The genre of satirical comedy is rarely found in Russian cinematography. The beginning in the new Russian cinema was laid by "The Comedy of High Security", whose actors turned the picture into a real masterpiece. Filmed in 1991 based on short stories from the “Zone” cycle by emigre writer Sergei Dovlatov and “Presentation” F.M. Dostoevsky's comedy-grotesque actually closed the domestic Leninian (the magnificent work of Viktor Sukhorukov) and drew a line under the Bolshevik past. With which the Marxist country said goodbye, laughing ...
Directors and screenwriters
The film was the debut of two talented St. Petersburg filmmakers - Vladimir Studennikov and Mikhail Grigoriev (students of Yu. Mamin). They acted as screenwriters and directors. Today they are often reproached for not mentioning Dovlatov in the credits, from whom the storyline was borrowed. We should not forget that the film was released in 1992, but was shot a year earlier. The use of the name of the disgraced writer could affect the further fate of the picture. In addition, Dovlatov, who served in the ITK system, describes an extremely gloomy and harsh picture of life in custody, here it is shown with amazing humor and irony.
Stunning dialogues and cues to the grudge of the day permeate the film "High Security Comedy." The actors and roles coincided so much that the viewer feels like prisoners and guards are not professional actors, but real people from life. This manifested the directorial talent of Studennikov and Grigoriev, who selected Petersburg actors whose faces did not become familiar on television screens. For many, this was the beginning of a professional career.
Plot plot
The basis of the picture is a serious problem: how to celebrate the centenary of the leader of the world proletariat in the colony, whose anniversary excited the whole country. Today, young people are unlikely to answer the question of who Sverdlov, Martov, Dzerzhinsky are. And they know about Lenin only in the context of the fact that his body was never interred. And in early 1970, monuments to the revolutionaries adorned the main squares of cities, and all life was riddled with quotes by the great Ilyich. An ingenious sketch of the painting of that time is the slogan where he himself signed the statement about Lenin.
Dreaming about the shoulder straps of a major, the colony’s political officer (Ivan Krivoruchko) is looking for a graduate of the theater institute among the guards. It does not matter to him that he graduated from that Faculty of Economics, most importantly, from a theater university. So the idea is born to curry favor with the general, the chief head of the ITU system, staging a real revolutionary performance by prisoners. The situation is quite comic when actors were selected for portraying famous revolutionaries on the principle of external similarity and the article of the conclusion: “Rape will not work.”
With the implementation of the idea of a political leader, the picture “The High Security Comedy” begins. The roles are distributed in such a way that the zonov's godfather is in the same team with a tamed prisoner named Pleshak. One should play Dzerzhinsky (V. Solovyov), and the second - Lenin (V. Sukhorukov).
the main role
Kissed by God People's Artist of the Russian Federation Viktor Sukhorukov - a unique actor. There was a period in his life when he splashed out his talent, abandoning the Leningrad Comedy Theater and sinking to the very bottom of his life: he drank and wandered. And then there was a happy meeting with Yuri Mamin, who shot him in the comedy "Whiskers". At the age of forty, a new life began for him - climbing the peak of an outstanding professional career (from Victor Bagrov to Paul I). The beginning of this recognition was the "High Security Comedy", whose actors immediately became famous. For the role of the prisoner Zuev (Pleshak) Sukhorukov received awards at two festivals - in Honfleur (France) and "Constellation-92".
The transformation from a tattered prisoner, washing the entire hut at the bucket, into an indisputable authority, who stood at the helm of the zonal hierarchy, as if repeating his own fate. His hero is so accustomed to the image of the leader that the storekeeper Zoya (N. Zharikova) does not dare to refuse intimacy and does not consider it a betrayal: "Slavik, he is the leader!" Kitchen attendants are being built “quietly” under his command, instantly responding to criticism: “But the soup is a bit liquid.” And now Zuev is writing off a fat chicken leg prepared for him by special order.
Today V. Sukhorukov starred infrequently, believing that the main events take place on the stage. He is busy in the performances of three theaters at once, not rushing to clutch at the passing roles in the cinema. He holds his high standard of excellence, and his participation in any film is a convincing proof of the quality of the picture.
“High Security Comedy”: actors and roles of prisoners
A more complex acting task faced those who needed to get used to the images of prisoners who became participants in the play. They needed not only to reveal the character of the heroes, but also to show their creative growth on stage, transforming into revolutionaries, whose roles were to play. Victor Solovyov (godfather, Dzerzhinsky) has an extensive filmography - more than 80 paintings. The day before, he played the main roles in two serious films, but his characteristic appearance was more often exploited by the directors of the series to portray fascists, bandits and officers. This comedy can be considered the creative success of the actor, who created a vivid and memorable image.
The debut was “The High Security Comedy”, the actors of which received an excellent school for Stanislav Kontsevich (Livshits, Sverdlov), Lev Kubarev (Gorshkov, Vasilyev), Yuri Vyushin (Sverchkov, sailor). Their fate was different in the future. Kontsevich became an outstanding master of dubbing, whose voice was spoken by Harrison Ford, Nicholas Cage and Jack Nicholson. Theater actor Kubarev passed away from a serious illness a few years later, and Vyushin continues to serve at the Baltic House Theater, delighting his fans. Today Menshevik Martov, who played Yevgeny Merkuryev, is the most titled actor (People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation). The native nephew of the great Vasily Merkuryev, he tragically died in 2007, leaving behind a solid filmography.
Officials
The actors of the movie "High Security Comedy", who played ITU employees and the general with cavalry slang, seemed to be born in their posts. Vladimir Kalish (general), who passed away in 2003, is little known to the general public. His best cinematic successes are associated with the director Yuri Mamin. It was he who revealed the talent of a theater actor on the screen, which was clearly manifested in the film of his students. Ivan Krivoruchko (deputy politician) played on the stage of the Pskov Drama Theater, today he is a people's artist of the Russian Federation. Since 2000, she has been performing on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater. Gorky. Was a theater actor and Viktor Mikhailov, who played the head of the colony. Until his death in 1994, he performed on the stage of the theater. Pushkin. A vivid image of Private Vasiliev, who studied at the theater, was created by Konstantin Demidov, an actor of the theater named after Komissarzhevskaya.
The only female role of the storekeeper Zoe was played by Nadezhda Zharikova, who also rarely appears on the screens. This image is the real success of the actress. Many critics believe that it was the outstanding play of the actors that turned the film into a real masterpiece. Having a great theater school, they managed not to bring a touch of vulgarity to the topical comedy.
Plot development
The prisoners agreed to take part in the farce under pressure, immediately deciding to use the rehearsals of the play to organize an escape. But soon they became so close to their new images that the main argument in the debate was the merits and positions of the depicted revolutionaries: “And I am the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars!” The central phrase, revealing the main meaning of the film, was a cheer during the performance of one of the bosses: "But the dregs of society." And the viewer can only guess who these words are addressed to: the actors or their characters. A successful escape of the prisoners ends with “The High Security Comedy”. The actors managed to play like that, which also causes a smile. You can break through the wall with your head, only to be in the next chamber. The film is worth it to watch, because laughter is the best way to say goodbye to the old era.