Baba Yaga in the cinema: Which of the actors created the most striking image of a fairy-tale old woman

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

With the light hand of the magnificent Georgy Millyar, in our country it is considered very honorable for an actor to dress up in picturesque rags and, having attached a "crochet nose", transform into a very strange image. Baba Yaga became a test of acting for many artists. Everyone is trying to create their own character for this character - from downright scary to cute and even flirty.

Georgy Millyar, tales of Alexander Row

Georgy Frantsevich created a whole gallery of fairy-tale images - from the terrible Kashchei to the ridiculous Kvak, but it was Baba Yaga who became his "calling card". In total, the actor reincarnated in this image four times: in the films "Vasilisa the Beautiful" (1939), "Frost" (1964), "Fire, Water and … Copper Pipes" (1967) and "Golden Horns" (1972). For the first time, this female role went to him with a fight - after all, many actresses wanted to play a terrible old woman, even Faina Ranevskaya auditioned for the role. However, Millyar persuaded Rowe to take him, giving a very convincing argument: - said the actor, and became the most important Baba Yaga of our cinema.

READ ALSO: Georgy Millyar: the honored Baba Yaga and the lonely gentleman of Soviet cinema

Working on the image, the actor studied the movements of old people, like an artist, he was looking for models for himself: - this is how a character was born, from the sight of which children who accidentally went to the shooting scattered screaming. True, Millyar's next old woman turned out to be much nicer.

Vera Altayskaya, "Fire, water and … copper pipes", 1967

This beautiful actress also found her vocation in children's fairy tales, and she did not play princesses, but evil witches, stepmother and similar characters. They said that Vera Altayskaya had a similar character - explosive and sharp, which is why other directors did not like to work with her, but Alexander Rowe found a zest in her and was able to adapt to her temperament. The role of Baba Yaga the bride has become, probably, the most unusual in terms of the plot idea. At the same time, the same Georgy Millyar played Babu-Yaga-mother-in-law and Kashchei the groom, so in this tale we can see a unique trio created by two of the most magically villainous actors of Soviet cinema.

Valentina Kosobutskaya, "New Year's Adventures of Masha and Viti", 1975

This brave "old woman" from a musical fairy tale not only dressed up for the holiday, but also sang and danced, so the image created by Valentina Kosobutskaya turned out to be very creative and charming in her own way. By the way, besides Baba Yaga, the audience remembered this actress as Beatrice in Truffaldino from Bergamo - these are such different incarnations on the screen! Valentina really sang very well - in her student years she was even offered to choose a career as an operetta singer. She remained a dramatic actress, but the versatility of her talent came in handy in her life. Fashionable Baba Yaga, looking like a pop star, captivated the audience in 1975.

Maria Barabanova, "How Ivan the Fool went for a miracle" 1977

For Maria Barabanova, Baba Yaga for the first time turned out not to be spiteful, but plump, homely and very cozy. It is surprising that some actors find their unique roles not in their youth, shining with beauty and charm, but in the second half of their lives, when they succeed in their age roles. So Maria Pavlovna, having worked for many years in the Leningrad Comedy Theater, gained nationwide fame in the cinema precisely in the images of "aunts", "grandmothers" and "nannies" - for example, in "Little Red Riding Hood", "Finista" and "Donkey's Skin". It is interesting that in the theater Barabanova performed in the role of drag queen, and her first major movie roles were Prince Edward in the 1942 film adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper and the charming Puss in Boots in the 1957 fairy tale.

Tatiana Peltzer, "After the Rain on Thursday" 1985

Almost 10 years later, everyone's beloved Tatyana Peltzer also created the image of Baba Yaga, more like a kind grandmother. By the way, according to historians, this is how our pagan ancestors perceived this character in the old days. Baba Yaga was once a worthy and wise character who was important in the balance of natural forces, and she acquired negative qualities and a passion for cannibalism, perhaps in much later times, turning into a horror story for children. The hero of Tatiana Peltzer is called in the script a watchdog in the swamp.

Alexander Lenkov, "The Island of the Rusty General" 1988

In the fantastic story of Kir Bulychev, Baba Yaga is generally the result of the development of high technologies. The kind and touching robot delighted our viewers, no worse than the Terminator, and Alexander Lenkov managed to prove once again that the old woman in the mortar is not a female role. This actor with a gentle charm has often appeared in children's fairy tales, and his images have always been very memorable.

Liya Akhedzhakova, "The Book of Masters" 2009

Liya Akhedzhakova was very surprised by the audience, appearing in a completely new way for her. The first Russian film by Walt Disney Pictures became a new experience for Russian cinema - in some ways successful, in some ways, maybe not very much, if we recall our wonderful traditions of children's fairy-tale films, but there is no doubt that wonderful Russians the actors did not allow to completely turn the tape into a stereotyped American cinema. Baba Yaga performed by Akhedzhakova turned out to be a very deep character - she has personal tragedy, charisma, and humor. For the actress, who has created so many lovely and beloved female images by the audience, this work has become really interesting.

Elena Yakovleva "The Last Hero" 2017

In the next joint work of Russian-American filmmakers in Babu Yaga, the beauty of our screen and the former Intergirl Elena Yakovleva were reincarnated. It was a little disappointing, perhaps, that another actress was attracted to the image of a rejuvenated sorceress, because in such cases it is always interesting to see the possibilities of “transforming” one person.

READ ALSO: Secrets of "Kamenskaya": off-screen relations between Elena Yakovleva and Dmitry Nagiyev and the disappearance of Sergei Garmash

The complex makeup, which was applied for 5 hours, made the work on the film not the easiest, but Elena Yakovleva coped with all the difficulties. Later, in an interview, she shared her opinion about this role: Now, by the way, two parts of the continuation of Russian fantasy are being prepared for release at once, so that we will still have the opportunity to evaluate Elena's talent and compare her with the most important Baba Yaga of our cinema, which so far, perhaps, none of the actors could surpass.

Ue, if Baba Yaga has an antipode, then it is, of course, the Snow Maiden. Continuing the theme, a story about which actress became the most magical Snow Maiden in the cinema.