Boris Godounov is a 1989 musical drama film written and directed by Andrzej Żuławski, based on the opera of the same name by Modest Mussorgsky and the 1825 play of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.

Boris agrees though he knows that the crown is stained with the blood of Czarevitch Dimitri, the rightful heir to the throne, murdered earlier at Godunov's secret order.

Of the original performers, only Ruggero Raimondi, Kenneth Riegel and Romuald Tesarowicz reprised their roles on screen, while the rest of singers was replaced by non-singing actors.

[4] Zulawski used only less than two hours of the three and a half recorded by Rostropovich, changed the sequence of some scenes and filled the picture with deliberate anachronistic references to the Soviet totalitarian regime.

Variety wrote "as tumultuous as Mussorgsky's great opera is, Zulawski's galloping camera and manic actors more often compete rather than support or illustrate the music and epic drama.

"[7] Philippe Royer of Positif wrote "the mise-en-scène, constantly intelligent, gives a privilege to the spectacular nature of the story; it regains the beauty of the opera through the poignant and colorful images.