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Crime and Punishment (1970 film)

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Crime and Punishment
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLev Kulidzhanov
Written byLev Kulidzhanov
Nikolai Figurovsky
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (novel)
StarringGeorgy Taratorkin
Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Tatyana Bedova
Victoria Fyodorova
CinematographyVyacheslav Shumsky
Music byMikhail Ziv
Production
company
Release date
  • 1969 (1969)
Running time
221 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Crime and Punishment (Russian: Преступление и наказание) is a 1969 Soviet drama film in two parts directed by Lev Kulidzhanov, based on the eponymous 1866 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Plot

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Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished former law student, kills an old pawnbroker and, unexpectedly, her innocent sister, partly to obtain money and partly to test his theory that “extraordinary men” are above the moral constraints that bind ordinary people. Although he attempts to evade suspicion, Raskolnikov comes to the attention of the police through standard investigation procedures, since he was a regular client of the victim. However, his erratic behavior and defensive outbursts soon attract the interest of the clever detective Porfiry Petrovich, who suspects Raskolnikov of the crime. Meanwhile, Raskolnikov’s life grows increasingly turbulent as his mother and sister arrive in the city, followed by two older suitors competing for his sister’s hand in marriage. Adding to his inner turmoil, Raskolnikov meets a drunken clerk who dies in an accident, leaving behind a daughter, Sonia, a young woman forced into prostitution to support her family.

As Raskolnikov spirals deeper into guilt and paranoia, his interactions with Sonia become a lifeline. Her selfless kindness and faith offer him a glimmer of redemption, and she ultimately convinces him to confess, promising to stand by him even if he is exiled to Siberia. Haunted by fear and moral conflict, Raskolnikov finally surrenders to the authorities, admitting his crime, with Sonia at his side as his hope for spiritual salvation.

Cast

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