Hard to Be a God (2014)
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A planet where the Renaissance never happened, where every thinker gets strangled or drowned in a latrine. Filmed in mud, rain, and entrails.
HARD TO BE A GOD (2013) is Aleksei German’s final film, released posthumously after his wife Svetlana Karmalita and son Aleksei German Jr. finished the post-production following his death. It follows Rumata, played by Leonid Yarmolnik, a scientist from Earth sent to observe a planet stuck in a medieval dark age, forbidden to interfere even as the local rulers hunt down anyone who shows signs of intelligence or art.
Adapted from the novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, the film abandons anything resembling conventional science fiction imagery. There are no spaceships or gleaming technology, only three hours of filth, phlegm, and feudal cruelty shot in black and white, the camera weaving through crowds who stare directly into the lens as if daring the viewer to look away.
German first tried to make it in 1968, but the crackdown on the Prague Spring made a story about a regime crushing its intellectuals impossible. By the time he returned to it in the late 1980s, another director had already adapted the novel. Shooting finally began in 2000 and continued for six years, with post-production stretching years beyond that.
Physical Media
DVDKINO INTERNATIONAL2015UPC 738329172725
Adam added 10/6/2026 · edited 10/9/2026
Blu-rayKino Lorber2013UPC 738329172824
Adam added 10/6/2026 · edited 10/9/2026
Blu-rayRegion BUPC 5027035013138
Adam added 10/6/2026 · edited 10/9/2026
DVDHard To Be A GodUPC 3760137142079
Adam added 10/6/2026 · edited 10/9/2026
About the Film
- Directed By
- Aleksei German
- Runtime
- 177 minutes
- Released
- February 27, 2014
- US Theatrical
- June 30, 2015
- Certification
- NR
- Country
- Russia
- Starring
- Leonid Yarmolnik, Yuriy Tsurilo, Natalya Moteva, Aleksandr Chutko, Evgeniy Gerchakov
More Credits
- Genres
- Drama, Science Fiction
- Language
- Russian
- Origin
- RU
- Studios
- Sever Studio, Russia 1, Lenfilm
- Written By
- Arkadiy Strugatskiy, Boris Strugatskiy, Svetlana Karmalita, Aleksei German
- Produced By
- Rushan Nasibulin, Viktor Izvekov, Leonid Yarmolnik
- Cinematography
- Yury Klimenko, Vladimir Ilin
- Music
- Viktor Lebedev
- Also Starring
- Pyotr Merkuryev, Juris Lauciņš, Vytautas Paukste, Konstantin Vorobyov, Aleksandr Cherednik
- Budget
- $7,000,000
- Box Office
- $1,310,673
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its a remarkable film, although a tough slog through mud sweat shit piss rain puke and blood
Harry Ramone The deep black and white hues just make it all the more ambiguous.
Imagine working so hard to make an unwatchable barf fest of just the grossest nastiest shit with this beautiful photography…like Tarkovsky but with people swallowing snot and caking themselves in shit for three hours:p
Hard To Watch The Film more like. I TRIED but I’m a wimp.
Needs to be seen at the cinema
Serbia incarnate.
perfect double feature w/ on the silver globe
That was a hard watch
I love that it depicts those times as they probably were…too many movies sanitize that period. Like, c’mon. People barely had teeth, let alone shiny, white, even ones. This movie takes all of that apart.
Lisa McNamara The Middle Ages were actually a lot cleaner than people think. It didn’t all look like the world of Dennis the Constitutional Peasant.
N.p. Niemeier you think? I’m legit curious to learn more about that. I always imagine it was just…really difficult to live back then.
Lisa McNamara Fake History Hunter has posted a lot on this recently. And medieval folks definitely bathed. Public baths were available in many cities.
amazing film!!!
That movie sucked.
Brilliant movie. I just wish I had seen it sooner.
I recommend reading the book.
Chris DiBella Please, what is the name of the book?
I’ve seen it and cannot say that it is an enjoyable watch. Frankly I needed Ghibli therapy afterwards.
I needed a shower after watching half of this movie.
I didn’t finish watching it.
Very much a slog of a film to get through. I’m glad I’ve seen it. I’ll probably never watch it again.
It’s absolutely unwatchable, the photography is great, it makes the Safdie bros films look like cuddly classic Disney films.
masterpiece
I bet it’s way better if you are stoned watching this
Crap film, didn’t do the book justice
Excellent movie, but if I haven’t had read the book prior, I doubt I would have understood much of it.
…LONG LIVE THE HOLY INQUISITION AND ITS SPONSORED BARBECUE EVENTS…