How and where did "Station for Two"

More than thirty years ago, Eldar Ryazanov’s lyrical comedy about two lonely people whom fate brought together by chance at a difficult moment in their life came out on the screens. A touching plot and sincere, honest work of the actors turned the picture “Station for Two” into a classic example of good Soviet cinema. Where was the “Station for Two” filmed and how did the work on the film go?

A brief plot of the film

The film “Station for Two” is a story about how, in the most unlucky period of life, one can find support, understanding and even love, moreover, in the person of a person who literally could not stand a few hours ago.

The main character of the picture, musician Platon Ryabinin, lived happily and happily. Until his wife, a famous TV presenter, knocked to death a man in a car. As a respectable spouse, Ryabinin decided to save his beloved from prison and said that he was guilty of the death of the pedestrian.

Plato should be in the city before the trial, but here, as luck would have it, his father was seriously ill. To see a loved one, who, perhaps, will soon die, Ryabinin secretly leaves by train to Griboedov, planning to return unnoticed on time.

Hungry, Plato at one of the stops goes out to dine at the buffet. There, a scandal ensues with the local waitress Verochka. Due to a long showdown, the musician lags behind the train, and then, among other things, loses his passport and wallet. Having literally lost everything, Plato Ryabinin finds a true friend in the person of a lonely waitress Vera Nefedova.

Scripting History

Eldar Ryazanov, in collaboration with Emil Braginsky, wrote many good life scenarios. They even managed to compile them into a separate collection called "Funny, Foul Stories."

This is a feature of all Ryazanov’s creations: he shot comedies in which there was a lot of realism and drama in life, so the viewer laughed at what was happening through tears. The "Ryazanov" heroes in most cases at first hate each other ("Irony of Fate", "Office Romance"), but then they look at each other better and understand that they are very much alike.

The basis of the script for the “Station for Two” tape was the real story. A common acquaintance of Braginsky and Ryazanov, composer Mikael Tariverdiev, entrusted the steering wheel of his new car to a young actress-lover. She hit a pedestrian, and the composer decided to take her blame on himself. In response, Tariverdiev did not even learn thanks: the woman soon turned her back on him. After two years of protracted lawsuits, the composer was finally acquitted.

But Ryazanov and Braginsky continued this “line”, assuming for a second that Tariverdiev was still convicted. Based on these proposed circumstances, two screenwriters developed the plot of the future film with Oleg Basilashvili and Lyudmila Gurchenko in the lead roles.

E. Ryazanov and his work on the film

Eldar Ryazanov, basically, shot comedies. Over the course of his career, the director made a dramatic film only once: in 1988, when he released “Dear Elena Sergeevna”.

The comedic paintings of Ryazanov are endowed with a special charm. The secret of the director’s skill was that he showed life as it was, without too much grotesque. But precisely because everything was as realistic and recognizable as possible, it became ridiculous. Finding something funny and witty in everyday life is a separate talent.

Station for Two also adopted this feature of Ryazanov’s films: a drama seems to be playing out on the screen, but why is it so funny? The director managed to ensure that the actors selected for the main roles abandoned their deliberate roles and appear as they are in everyday life. For example, Lyudmila Gurchenko could portray in the frame of herself a kind of heroine, "the wife of the Decembrist." But she was simple and unobtrusive. Her heroine just humanly wanted personal happiness: what to do if she fell in love with a convict? Oleg Basilashvili also does not act as a selfless noble hero. His act is a logical act of a man who simply loved his wife.

Crew members

Eldar Ryazanov was extremely constant in choosing people for the film crew. For many years he worked with the same specialists.

Emil Braginsky, a famous playwright, has always been an assistant in writing scripts. Braginsky created most of his works precisely with Ryazanov, but he also wrote scripts for other films: for example, “Square 45”, “Mexican”, “Vasily Surikov”, “If You Are Right ...”.

The operator of the picture “Station for Two” was Vadim Alisov. With Ryazanov, he worked on almost all of his tapes. In addition to cooperation with Eldar Aleksandrovich, Alisov also took part in the filming of the Trans-Siberian Express by Eldor Urazbaev, The Scams by Vsevolod Shilovsky and the television series Brezhnev by Sergei Snezhkin.

The music for the lyrical comedy "Station for Two" was written by composer Andrei Petrov. He worked on the musical design for the films Amphibian Man, I Walk In Moscow, and The Bunny.

Where was the “Station for Two” filmed? Field locations

Filming began, so to speak, from the end of the story. Iksha - a strict regime colony for minors - became the first refuge of the film crew. They say that the prisoners didn’t really like that a well-fed actor was “ripping off” among them, but Oleg Basilashvili found a common language with them, though not immediately.

For Lyudmila, the most difficult episode was when, together with Basilashvili, she ran along a snowy road. The actress fell many times, and at the end of the day, all Gurchenko’s knees were bruised and bruised.

Where did they take Station Two for the rest of the episodes? I had to make a screen railway station at once from several really existing stations. In the episode where Plato carries Vera on a trolley, one can see the Vitebsk railway station of Leningrad. But in St. Petersburg it was impossible to shoot a scene with the arrival and departure of trains. This required a dead end railway station - such as the Moscow Riga Station. The restaurant where Verochka worked was found and filmed there.

Part of the scenes was shot at the Moscow railway station in St. Petersburg and at the Losinoostrovskaya station in Moscow. But mostly in the frame flashed the outskirts of Leningrad.

L. M. Gurchenko as Vera Nefyodova

Gurchenko began her acting career in the film “Carnival Night” by Eldar Ryazanov. It was in the 56th year. After the director never collaborated with the young actress, until the 82nd year. Lyudmila Markovna and Eldar Aleksandrovich did not comment on the situation, but the "well-wishers" hastened to explain the long break in cooperation by large differences. However, there might not have been a quarrel - Gurchenko was simply a brilliant actress and far from every role could be assigned to her.

It does not matter where the “Station for Two” was shot, because for the role of Vera Nefedova, the artist was ready to endure any difficult conditions: severe frost, lack of sleep, broken knees. Her efforts paid off with interest: after the picture was watched by Yuri Andropov, Gurchenko was awarded the title of People's Artist.

Apparently, the relationship between the performer and the director was adjusted, since in 2000 Ryazanov found another role for Gurchenko in his project. Then he conceived the shooting of the comedy "Old Nags" about four retirees seeking to defend the truth in the "new" world, where everything is bought and sold. Lyudmila Markovna played the most frivolous and groovy of them - the trade union activist Elizabeth.

O. Basilashvili in the role of Plato Ryabinin

The film “Station for Two” became one of the best in the filmography of Oleg Basilashvili, despite the fact that the artist starred in more than a hundred films.

Oleg Valerianovich appeared in the cinema almost in the same year with Lyudmila Gurchenko. Only his first roles were not so high-profile: "The Bride", "Hot Soul", "Virgin Soil Upturned" - practically no one remembers these films now.

The first more or less noticeable role was played by Basilashvili in N. Mikhalkov’s drama “Slave of Love”. After the image of Talberg in the film “Days of the Turbins” Oleg Valerianovich was noticed by E. Ryazanov and invited Samokhvalov to the two-faced role in the lyrical comedy “Office Romance”. The actor and director worked well together: subsequently, Basilashvili played in Ryazanov’s paintings “Say the Word About the Poor Hussar,” “Station for Two,” and “Promised Heaven.”

Oleg Basilashvili has acted in film a lot today, although in 2014 he celebrated his 80th birthday.

Nikita Mikhalkov as Andrei’s guide

Nikita Mikhalkov in the 80s was already a famous actor and director. As an artist, he starred in the films “I Walk in Moscow”, “The Noble Nest”, “Sibiriada”, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. As a director, he shot 10 films.

Mikhalkov apparently agreed to play an almost episodic role in Station for Two, out of respect for the master. The hero of the actor, the cheeky conductor Andrei, appears in the frame only twice: the first time he leaves Melon for implementation, and the second time he enters into a fight with Plato in a restaurant. A little later, Ryazanov invited Mikhalkov to the role of Paratov in the film adaptation of Ostrovsky's work “Dowry”. More than two directors did not happen to collaborate.

Other role performers

The director invited many more celebrities to his “station” comedy. For example, Nona Mordyukova (“The Diamond Arm”) played “Uncle Misha”, the inimitable Tatyana Dogileva - the impudent attendant at Intourist, and the imposing Alexander Shirvindt - the pianist Shurik. All these characters appeared only in episodes, but had a great influence on the sound atmosphere of the film.

Filming began, so to speak, from the end of the story. Iksha - a strict regime colony for minors - became the first refuge of the film crew. They say that the prisoners didn’t really like the well-fed actor among them, but Oleg Basilashvili found a common language with them, though not immediately. For Lyudmila, the most difficult episode was when, together with Basilashvili, she runs along a snowy road. The actress fell many times, and at the end of the day, all Gurchenko’s knees were bruised and bruised.