"Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath": How the popularly beloved New Year's story was filmed

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the 70s of the last century, an insignificant incident occurred in Moscow. One Soviet citizen, shortly before the new year, went to the bathhouse, and then with a broom in his portfolio, he dropped in to visit friends who were celebrating their wedding anniversary. His comrades had an unhealthy sense of humor, and they sent the drunken bath lover by train to Kiev with his broom, briefcase and 15 kopecks in his pocket. This incident would have remained unnoticed if the returning citizen had not told his friends about this joke - Eldar Ryazanov and Emil Braginsky. The poor fellow did not know that as a result he would become the prototype for a truly cult film.

In 1969, Eldar Ryazanov and Emil Braginsky wrote the play “Enjoy Your Bath! or Once on New Year's Eve … . She went on stages throughout the Soviet Union with great success for several years. A little later, Eldar Ryazanov decided to put this story on film, and the creation of a film began, which, without exaggeration, can be called a cult for our country.

The most famous actors began to audition for the roles of the main characters. Zhenya Lukashina, for example, could be played by Andrei Mironov, he dreamed of this role and was incredibly successful in screen tests. However, the director decided that from his lips the phrases that the main character is not popular with women would sound unconvincing. According to Ryazanov, no one would have believed this. As a result, Mironov was offered the role of Ippolit, but he refused.

Other candidates for the role of the unlucky hero were the handsome Peter Velyaminov and Stanislav Lyubshin. In the end, Oleg Dal was almost approved, but on the set he seemed very "tough" to Ryazanov.

The search has reached a dead end. It turned out that finding an actor - not too handsome, but incredibly charming, gentle and courageous at the same time is very difficult. Because of this, even for a while, the shooting that had already begun was stalled, and it seemed that the fate of the entire film was in question. However, at this dramatic moment, it was a fluke. Ryazanava's assistant Natalya Koreneva brought Andrey Myagkov to the audition. By that time, the young actor had managed to star in several films, but he had not yet achieved great fame and major roles. From the very first shot, the director realized that he had found his Lukashin.

There were even more problems with the main character. The list of candidates was headed by Lyudmila Gurchenko herself. Also auditioned for the role of Svetlana Nemolyaeva, Olga Volkova, Valentina Talyzina and lesser-known actresses Antonina Shuranova and Marina Merimson. Rejecting everyone, Eldar Ryazanov turned his attention to the Polish actress Barbara Brylska, whom he saw in the film Anatomy of Love, which was quite frank for that time.

She was perfect for this role, but only outwardly. There were huge problems with the voice - hoarse, smoky, and even with a terrible accent. For the teacher of the Russian language, this, of course, was unacceptable, and Nadia had to be dubbed by Valentina Talyzina (she also appears in the film as the friend of the main character). Alla Pugacheva sang for Barbara. Eldar Ryazanov did not mention these two points in the credits, so that the integrity of the main characters of the film would not be destroyed among viewers. As a result, the offended Talyzina announced somehow in front of everyone:. Barbara was probably offended, but she answered amiably enough:. The conflict between the actresses continued for a very long time.

With the role of Hippolytus, not everything turned out to be smooth either. Oleg Basilashvili was easily approved for her and even several episodes were filmed with him. However, due to the death of his father, the actor was unable to continue and had to be quickly replaced. As a result, a small blooper remained in the film: a photograph of Yuri Yakovlev is thrown into the window, but Nadia lifts Basilashvili's photo from the snow. It is almost impossible to notice, and they simply did not reshoot the frame.

By the way, another mistake awaited the audience at the very beginning of the film. There was a mistake in one word in the opening credits. However, no one seemed to notice her.

Immediately after the premiere on January 1, 1976, the country literally exploded with delight. According to Eldar Ryazanov, the first telegram he received was sent three minutes after the end of the film. For the first month, viewers inundated television with letters with "numerous requests" to repeat the picture. The channel's management responded and the film was broadcast again on 7 February. However, comedy lovers have not been pampered for longer than they are now. In the Soviet Union, it was shown only 5 times: in 1976, 1979, 1983, 1989 and 1991.

Almost 20 years earlier, another New Year comedy by Eldar Ryazanov captivated Soviet viewers. Read about it in the review What's left behind the scenes of "Carnival Night": "There is a setting to celebrate the New Year merrily!"