Comedies of the USSR are films that have been popular for several decades. For example, Grigory Alexandrov’s film “Funny Guys” will celebrate his eightieth birthday in 2014, and Leonid Gaidai’s films “Operation Y” and “Prisoner of the Caucasus” will also be half a century soon. What determines such popularity of these, no doubt, works of art?
Comedies of the USSR are distinguished by an exceptional selection of actors. The best of the best got on the screen in the Soviet period, and they went into this sphere really for the sake of art, because in those days, the artists did not have any outstanding fees or preferences. In addition, people with a difficult fate played funny roles. For example, Alexey Smirnov, who played the partner Shurik, a drunkard and parasite, was a military intelligence officer, awarded the medals "For Military Merit" and "For Courage". And the embodiment of comedic talents, Yuri Nikulin - anti-aircraft gunner, who fought near Leningrad and in the Baltic.
The best comedies of the USSR were created without the use of computer graphics. Therefore, the plot of the film was set against the backdrop of magnificent landscapes. For example, most of the comedy "Twelve Chairs" was shot in the city of Rybinsk. Scenery was assembled by hand, special effects were invented by ourselves, but they themselves found ways to implement them from improvised materials. The constant application of the creative powers of many people created a special atmosphere of the tape, which is often absent now on the set.
The late comedies of the USSR, which were already being created in difficult economic conditions, did not lose their charm even over the years. For example, the film by G. Danelia “Kin-dza-dza” with its theme of “squats” in front of a certain color of pants is still relevant. More recently, a concert was even organized in which variations on the theme of music for this comedy were performed. And the film “Deja Vu”, shot together with the Poles, very interestingly reflected the peculiarities of the Soviet reality of the post-revolutionary period.
Comedies of the USSR still do not have strong competitors. Of the films created in Russia, a series of films “Features of the National (Hunting, Fishing, Politics)”, created in the mid-90s, can compete with them to some extent in terms of color. The rest of the film library is often tracing paper from Western films.
Old comedies of the USSR are not stingy with musical accompaniment. The best composers, singers, instrumental ensembles and symphony orchestras were invited to create a worthy sound frame for the plot. For example, the creative duet of Leonid Derbenev and Maxim Dunaevsky created the songs for the film “Ah, vaudeville”. For the film “The Straw Hat”, Bulat Okudzhava wrote the texts. For the film “Trufaldino from Bergamo”, the songs were voiced by Mikhail Boyarsky.
The combination of all the above qualities in our time makes us want to watch a particular film for the twentieth or thirtieth time. At the same time, current Russian films leave much to be desired in terms of plots, actors' games, although the modern film industry has a much larger set of technical means.