Creators:
Craig MazinDirected by:
Johan RenckScreenplay:
Craig MazinCinematography:
Jakob IhreComposer:
Hildur GuðnadóttirCast:
Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson, Jessie Buckley, Paul Ritter, Adam Nagaitis, Robert Emms, Sam Troughton, Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins (more)VOD (4)
Episodes(5)
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1:23:45 (E01)
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Please Remain Calm (E02)
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Open Wide, O Earth (E03)
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The Happiness of All Mankind (E04)
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Vichnaya Pamyat (E05)
Plots(1)
Chernobyl, a five-part miniseries co-production from HBO and Sky, dramatizes the story of the 1986 nuclear accident, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history – and of the sacrifices made to save Europe from unimaginable disaster. On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and as far as Scandinavia and western Europe. Jared Harris portrays Valery Legasov, a leading Soviet nuclear physicist. As part of the response team, he was one of the first to grasp the scope of the unparalleled disaster that occurred. Stellan Skarsgård plays Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina, who is assigned by the Kremlin to lead the government commission on Chernobyl in the hours immediately following the accident. Emily Watson portrays Ulana Khomyuk, a Soviet nuclear physicist committed to solving the mystery of what led to the Chernobyl disaster. (HBO Europe)
(more)Videos (9)
Reviews (16)
This is an event. The initial puzzlement has a quick half-life, as those disembodied moments eventually stand out more than the tangible pressure. It’s a screenwriting university on how to handle the "based on a true story" license while staying in observation mode. It’s a perfect study of human arrogance, lack of humility, and unwillingness to face the truth. A live broadcast of lies that has been coming to us for over thirty years. With all due respect to all the criticisms, the hype is well deserved.
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Human memory is set up in such a way that the major events around us are similar for most people; we remember exactly what we were doing that day. I have that with 11 September, 2001, and with Chernobyl. The day it went up, we had beautiful, cloudless, sunny weather and half the town was catching rays by the dam, myself included. A light rain fell in the evening, although according to the forecast it was not supposed to rain. And I believe that it’s not just my imagination, because it’s said by more witnesses, but the next weeks the milk tasted differently, probably the comrades put iodine in it or something. The comrades covered up and covered up, and then when it blew up, what I found terribly funny was that the first mention of the catastrophe was only on the third or fourth page of the newspaper, a little footnote. And about the series: excellent stuff, no-nonsense, heading straight for the chamber, without carrying any unnecessary plot ballast. That’s how it should be.
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Chernobyl is not a series, but rather a gripping five-hour film that pays tribute to everyone involved in preventing a potentially even bigger environmental disaster than the one that actually occurred. It fantastically examines the various stages after the explosion, enabling us to experience the human tragedy and the national disaster from multiple perspectives (from firefighters to President Gorbachev). The shooting of contaminated dogs. Miners and their leaders helping out. The gradually emerging understanding and respect between the main male characters (the scientist played by Harris and Skarsgård’s politician). Decomposing bodies of irradiated people in hospitals. The casting and acting of the KGB chief and his appalling attitude… This film contains so many strong story elements that it is practically unbelievable. It is also a chillingly accurate reflection of the shoddy, dishonest and unscrupulous political system on which the Soviet Union built its “glory”, only to later rot away from the inside.
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Once again, HBO gave us their absolute best and introduced the viewers to an elaborate adaptation of the most significant nuclear catastrophe to ever happen on Earth. And even though they didn’t cover everything they could have in 5 episodes, they covered everything they needed so they could sell the idea and pass something on at the same time – the repulsiveness of the Soviet regime but also the proof that humanity and heroism exist everywhere. The first two episodes were probably the most important for me, the creators shocked me with the exteriors, which gave me the impression that the crew actually left for Pripyat and filmed theseries about the catastrophe there. The finale is very crucial as well; it shows what the Soviet regime was capable of doing to not only ordinary people but also intellectuals. After all of that, I am not at all surprised that Gorbachev said in the 1990s that Chernobyl was the fatal consequence of the fall of the Soviet Union. What they did there only underscores the whole effect of communism in Russia of the period, where the local “elite” thought they could do whatever they wanted and God in turn showed them that it wasn’t entirely true. Thankfully this didn’t mean the demise of all of us, it was “only” a warning concerning what we are doing wrong in the world. The fact that we are unable to learn our lessonis another matter. However, this is one of the reasons why the series is so important, which is why it is good to see, perceive, and experience it until the very end. The absolute best of this year’s series and in terms of the HBO production, it is the best that could have been created. Precise, accurate, and apt.
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This captivating dramatization of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the de facto fall of the USSR is built primarily on precise acting performances, stark realism and on the logic of its appealing delivery. With any luck, the infallible Jared Harris is on his way to winning an award. The final summary of the events leading up to the explosion is flawless in its delivery. Excellent editing, a compelling visual style and superb work with the sound of dosimeters in important scenes build up maximum suspense. Even though Putin has his complaints, the series Chernobyl tries not to cut too deep into the Soviets and, on a political level, the focus is rather on deflection and half-truths in general. The creators were fair in this respect. The KGB easily could have been the CIA if of the meltdown had been in the US; it's highly probable that everyone would have acted the same way. People are people regardless of any affiliation with a political party and almost everyone wants a promotion. In both the state and corporate machinery, the results are the most important thing and security is just a word to people who are unable to comprehend it, and yet they try to climb to the top of the food chain. So the exceptional heroism doesn’t represent a fight against ideology, but against incompetent people with dangerous powers. Of course, it also answers the question of why it all happened, and the answer isn’t surprising at all. They cost less.
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