Mussorgsky (1950): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1950, Mussorgsky is a drama and history film directed by Grigoriy Roshal, running about 120 minutes.

What it’s about. Saint Petersburg, 1858. A group of composers known as The Five meet at Balakirev's. Young Modest Mussorgsky, both a civil servant and a musician, has become a fixture there. He tells about the first opera he plans to compose. Then he goes to the country where he discovers the lowly conditions of the peasants and the bloody conflicts with the rich land owners. He works on Gogol's 'The Marriage', trying to render into music the natural accents of the play's naturalistic dialogue. But his efforts do not pan out. On the other hand, he starts writing his opera on the story of Boris Godunov. The Marinsky Theatre refuses to stage the work. The Five, and Mussorgsky among them, are libeled and the group starts disintegrating. When 'Boris Godunov' is finally performed in 1874, it is a popular success.

Who’s in it. Mussorgsky stars Aleksandr Borisov as Modest Petrovich Moussorgsky, Nikolai Cherkasov as Stasov, Vladimir Balashov as Balakirev and Yuri Leonidov as Alexander Borodin, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.8/10, Mussorgsky has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Mussorgsky page.

If you liked it. Fans of Mussorgsky tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.