Video: What is left behind the scenes of the film "Ivan Vasilyevich changes his profession": why some episodes were not censored
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Nowadays, the famous comedy by Leonid Gaidai "Ivan Vasilyevich changes his profession" seems absolutely harmless to the audience. And in the early 1970s, when the director began filming, many feared that the film would fall on the shelf, if only because the script was written based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov. And although the officials nevertheless released the picture on screens, it had to be redone, and some episodes had to be cut out.
Leonid Gaidai thought about film adaptation of Bulgakov's work back in the 1960s, but then his plans did not come true. In the early 1970s, he returned to this idea again after seeing the production of Bulgakov's play "Ivan Vasilyevich" on the stage of the Film Actor Theater. Doubts about the chosen work were great: at one time Bulgakov was forbidden to stage this play at the Theater of Satire, and the very plot about how the adventurer Miloslavsky and the idiot Bunsch easily run the state in the past could raise questions from the filmmaker: is it possible the director parallels with modernity.
The script was written at the director's home - screenwriter Vladlen Bakhnov turned out to be Gaidai's neighbor on the site. All episodes that could seem dubious to the censors were initially tried to be removed. But the main idea remained unchanged: the country is ruled by impostors and crooks. On the sidelines they whispered: Gaidai made an anti-Soviet movie! Even Yuri Nikulin refused the proposed leading role of Ivan Vasilyevich, telling Gaidai: “No, Lenya, what are you doing! Such a picture will definitely be put on the shelf! I do not advise you either."
In the role of Ivan the Terrible and the manager of the Bunshi house, viewers could also see Evgeny Evstigneev, who gave his consent and successfully passed the tests, but his candidacy was not approved by the artistic council. Vladimir Etush also claimed this role, but his comrade Saakhov was so convincing that after that no one saw the tsar in him. Therefore, he played Dr. Shpak, robbed by Miloslavsky.
Oleg Vidov claimed the role of the engineer-inventor of the time machine Nikolai Timofeev, but Gaidai gave preference to Alexander Demyanenko, with whom he worked long ago. The viewer is also so used to Shurik that the engineer had to be renamed from Nikolai to Alexander. Andrei Mironov, Vyacheslav Nevinny, Georgy Burkov and Georgy Yumatov auditioned for the role of Georges Miloslavsky, but as a result, preference was given to Leonid Kuravlev - together with Yakovlev, he looked more organic. Natalia Gundareva could become Tsarina Martha Vasilievna, and Nonna Mordyukova could become Bunshi's wife.
Many episodes were born right during filming and were improvised by the director or actors. Gaidai came up with an episode when the tsar sat down on the tape recorder, pressed the button, and, hearing Vysotsky, shed tears, and when the heroine of Natalia Kustinskaya kissed Yakin, the director shouted: "Spit!" Many phrases were born on the site - Etush came up with: "You need to have a snack!"
When the shooting was over, after the final editing, the director showed a rough version of the picture of the Mosfilm directorate. And what he feared so much happened: many episodes were strongly recommended to be cut, especially those with ambiguous phrases. So, in a draft version of the question of the imposter king Bunshi “At whose expense is this banquet? Who will pay? " the script was followed by the answer: "People, father, people." This phrase was considered seditious and in the end it came out: "In any case, not us!" Bunshi's remark also seemed dubious: “What kind of repertoire do you have? Gather the creative intelligentsia tomorrow. " The second part of the phrase had to be removed. When a policeman asked the tsar for his address during interrogation, he replied: “Moscow. Kremlin". It was useless to laugh at the Kremlin, they simply left the "chambers". The censors considered the image of a foolish impostor to be a mockery of Ivan the Terrible, but here it was hardly possible to change anything.
A month later, the film was shown again in a stripped-down and “combed” version, and this time the officials gave the go-ahead. In 1973, "Ivan Vasilievich …" became the leader of the Soviet film distribution, it was watched by more than 60 million viewers. And nowadays the genius comedy does not lose its popularity and actual sound.
And the audience still had the opportunity to see 5 interesting episodes cut from the comedy
Recommended:
Behind the scenes of the film "Love and Doves": What episodes were cut by censorship, and why Menshov was accused of lack of taste
March 16 marks 83 years of the remarkable actor, director, screenwriter Sergei Yursky. In his filmography there are more than 80 film roles, but one of the most striking works was the role of Uncle Mitya in the film "Love and Doves". The episodes with the participation of this actor in fact should have been much more, and the film itself could have become a two-part film, however, director Vladimir Menshov had to cut out many frames criticized by the censorship for immorality and "humiliation of the dignity of ordinary collective farmers."
What's left behind the scenes of "Cruel Romance": why Andrei Myagkov almost died, and the film received devastating reviews
Probably no film by Eldar Ryazanov has received such contradictory reviews. It was a kind of experiment: the director had never filmed Russian classics before, especially since a film was already shot in 1936 based on Ostrovsky's play "The Dowry". … And during the filming there were many interesting, funny, and sometimes tragic episodes
Behind the scenes of the film "That same Munchausen": Why did they not want to approve Yankovsky for the role, and Abdulov broke his fingers on the set
On February 23, the famous theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR Oleg Yankovsky could have turned 74 years old, but, unfortunately, he has been dead for 9 years already. In his filmography there are more than 80 works, but one of the most memorable was the main role in the film "The Same Munchausen". There were so many interesting episodes on and off the set that they could have become the plot of another movie
Behind the scenes "The Adventures of Petrov and Vasechkin": Why the film was not released on screens, and the director was advised to change his profession
On the films “The Adventures of Petrov and Vasechkin. Ordinary and incredible "and" Vacations of Petrov and Vasechkin. Ordinary and Incredible”more than one generation of viewers has grown up. The young actors who played the main roles became the idols of Soviet schoolchildren in the 1980s. But at first, both films were banned from showing because of satire on socialist society and debauchery, and the chairman of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company told the director that he had shot a very bad movie, and it would be better for him to think about changing his profession
Behind the scenes of the film "Fir Trees": Why Ivan Urgant and Sergei Svetlakov could not make plans for the summer
For 10 years now, one of the attributes of the New Year's holidays has been Timur Bekmambetov's family movie almanac "Yolki" and its continuation. Although the director did not set out to make a film that could replace Irony of Fate on screens on New Year's Eve, his film found its audience, and the first Yolki became the leader of the domestic film distribution in 2010. However, this success had the opposite for the actors. side