Behind the scenes of the film "Running": How Soviet directors managed to film the banned Mikhail Bulgakov for the first time

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

On December 6, the famous director, screenwriter and teacher Vladimir Naumov celebrated his 93rd birthday. In tandem with Alexander Alov, he made films that have become recognized classics of Soviet cinema. One of their best works was the film "Running" based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov - the first screen version of Bulgakov in Soviet cinema. How the directors managed to bypass the censorship, why their work was called "Bulgakov's miracle", because of which Gleb Strizhenov was removed from the main role, and how the film premiere was won "in a goat" - further in the review.

The first theatrical production based on Mikhail Bulgakov's play "The Run" was supposed to take place back in 1928 - the writer already had an agreement with the Moscow Art Theater, where a performance based on the play "Days of the Turbins" was being sold out, and no one doubted the success of the new production. However, the premiere did not take place - it was signed by Stalin himself: "". Of course, after such a verdict in theaters for a long time Bulgakov remained persona non grata.

For the first time, a play based on the play "Running" was staged only in 1957 at the Stalingrad Drama Theater, and a few years later this work was finally published. But for a long time no one dared to take on the adaptation of Bulgakov's plays - everyone understood that such a scenario would hardly be put into production. Famous directors Vladimir Alov and Alexander Naumov were the first to take the risk of implementing this venture in Soviet cinema. They could afford it, since by that time they had already established themselves as eminent directors who had shot the films "Anxious Youth" and "Pavel Korchagin". In addition, they led the Creative Association of Writers and Film Workers, which gave them certain rights. The directors themselves wrote the script, based on the play "Running" and the novel "White Guard", and invited Elena Bulgakova, the writer's widow, as a consultant. True, she did not live up to the premiere - she died on July 18, 1970.

Oddly enough, their script was approved, which was later called "Bulgakov's miracle." However, this fact did not guarantee that the shooting would not be stopped, and the film would not be sent to the shelf. Therefore, the directors went for tricks: they immediately went on a film expedition and got down to work, trying to spend as much of the funds allocated for filming as possible - they hoped that in this case it would be more difficult to stop the filming process, since the management would have to account for the expense public funds wasted. When the censors realized and decided to ban the filming, the directors risked continuing to work. As a result, the leadership was removed, but the filmmakers were allowed to complete what they started. In order to get the green light, the directors included in the film several episodes with the Red Army, which Bulgakov did not have - there was not a single episode in the work depicting the Red Army, under the onslaught of which the White Guards were running.

For the actor who played the main role, this film turned out to be fateful. Perhaps the audience would never have seen Vladislav Dvorzhetsky on the screens if Naumov and Alov had not seen his photograph. Vladislav grew up in an acting family, but he himself was in no hurry to follow the example of his parents. By that time, he managed to graduate from medical school, serve in the army and become the head of a pharmacy. He planned to continue his studies at a medical institute in his native Omsk, but was late for the start of the entrance exams. And then his mother advised him to enter a studio at the Omsk Children's Theater. After completing his studies, Dvorzhetsky was accepted into the troupe of this theater, but his acting fate could not be called successful - he was content only with episodes and was thinking about changing his profession. In 1968, an assistant director from Mosfilm came to their theater and asked the actor to give his photographs. He did not get into that film, but these pictures remained in the card index, and later ended up in the hands of Alov and Naumov. The face of Dvorzhetsky seemed so interesting to them, and the look so expressive that they decided to invite him to audition.

Years later, the actor recalled: "". With this role, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky's triumphant path began in the cinema.

However, while the directors were deciding what role to entrust to Dvorzhetsky, the main character, the white general Khludov, Gleb Strizhenov had already begun to play. And when he was suddenly removed from the role and replaced by an unknown debutant from the provincial Youth Theater, he, a popular artist, was a real blow for him. In addition, Strizhenov was friends with the directors, dreamed of this role, prepared for it for six months, studying materials about the White movement. But Dvorzhetsky seemed to the directors so textured that they decided to give him the main role. On this occasion, they said: "".

Nikolai Grinko and Pavel Luspekaev were tested for the role of the colorful General Charnota, but Mikhail Ulyanov was approved. After he played Lenin, the opportunity to embody the image of an extravagant white general on the screens was a real actor's gift, because it allowed him to go beyond the usual role. And in tandem with Evgeny Evstigneev, they were simply brilliant, and the episodes with their participation became one of the best in the film. The shooting took place not only in the USSR, but also in Bulgaria and France. The entire film crew was surprised that when Ulyanov walked along the Parisian streets in underpants, passers-by did not pay any attention to this - the Parisians did not care at all in what form someone walked.

By the end of 1970, work on the film was completed. The premiere was scheduled for January 14, 1971, but suddenly the directors learned that all the posters had been disrupted and the premiere canceled. The chairman of the State Committee for Cinematography watched the film and was outraged that the directors had shot a completely White Guard picture. Naumov at that time was in Czechoslovakia, and he urgently needed to return to Moscow. There were no tickets for passenger flights, and the director ended up on a government special board with two members of the Politburo. They invited him to play dominoes. They played on a wish, and the director won. At that time, he had only one desire: to launch the film. Naumov said: "".

Surprisingly, the next morning all the posters were returned to their place, and the premiere took place. This became a real event for both filmmakers and viewers, because for the first time a film based on the work of Mikhail Bulgakov was released. In the first year, more than 19 million people watched it. Later, "Running" was named the best film about the Civil War and a recognized classic of Soviet cinema.

The film career of this actor was bright, impetuous, but very short: What accelerated the departure of Vladislav Dvorzhetsky.