born in Tennessee but raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Martin gained notice as a back-up singer for such artists as Stevie Nicks, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Tom Petty and Kenny Loggins, touring...
and written by
Stephen BishopStephen Bishop is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and guitarist.Bishop was born in San Diego, California. He had a major hit in 1977 with the song "On and On," which was a #11 hit in the U.S.; his other hits include "Save It for a Rainy Day," "Everybody Needs Love" and "It Might Be You," the...
(also nominated).
Taylor Hackford met his future wife, Oscar Award-winning actress Helen Mirren, during the filming of
White Nights. As a young woman, Mirren had vowed never to marry, but after 12 years together she and Hackford tied the knot on December 31, 1997 at Ardersier Parish Church near
InvernessInverness is a city in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is promoted as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/entertainment/helen_mirren.html
Plot
Hines plays an American tap dancer, Raymond Greenwood, who has defected to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. He encounters and befriends Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko, a Soviet
balletBallet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form...
dancer played by Baryshnikov, who had previously defected in the other direction. Isabella Rossellini plays Darya, Greenwood’s wife, and
Helen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards during her career.-Family:...
plays Galina Ivanova, a former ballerina who never left the Soviet Union and is an old flame of Rodchenko.
Greenwood and Rodchenko perform a cinematic
pas de deux after a plane carrying the latter makes a forced landing in
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
and he is recognized. Both dancers are brought to
LeningradSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
where the Soviets seek to exploit Rodchenko’s talent. After an initial period of racial and artistic friction, the two dancers (and defectors in opposite directions) become strong friends and Greenwood helps arrange an escape to the American consulate.