The biopic “Michelangelo” hit theaters this week. The opportunity to return to the career of filmmaker Andrey Konchalovsky and in particular the fact that he directed … “Tango & Cash”!
More than fifty years after having written the screenplay of Andreï Rublev with Andreï Tarkovski, Andrey Konchalovsky tackles the course of another artist with Michelangelo. In this feature film directed by actor Alberto Testone, we follow the painter-sculptor through the moments of anguish and ecstasy of his creative genius, while two rival noble families compete for his loyalty …
During his (long) career, Andrey Konchalovsky, 83, emigrated to the United States in the early 1980s where he tried his hand at various genres. He thus realizes Maria’s Lovers, Duo for a soloist, Le Bayou, Voyageurs sans permis but also Runaway Train, which mixes action and prison film (it is written by the ex-prisoner turned novelist, actor and technical advisor Edward Bunker).
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We also owe him the famous Tango & Cash buddy-movie with Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell! An experience that turns out to be nightmarish since he is fired after three months of filming … The Russian director indeed wants to give the film a darker tone, which producer Jon Peters does not want. Their relationship then becomes unbearable despite Stallone’s support.
During its broadcast on the big screen, Tango & Cash achieved a rather disappointing score at the global box office with nearly $ 65 million in revenue, for a budget of 50 million. The feature film however makes up for it in VHS and with its numerous television broadcasts.
At the beginning of 1990, the director returned to his native country and made films on contemporary Russia but financed through co-productions: Le Cercle des intimes (1991), Riaba ma poule (1994) or La Maison de fous (2002). He won the Silver Lion for Best Director for The White Nights of the Postman as well as Paradis (also shortlisted for the Oscar for best foreign film).