The White Crow

"To dance you must be free"

2018 2h 7m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 259

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story of Rudolf Nureyev, whose escape to the West stunned the world at the height of the Cold War. With his magnetic presence, Nureyev emerged as ballet’s most famous star, a wild and beautiful dancer limited by the world of 1950s Leningrad. His flirtation with Western artists and ideas led him into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the KGB.

“To dance you must be free”

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Cast

Oleg Ivenko
Rudolf Nureyev
Adèle Exarchopoulos
Clara Saint
Chulpan Khamatova
Xenia Jurgenson
Ralph Fiennes
Alexander Pushkin
Alexey Morozov
Strizhevsky
Raphaël Personnaz
Pierre Lacotte
Olivier Rabourdin
Alexinsky
Ravshana Kurkova
Farida Nureyeva

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ralph Fiennes
Writers: David Hare
Languages: Russian, French, English
Countries: United Kingdom, Serbia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Russian, French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, Serbia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ralph Fiennes, shot by Mike Eley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ilan Eshkeri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Barney Pilling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Oleg Ivenko and Adèle Exarchopoulos and Chulpan Khamatova carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "To dance you must be free".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ralph Fiennes directs. Mike Eley behind the camera. Ilan Eshkeri scores. Barney Pilling cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, Serbia. Dialogue in Russian, French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 8 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Russian, French, English.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, Serbia.
4Directed by Ralph Fiennes, shot by Mike Eley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ilan Eshkeri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Barney Pilling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Oleg Ivenko and Adèle Exarchopoulos and Chulpan Khamatova carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "To dance you must be free".
9IMDB entry: tt5460858 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "kgb", "ballet dancer", "biography", "ballet".