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From the Page to the Screen – The Master and Margarita

The Master and Margarita is an iconic 1940 genre-bending novel by Soviet author Mikhail Bulgakov. It is considered to be one of the most important novels of the 20^th century for numerous reasons. It is a book that continues to astound in its epic scope, thematic resonance and diversity of genres and tones.

THE FILM ADAPTATION

The Serbian film adaptation was released in 1972 and it was underappreciated then and certainly not well-known now. Directed by Aleksandar Petrovic and having a great ensemble cast, this was such a strong adaptation that deserves more love for everything that it did right.

PLOT

The problem with this adaptation is that they entirely omitted most of the second half of this story, especially all the fantastical elements. This is why it felt much more limited in scope and more in line with a drama, but at least the parts that they focused on were terrific and so well adapted.

WINNER – BOOK

CHARACTERIZATION

I would actually say that in this particular aspect the book and the movie are tied. Not only were all the characters faithfully adapted, but they were also phenomenally performed by these talented actors while the humor and dialogue were also outstanding here.

WINNER – TIE

EMOTION

This is where the novel fared better as it was much more tragic and romantic in its tone, which the movie lacked given that they discarded most of the story’s second half. The Master’s plight was still very well realized, but the romantic elements were sorely missing.

WINNER – BOOK

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THEMES

Obviously, a book was much better in its thematic resonance. This particular novel was so rich in its symbolism and many different themes that are still relevant to this day that it remains a  powerful, moving read. The movie did adapt the Soviet issues of populace control and lack of true artistry very well, but most of the other themes were missing here.

WINNER – BOOK

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Bulgakov’s writing was excellent, especially his writing of dialogue and character arcs. The film was very well shot and scored, but it lacks the true cinematic depth that could have been achieved with a bigger budget and a more epic scope and length.

WINNER – BOOK

BOOK 5: FILM 1

Overall, the novel is obviously better and much more epic in scope, tone and diversity of its genres. However, the movie still remains a pretty solid, underrated adaptation with great characterization, acting and dialogue. It just lacked the length and emotional resonance to compete with its source material.