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Post by Aj_June on Jul 26, 2018 13:28:09 GMT
I wonder if we have any fans of Leonid Iovich Gaidai (1923–1993) on our classic cinema board? He was a famous Soviet director who made some remarkably good comedy movies in his illustrious career. He was immensely popular in Soviet Union and made some of the biggest superhit films in his time. I have seen 4 of his movies and quite frankly all of them are awesome. While some people may say that his films are dated I personally do not see films with expectations that it would stand on today's standards. A great movie is but a great movie. Kidnapping, Caucasian Style has an IMDB rating of 8.4 but it is not in top 250 because very few people have exposure to Soviet movies and so very few people have voted for it. Another reason why Leonid's movies are not as famous in west as they deserve to be may lie in the fact that his movies have a lot of Russian inside jokes. But at end of the day Leonid's movies are simply good and you can enjoy them even without understating all the inside jokes.
Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1967) is a film based on an old tradition of Northern Caucasus in which people would kidnap the brides they wished to marry. Don't worry you would not be subjected to something as barbaric as that actually successfully happening in the movie. The plot is as stupid as it gets. A simple naive man called Shurik travels in remote Soviet Villages to learn their folk traditions. Somehow he ends up aiding a local gang in their efforts to kidnap a local beauty so that a rich official of the council could marry her. Once Shurik realises what he has done he sets on quest to get her back. I should make a special mention of incredibly cute Natalya Varley who plays the heroine. She is the same person who played the witch in the famous horror VIY (1967). But just like in VIY you can hardly take your eyes off her. The movie utilises slapstick comedy with sequences of mistaken identity and non-stop funny gags to keep you engaged. I heartily recommend it if you are an old soul like me. You would surely love it.
8/10
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jul 26, 2018 21:11:04 GMT
Thanks Aj_June a Wonderful film ! I also absolutely love , 12 stulev ,The Twelve Chairs and Brilliantovaya ruka , The Diamond Arm (1969) .. The style the rhythm of Leonid Gaidai's comedies are a delight he gives a tremendous insight into Soviet culture and lifestyle of the times and universally the characters share all the nuances the eccentricities of our human nature
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Post by Aj_June on Jul 27, 2018 5:38:37 GMT
Thanks Aj_June a Wonderful film ! I also absolutely love , 12 stulev , The Twelve Chairs and Brilliantovaya ruka , The Diamond Arm (1969) .. The style the rhythm of Leonid Gaidai's comedies are a delight he gives a tremendous insight into Soviet culture and lifestyle of the times and universally the characters share all the nuances the eccentricities of our human nature Glad to hear you also love his movies, Planet. I have yet to see The Twelve Chairs but I have heard a lot of praise. Another movie of Gaidai that I would I highly recommend is Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973) which will guaranteed make you laugh from start to finish.
You made a very correct assessment which I didn't think about when I initially watched the film but which was in my subconscious mind - The fact that Gayday's filmmaking style gives a great insight into Soviet culture. Soviet culture was a lot more than Russian urban culture. While movies such as The Ballad of a Soldier (1957), The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Eisentien's films all give great insights into Russian culture they do not depict Soviet culture on the whole. Gaidai's movies such as the one I listed in my OP usually depict life of common people in rural villages of different parts of Russia. Another one who was great at making us aware of Soviet culture was Parajanov. One of his movies paid great attention to detail on old traditions and rituals of Ukraine. While North Caucasus region of Russia comes under European Russia their culture is not vastly different from that which is prevalent in Central Asian Steppe. So it's the little things about life in general that Gaidai's films depict that make them so special and almost educational.
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Post by teleadm on Jul 27, 2018 15:29:16 GMT
Mentioning of The Twelve Chairs made me wonder if that could be one of those movies I've once seen, and many many years later tries to remember but can't find any traces of. Obviously I've been looking at the wrong places, I know that now, because it is the version that I had seen once at special screening in the early 1980s. And now one of those mysteries has been solved, Thank You! 12 стульев 1971, I remember it as a good movie, but way too long.  |
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Post by Aj_June on Jul 27, 2018 15:42:05 GMT
Mentioning of The Twelve Chairs made me wonder if that could be one of those movies I've once seen, and many many years later tries to remember but can't find any traces of. Obviously I've been looking at the wrong places, I know that now, because it is the version that I had seen once at special screening in the early 1980s. And now one of those mysteries has been solved, Thank You! 12 стульев 1971, I remember it as a good movie, but way too long. You are welcome, Teleadm.  Sometimes when we can't remember a movie we have seen then it feels a bit troublesome. Glad that you found out.
I may see The Twelve Chairs in the near future. I do prefer shorter movies. Don't know why but longer movies usually turn me off. But sometimes if a movie is interesting all the way I can watch longer movies.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 1, 2018 20:39:54 GMT
Thanks Aj_June a Wonderful film ! You made a very correct assessment which I didn't think about when I initially watched the film but which was in my subconscious mind - The fact that Gayday's filmmaking style gives a great insight into Soviet culture. Soviet culture was a lot more than Russian urban culture. While movies such as The Ballad of a Soldier (1957), The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Eisentien's films all give great insights into Russian culture they do not depict Soviet culture on the whole. Gaidai's movies such as the one I listed in my OP usually depict life of common people in rural villages of different parts of Russia. Another one who was great at making us aware of Soviet culture was Parajanov. One of his movies paid great attention to detail on old traditions and rituals of Ukraine. While North Caucasus region of Russia comes under European Russia their culture is not vastly different from that which is prevalent in Central Asian Steppe. So it's the little things about life in general that Gaidai's films depict that make them so special and almost educational.
Hi there Aj_June , Another director and screenwriter whose outstanding comedies, satirized the daily life of the Soviet Union was Eldar Ryazanov His brilliant and prolific career began with an outstanding first feature set in the new era following the death of Stalin in 1953 Carnival Night (1956) . Some excellent films from the late 70s The Garage (1979) Railway Station For Two (1982) Office Romance (1977) .. Ryazanov perfected and mastered a genre he called “sad comedy,” exposing the absurdities of party officials and ordinary citizens alike,. He was a genius of incisive drama and excelled in every comedic shade, “from lyric to satiric, from slapstick to tragicomic fantasy.” the films of Eldar Ryazanov give a wonderful social insight of the times. Superbly crafted, universally appealing , highly recommended . |
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Post by Aj_June on Feb 5, 2019 16:55:28 GMT
manfromplanetx Hi Planet! Hope you are doing well. If you remember I had told you in my last post that I was not able to see the movies you had recommended because of the certain difficult time that I was facing. Well, I finally managed to see one of the movies you recommended and it happens to be the first picture I have seen in the last 4 months. From your above post, I decided it was worth trying out one of the movies of Eldar Ryazanov. I had seen you mention Office Romance (1977) in another thread too so I went ahead with that. All I can say is that wow! What a simple but beautiful movie that catches the lives of ordinary and less glamorous people. Really, the first thing I noticed in the movie was the office atmosphere which was full of noise and almost felt like a fish market. I bet you this is not very off from how you would expect offices to be to in any country where there is more than average corruption and where the economy is stagnant. That was precisely the case of the Soviet Union in the 70s and 80s. However, it was the depiction of love, hope, and kindness in the characters that made this movie so special. The character development of the two central characters was so realistic and really kept you engrossed in the movie even if it was a reasonably long film. Hilarious attempts of Anatoli to flirt with his boss had some great comic moments even though we might not have caught all the Soviet inside Jokes. The direction of Eldar Ryazanov was simply fantastic, especially with those sudden shits to the depiction of Moscow streets and the short songs that were well picturised. All in all, it's an extremely touching movie and I do recommend it to everyone. Thanks a lot for recommending me this movie, Planet! Now that I have started seeing movies again I am definitely on the lookout for those Japanese films you have suggested.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Feb 7, 2019 20:51:37 GMT
manfromplanetx Hi Planet! Hope you are doing well. If you remember I had told you in my last post that I was not able to see the movies you had recommended because of the certain difficult time that I was facing. Well, I finally managed to see one of the movies you recommended and it happens to be the first picture I have seen in the last 4 months. From your above post, I decided it was worth trying out one of the movies of Eldar Ryazanov. I had seen you mention Office Romance (1977) in another thread too so I went ahead with that. All I can say is that wow! What a simple but beautiful movie t Great to hear from you Aj_June Thanks for sharing your insightful thoughts on Office Romance (1977) the richly textured films of Eldar Ryazanov are an absolute delight, a wonderful re-start to your classic cinema watching, Happy Viewing to you... |
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Sometimes when we can't remember a movie we have seen then it feels a bit troublesome. Glad that you found out.