Behind the scenes of "Cruel Romance": Why did the locals take up arms against the film crew, and the actors almost died

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

In 1984, the film "Cruel Romance" was released, which is still very popular among domestic cinema audiences. But few people know that the director Eldar Ryazanov has repeatedly cursed his decision to film the Russian classics, and the residents of Kostroma wrote complaints to local authorities asking them to ban the filming. But this is nothing compared to the fact that the actors Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Myagkov were in the balance of death. It is not surprising that both the film crew and the local residents, "Cruel Romance" left conflicting feelings.

The fog that stopped traffic in the city

For a long time Eldar Ryazanov could not decide on a location for filming, but when he arrived in Kostroma, he immediately fell in love with the beauty of the local nature. The decision was made, and the townspeople at first reacted with enthusiasm to the news that many eminent actors would be visiting them. Every time crowds of onlookers gathered to watch how the work on the film was going, asked for autographs and even were on duty at the door of the hotel.

But soon the joy was replaced by disappointment. And the fault was the fog (albeit artificial). The director really wanted the last shots of the film to be filmed with his presence. However, as luck would have it, the weather was clear and was not going to change.

A day passed, then another, and another … The break was dragging on. Then Ryazanov decided to ask the pyrotechnics for help. They lit smoke bombs, but overdid it: instead of swirling over the Volga, the smoke enveloped the entire city. Due to poor visibility, traffic in Kostroma stopped, the drivers, scolding the filmmakers, abandoned their cars and continued on foot. But here, too, they stumbled and fell.

After this incident, local residents began to be wary of the capital's guests. There were also those who wrote complaints. And Ryazanov had to go to the City Council with an apology.

How Nikita Mikhalkov fed all colleagues, and not only

Nikita Mikhalkov, who played the role of Sergei Paratov, got so used to the image of a riotous master that he regularly arranged merry feasts. And once the salary was delayed for the entire film crew, and it turned out that even there was nothing to buy food. Then Mikhalkov got hold of a hunting license and brought a whole bear carcass from the Kostroma forests. Such a supply of meat was enough for the film crew for a long time.

But over time, the constant banquets began to annoy the townspeople. And once they even called a police squad, complaining about the noise. However, the guards were taken aback when they saw so many stars of the Soviet screen in front of them and instead of scolding the actors, they asked to sit with them.

How Nikita Mikhalkov miraculously survived

But fun is fun, and on the set, the actors were completely devoted to work. However, dangerous situations that almost cost them their lives could not be avoided. So, Nikita Sergeevich found himself in the balance of death several times.

Remember the episode where the hero Mikhalkov shoots with the character of Alexander Pankratov-Cherny? According to the plot, Paratov puts a glass on his head, and his opponent must hit this target. In fact, no one was going to shoot. According to the director's idea, the pyrotechnics were supposed to blow up the glass after the shot was fired. And so it happened: Pankratov-Cherny allegedly hit the target, which shattered into pieces. However, at this moment Mikhalkov grabbed his head and groaned. It turned out that, again, the pyrotechnics overdid it: they forgot to put the lining in the actor's hat, which is why the explosion took place right on the head of the unfortunate man. Fortunately, everything worked out, although the outcome could be very sad. Ryazanov dismissed the pyrotechnics, but left the scene, which turned out to be very effective, in the film.

By the way, this is not the only case when Nikita Sergeevich got into unpleasant stories. At the beginning of the film, his character had to ride a white horse to the pier. Mikhalkov knew how to sit in the saddle, but it turned out to be difficult to walk through a narrow place where water was very close.

But the actor was not afraid to take risks and did not react to Eldar Alexandrovich's requests to go slower. Then the indignant director announced a smoke break. But as soon as Mikhalkov got off the saddle, the whistle of the steamer sounded. The horse, which did not expect this, in fear rushed to run straight towards the crowd of onlookers. It was only by a happy coincidence that victims were avoided.

How Andrey Myagkov almost died

It happened just during that ill-fated fog that caused the traffic collapse in the city. They filmed the last shots of the drama, when Karandyshev is sailing on a boat to the steamer, where the rich are having fun and the bride who humiliated him is also there. According to the plot, the character needed more than one hour for this, although in fact Ryazanov ordered to put the ship near the coast (about 40 meters). However, a tragedy almost happened here.

The actor swam too close to the steamer, got into a funnel and was caught between the blades. Only splinters remained from the boat, and Andrey went under the water. The entire film crew was very frightened, and many already in their hearts said goodbye to their colleague. However, a few minutes later Myagkov floated out, and, as it turned out, there was not a single scratch on him (as if he was born in a shirt). While the frightened filmmakers ran around the miraculously surviving actor, he remained calm: death was very close, and he, it seems, did not notice it.

Fights over Larisa Guzeeva

The main role in "Cruel Romance" was played by the then unknown Larisa Guzeeva. There has not yet been a single work in her filmography, but the debutante managed to get ahead of more than 500 competitors. However, when the girl appeared on the set on the first day, everyone gasped: she wore torn jeans, constantly smoked Belomor, and even could not get rid of the incomprehensible Ural dialect. The choice of the director seemed strange, but he was not going to retreat from his own.

And Guzeeva managed to fit into the image, and almost the entire male half of the film crew fell in love with her. Sergei Artsibashev, who played the banker Gulyaev, later admitted that he had feelings for the beautiful actress not only in the script.

There were rumors that Alexander Pankratov-Cherny was trying to get Larisa's favor as well. However, this fact has not been confirmed. But the actor had to literally beat off Guzeev from the fans. As the artist recalled, once German tourists stuck to Larisa, and together with Nikita Mikhalkov, he even had to fight with them, trying to protect his colleague. It is not known how all this would have ended if the police had not arrived.

Offended gypsy

To record romances in the film, Ryazanov invited the gypsy woman Valentina Ponomareva. But she did not immediately agree, because she had not yet had to work with such a repertoire. However, then she still succumbed to persuasion and arrived at the recording studio, despite the fact that the day before she fell ill with a high fever - she did not want to let her colleagues down.

However, in the credits for the film, the singer did not see her name and was very offended by Ryazanov. But you shouldn't think that the director had some kind of personal dislike for Ponomareva: in those years, specifying the performers of songs in films was an optional condition.

The situation turned out to be not the most pleasant: many still think that the romances in the film are performed by Guzeeva herself. Valentina was very offended by this, and for a long time she refused to communicate with Eldar Ryazanov.