The Degraded

Background

This film was Sokurov's first feature at Lenfilm. It was roughly based on a short story by the contemporary Soviet writer, Grigoriy Baklanov. Baklanov asked that his name be removed from the credits because the only motif that was adopted from Baklanov's work was the scene of the transitional period from power to subordinance. The amateur Ilya Rivin played the main character and appeared in three further movies by Sokurov.

Miscellanea

Sokurov's first film, The Lonely Voice of Man appears in The Degraded when the protagonist is in a movie theater; the Soviet authorities had yet to acknowledge the existence of Sokurov's earlier film.