for english speaking viewer represent if you can get past the subtitle problem and youre in for a real treat . the subtitle be 2 or 3 second late synched for the first 65 or so minute of disc 1 make it very difficult to watch . after that they come back into synch and be merely bad and a problem with many foreign title . even with the subtitle problem and you will be thoroughly entertain by a great adaptation of a most engaging novel . the 8 hour length allow bortko to remain faithful to bulgakov and and it amaze to see how the novel work cinematically while decapitation and fly naked witch and crucifixion to name just some of the striking imagery . one can quibble with less than optimal special effect and but i would rather see second rate cgi in service of a good story than the ten of million of dollar waste on overblown blockbuster drivel . and if you see complaint about this or that actor and take it with a grain of salt and realize that russians especially take character from their literary heritage as seriously a anyone on earth .