White Nights

1985
PG-13
2h 16m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

8.5K

YOUR RATING

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines in White Nights (1985)

Play trailer2:04

2 Videos

62 Photos

Drama Music

A Russian American ballet dancer's airplane is forced to land in USSR, where he's "repatriated". He stays with an American man married to a Russian. Will the American help him flee USSR?A Russian American ballet dancer's airplane is forced to land in USSR, where he's "repatriated". He stays with an American man married to a Russian. Will the American help him flee USSR?A Russian American ballet dancer's airplane is forced to land in USSR, where he's "repatriated". He stays with an American man married to a Russian. Will the American help him flee USSR?

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

8.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 2 nominations total

Trivia
Mikhail Baryshnikov reportedly was insistent with the producers that gramatically-correct Russian be spoken in this movie instead of the often nonsensical hybrid often used in American movies. Baryshinkov also did a scene where he spoke French. In real life, it was his second language.

Goofs
Contrary to the title of the film, White Nights describes the continuous daylight in regions along the Arctic Circle, the moments at the end of the film show the characters engulfed in complete darkness outside the consulate. This would not have happened in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) between May and August.

Quotes
Pilot: [over the P.A] Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? This is the Captain speaking. We have developed electrical problems, and we have to land immediately. There is a Soviet military airfield about 75 miles from here...
Anne Wyatt: [half asleep] Where are we? Are we landing?
[Kolya runs to the lavatory to destroy his identity papers]
Anne Wyatt: Where are you going?
Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko: What do you mean? We're landing in Russia!

Alternate versions
The UK cinema release was cut by 16s to remove two uses of 'fuck' to earn a PG rating. Subsequent video versions restore the strong language and raise the certificate to 15.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: The Holcroft Covenant/Bring on the Night/Target (1985)

Soundtracks
Separate Lives
(Love Theme)
Written by Stephen Bishop
Produced by Arif Mardin, Phil Collins, and Hugh Padgham
Performed by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
Courtesy of Atlantic Records and Virgin Records

User reviews53

Review

Featured review

10/10

Unbelievable privilege to see Baryshnikov dance up close at his best

Baryshinikov is the one of the best male dancers of all time. This movie allows you to see him up close and view his "process" for dancing. You can't help but watch in awe at his amazing athletic and physical feats... from the very first scene where you see him slowly lower his entire body from a headstand to lying down to seeing him dance "en pointe" in what appear to be a pair of "Keds". It isn't just seeing the dances that is amazing. It is the opportunity to see the dances from the perspective of an "insider who is sitting right there next to him -- as opposed to watching him from the audience.

This is dancing "eye candy" at its finest -- my favorite escape movie of all time.