The film "Cruel Romance" was enthusiastically received by the audience and received honorary awards and prizes. Whose creation is this? Who starred in the movie? Where was filming "Cruel Romance"? And many other questions arise from true connoisseurs of art.
The picture was another creation of Eldar Ryazanov, only this time the comedian decided to move away from his traditional role and remove something more serious. The film at the same time received negative reviews from some critics, especially from experienced writers and experts on the original text of Ostrovsky's play. They argued that the film “Cruel Romance” is a vulgarized and simplified version or adaptation of Ostrovsky’s play, and that Ryazanov did not correctly convey the atmosphere and the idea itself, which is in the original work.
As you can see, opinions on this film were different. Therefore, a reasonable question arises: “Cruel romance” - is this the next movie masterpiece of a great director or is it a failure and an illiterate film adaptation?
In this article we’ll talk more about where we filmed The Cruel Romance. And also consider some interesting facts related to the picture.
Plot
I wonder where the film "Cruel Romance" was shot? Indeed, in the picture there are city landscapes and motor ships ...
The plot of this picture is based on Ostrovsky’s play “Dowry”, as mentioned earlier. The focus is on the desperate attempts of the widow of Harita Ogudalova to find worthy suitors for her three daughters. This is not easy to do, because they have no dowry at all, and few would agree to marry poor girls. But, fortunately, the two oldest daughters are already more or less attached, it remains only to find a decent party for the youngest - Larisa. The girl has no shortage of cavaliers, but there are no people who could make up a profitable party for a dowry. One worthy contender is Sergei Paratov, who is a hereditary nobleman and has great property. It is evident that he is not indifferent to Larisa, but suddenly disappears, without even saying goodbye.
Then Larisa agrees to marry the first who asks for her hand. Such a person is petty and self-serving Yuli Karandyshev. Preparations for the wedding begin, but Paratov returns here again.
The film consists of two series. The first shows the background of all these events, and the second one culmination day, which will summarize. Where was filming "Cruel Romance"? Before answering this question, let's find out the history of this film.
The story of the film
Ryazanov himself has repeatedly said that this film was unlike all that he had previously shot. His role is lyrical comedies, such as The Irony of Fate or Office Romance, but here is completely different. The thing was this: “When I finished work on the film“ Station for Two, ”I did not know what to do next. At that time, the play “Dear Elena Sergeyevna” fell into my hands and I realized that this would be material for my new film. However, then Brezhnev died, and no one could predict what Andropov’s rule would be. Therefore, censorship did not miss this frank and bold scenario. My wife advised me to study the play of Ostrovsky, which I read once as a child, but did not really remember anything. But when I read The Bride again, I realized that I would shoot. ” These are words from an interview with Eldar Ryazanov, which he gave shortly after the premiere of the picture.
Where is the film "Cruel Romance" made? How did the shooting go? Who are the stars? All this will be discussed later.
Start filming
When and where was filming The Cruel Romance? The process began in 1983. The city where the film "Cruel Romance" was shot is Kostroma. Real historical places fell into the frame: ancient streets, ancient buildings. In addition, the locations were two old wheeled steamers, which made a small stop in the city. It was these two ships (Spartak and Dostoevsky) that turned into the Swallow, as well as St. Olga.
The city where they filmed The Cruel Romance took these steamboats for only a few days, so they had to finish the material already during the scheduled voyage. At the same time, passengers were asked to leave part of the deck of the ship so that the film crew could work fruitfully.
When and where they shot The Cruel Romance, we already know. Now let's talk about the actors of the film.
Larisa Guzeeva about her role
She said: “I do not think that I got my role due to luck or luck. If at that time I worked as a waitress in a cafe, where Ryazanov accidentally went in, saw me and realized that this was fate, and that I needed to play in his film, then yes. But I went through the most difficult screenings and was able to get my part. ”
For a young aspiring actress, and Guzeeva at the time of filming was only 23 years old, getting a major role in the film of such a famous director was a good sign. It must be borne in mind that before this, in addition to the episodic appearance in the frame in the series “The meeting place cannot be changed”, Guzeeva had no experience in the acting field.
Although it is worth noting that the actress looked good and quite convincing in her role. And yet, some criticized her game, or rather, not Guzeeva’s game itself, but the fact that against the background of such “luminaries” as Freindlich and Mikhalkov, she looked helpless. She simply could not make a greater impression than these two popular and well-known actors at that time.
Be that as it may, Guzeeva got the role, and this was a good start for her.
The actress later admitted that she had nothing to do with her heroine, since she then hippy, smoked Belomor, came to the casting in ripped jeans and with nails decorated in all kinds of colors. “But then, when they washed and combed me, I began to look more like the main character of the future“ Cruel Romance, ”the actress recalls.
Interesting Facts
We already wrote how and where we shot the film “Cruel Romance”, but it is worth noting some interesting facts. The process took place in a somewhat unusual format. Part of the material had to be shot right during the planned flight, which means that everything happened in front of the public, future spectators.
Ryazanov immediately after reading “Dowry” realized that he would shoot, and decided to enlist the consent of two actors whom he had read for his new picture. It was Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Myagkov, who agreed in advance.
For Larisa Guzeeva, this role was her debut in big cinema. The city where the film "Cruel Romance" was shot, became the original homeland of her acting career. It is worth noting that, two years earlier, with the light filing of Ryazanov, two other debutants suddenly became celebrities. This is Lyudmila Gurchenko and Larisa Golubkina.
Filming accident
The city where the movie “Cruel Romance” was filmed witnessed an accident. The incident occurred with Andrei Myagkov. His character - Julius Karandyshev - caught up with the ship on which Larisa sailed him. The actor rowed in a boat and swam with his back to the ship, but did not calculate a bit. One of the ship’s blades strikes the bow of his boat, and this leads to the boat turning over and the actor falling into the abyss. None of the crew managed to do anything. Fortunately, the actor himself surfaced.
Andrei Myagkov then recalls this episode: “I immediately thought how ridiculous such a death would be. After all, the crew will be blamed for everything, and in particular Ryazanov. But I didn’t want that. “I immediately remembered my wife, a house in Moscow, and I felt surprisingly calm.”
It is good that this incident exhausted itself so quickly.
Where did the name come from?
Eldar Ryazanov says that he always had a weakness for romance, so the name of the painting immediately crossed his mind: “I re-read my favorite poets - these are Tsvetaeva and Akhmadullina, and found what I needed. But then I had to finish the romance, and then Kipling’s Shaggy Bumblebee came in handy. ”
Perhaps criticism of the film is a kind of legacy?
After the release of "Cruel Romance" was criticized, often unreasonable and undeserved. But then it became clear that not one of the film adaptations or productions of Ostrovsky’s play “Dowry” was favorably received by the public. The 1936 film, which was staged by Yakov Protazanov, was subjected to the same harsh criticism.
Therefore, you should not look only at critical and caustic remarks, but you must evaluate this film yourself and appreciate the atmosphere.