The right to vote: Pavel Lungin's "Lilac Branch" is being released

The story of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the great pianist, composer and conductor, returns to the big screens. Pavel Lungin's painting was released in an updated version: the film was converted to 4K format, color correction was performed and the sound was completely remade. The tape has received modern quality, while retaining its psychology and depth. Izvestia visited the premiere of the restored "Branches of Lilac", held as part of the Moscow International Film Week.

Under the producer's press

The biographical drama "The Lilac Branch" in 2007 became a test for the director at one time. On the one hand, there was pressure from the producers, on the other, a poetic story that demanded freedom and inspiration. The script, written by Mikhail Dunaev, is a loose summary of Rachmaninov's biography. The plot unfolds at the junction of epochs, covering different stages of Rachmaninov's life — from the beginning of his creative career to the period of crisis.

The film role required maximum psychological maturity from the performer. The artist had to play Rachmaninoff at different periods of his life, including during the years of emigration to the United States, when he was experiencing a deep depression and was hard-pressed to leave his homeland.

Evgeny Tsyganov's training was fundamental: the actor went to a remote forest, where he studied a three-volume collection of Rachmaninov's letters and diaries in a hunting lodge, and also studied for hours with a pianist, memorizing the "choreography of hands" in order to look authentic at the piano.

"It seemed to me that the script dealt too freely with the biography of Sergei Vasilyevich, so I agreed to act only on condition that it would not be a film about Sergei Rachmaninoff, but the story of the composer Sergei," Evgeny Tsyganov recalls today.

At that time, the actor was 27 years old. At the post-production stage, Pavel Lungin felt that the young artist lacked age-related gravity in his voice, so Alexander Baluyev was entrusted with voicing the role. The resulting audiovisual dissonance — when Tsyganov's recognizable face was combined with Baluyev's equally recognizable baritone voice — was later called by critics the main film curiosity of the picture, which interfered with its holistic perception.

— The film did not get into wide domestic distribution then — it was shown in Japan, — said Evgeny Tsyganov. — In this country, Sergei Rachmaninoff's work is highly respected, and not only there: this composer is a world—class figure, along with Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev.

Historical justice in 4K

Two decades later, the K24 distribution company, with the support of the Moscow Film Cluster, initiated a large-scale technical and creative restoration of the film.

Evgeny Tsyganov has reached the age of his character, and his timbre has acquired the necessary density, dullness and depth. Rachmaninoff's complete reinvention eliminated an old artistic defect.

— I once told Pavel Semyonovich Lungin: "The idea came up to re‑sound the film with my voice after all." He replied, "Zhenechka, I think this is an artistic event." Since he is the director of the film, we trusted his opinion.

The interaction of the hero with his devoted wife Natalia Satina (Victoria Tolstoganova) and his muse Anna Lodyzhenskaya (Victoria Isakova) in the restored version acquired psychological depth and intonational accuracy. The actresses also got up to the microphone and re-voiced their roles.

The transfer of the film to 4K format and color correction allowed the visual space to be revealed to the production designer Vladimir Svetozarov and the cameraman Andrey Zhegalov. For Zhegalov, the "Lilac Branch" was the last completed work. Now the film has received modern image quality.

As Pavel Lungin himself admits, he treats the new version of the film as some kind of restored justice. According to the director, 20 years later, the actors' acting is still as good, and Rachmaninoff's compositions are, as always, excellent.

Modernization also affected the musical canvas of the painting. The soundtracks from the famous Second Concert, "Vocalise" and "Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini" were completely remade taking into account the acoustic standards of modern cinemas.

However, the main thing has remained unchanged: the film still makes you think.

— It is very interesting to look back from 2026 at the topics that were touched upon then, to feel how different they sound now. We have changed, the space has changed, the attitude towards these topics has changed. They are painful in some ways, eternal in some ways, like inspiration, loss, despair, the search for home and love," Evgeny Tsyganov told Izvestia at the premiere.

You can see "The Lilac Branch" in cinemas from August 27. The tragic fate of the great musician and the 20-year journey of the film itself to a wide audience have finally received a worthy ending and at the same time a new beginning.