The film "Pokrovsky Gate", the actors and roles of which created an unusual atmosphere inside the picture itself, in 2012 celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. How was one of the most beloved Soviet films created and how were actors selected for the project?
The film "Pokrovsky Gate" (1982): plot
Moscow is the city in which the events of the film “Pokrovsky Gates” unfold. Actors and the roles performed by them, paint in front of the viewer everyday life of the communal life of the 50s.
In one communal apartment several funny characters are huddled at once. In one room is a pretty student, Kostya, with his aunt. In the other, entertainer Velor. In the third - a funny trinity, which is worthy of special attention.
Margarita Pavlovna and her ex-husband, the writer Lev Evgenievich, have long been divorced. Margarita is going to get married for the second time, but she has not yet received her own living space with her fiancé. Therefore, for some time, all participants in this triangle are forced to live under the same roof as one family. But the matter is not even in the housing issue - Margarita is just used to protecting her ex-husband in everything and even does not allow her to think that he can cope without her.
In turn, Lev Evgenievich is trying to defend his right to independence, but he does not succeed in this. Margarita sends all his passions in two counts. How this confrontation ends, the viewer tries to guess during the whole film.
Leading actors
“Pokrovsky Gates”, actors and roles in which are endowed with special charm and character, are distinguished by their star cast.
St. Petersburg actor Anatoly Ravikovich, who got the role of Lev Evgenievich, was one hundred percent in the image. His character was so touching in the frame that the viewer evoked sincere sympathy.
Inna Ulyanova in the image of the imperious Margarita became just a decoration of the film. Her indignant phrase "Khobotov, it's shallow!" became an aphorism. And the ingenious monologue addressed to the heroine Koreneva makes the viewer simply roll with laughter.
The role of student Konstantin Romin was played by the young Oleg Menshikov, who will subsequently become an iconic figure for Russian cinema. “Pokrovsky Gate” is a film that allowed this actor to begin a brilliant career. His windy Kostya is almost the only character who takes the side of Lev Evgenievich in the conflict. In the end, it’s Kostik who organizes in the final the caricatured escape of Khobotov with his lover on a motorcycle.
"Pokrovsky Gate": stories, actors
Viktor Bortsov - actor of the Moscow Small Theater - played the role of the former front-line soldier and Margarita's fiancé - Savva Ignatievich. It is noteworthy that Victor himself was not a participant in the hostilities. But Vladimir Pizek, who played in the picture of the front-line comrade Savva, really fought during the Patriotic War.
It is impossible not to note the characteristic image of the couplets Veluurov, who created Leonid Bronevoy. The actor, acting in the film, was already widely known for his films “Investigators Are Conducting Experts”, “Seventeen Moments of Spring” and others.
The role of Alisa Vitalievna - Aunt Kostik - was played by
Sofia Pilyavskaya. In the filmography of Pilyavskaya, in addition to The Intercession of the Gates, there are many noteworthy roles: Countess Vronskaya in Anna Karenina (1967), Raisa Pavlovna in the film We Will Live Until Monday (1968).
The supporting roles in the film were played by Elena Koreneva, Valentina Voilkova, Tatyana Dogileva, Igor Dmitriev and other well-known actors.
Film crew
“Pokrovsky Gates”, the actors and roles in which they ideally grew together, might not have been released at all. The director of the project, Mikhail Kozakov, angered the leadership of Goskino that he refused to shoot in the film "State Border" (1981). Therefore, Kozakova was transparently hinted that his project could be curtailed. Mikhail Kozakov agreed to shoot in Boris Stepanov’s film, and the release of Pokrovsky Gate was no longer hindered.
But the misadventures of the film crew did not end there. Immediately after filming and dubbing the film, Elena Koreneva went abroad and did not return. The creativity of emigrant actors at that time was strict, and the film could simply be banned. But, fortunately, this did not happen.
The picture was shot according to the script of Leonid Zorin. Zorin also wrote a script a year earlier for the movie drama "Transit", as well as for the films "Imperial Hunt" (1990) and "Law" (1989).
Interesting Facts
The film “Pokrovsky Gates”, whose actors and roles were so close to the viewer, was actually based on the play of the same name created by Zorin back in 1974. Mikhail Kozakov was one of the first to stage a play on this play at the Malaya Bronnaya Theater. Then he got the idea to transfer this funny tragicomic story to television screens - so work began on the script for the film.
The emigration of actress Koreneva nevertheless affected the fate of Pokrovsky Gates: after broadcasting the picture in 1983 on central television, the film lay on the shelf for another three years until it was again shown to the viewer.
There are several historical errors in the film - all of them are related to transport. Trolleybuses and car numbers of samples of a later time flicker in the frame than the one in which the action unfolds.
Discrepancies with the play
The unity of time and place of action is a prerequisite for creating a play, since during its entire show the situation can be changed on average only two or three times. Cinema, in this regard, is not constrained by the possibilities, which is why Pokrovsky Gates is a film that in many respects does not resemble the original source, that is. a play.
There are differences not only in the environment in which events unfold, but also in the images. For example, a bright feature of Savva Ignatievich in the picture was his habit of using German words and expressions in speech. Student Kostik, in turn, sprinkles French phrases. But in the play of Zorin, both characters speak like ordinary people and do not use foreign words.
The Pokrovsky Gate, the actors and the roles played by them, have been responding to the hearts of the audience for 30 years now, because it’s easy to recognize yourself in each of the characters. The film is part of the golden collection of Soviet cinema and, most likely, will never disappear from the screens precisely due to the life truth inherent in the picture.