Charodey

Infobox Film
name = Charodey


image_size = 300px
caption = Film DVD cover
director = Konstantin Bromberg
producer =
writer = Arkady Strugatsky
Boris Strugatsky
narrator =
starring =
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Gosteleradio
Odessa Film Studios
released = 1982
runtime = 160 min
country = USSR
language = Russian
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0083730

"Charodey" ( _ru. Чародеи, alt. translations - "Sorcerers", "Magicians") is a 1982 Soviet film directed by Konstantin Bromberg, loosely based on the science fantasy novel Monday Begins on Saturday by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky.

First script was more related to the canon novel (Monday Begins on Saturday) and was in fact an intention to make it's screen version, with some new storylines though, but Bromberg didn't like it and Strugatsky Brothers wrote absolutely new script from scratch. History later repeated with another film by Sokurov "Days of Eclipse" (Dni zatmeniya).

Film became a classic Soviet New Year's Eve romantic comedies, such as Irony of Fate (Ironiya sud'by) and The Carnival Night (Karnavalnaya noch).

Plot summary

Ivan Puhov (A. Abdulov) is in love with young and pretty girl Alyona (A. Yakovleva). Little does know Ivan that Alyona is working as a witch. The marriage is already scheduled, but just one circumstance of "winter heart" magic induced by Kira Shemahanskaya (Ye. Vasilyeva), the institute director, who is convinced by Sataneev (V. Gaft), separates them. Her friends — magic wood masters, working in NUINU (Scientific Universal Institute of Extraordinary Services, a NIICHAVO subsidiary in Kitezhgrad; for NIICHAVO see Monday Begins on Saturday) - decides to interfere and help to save the love. They convince Puhov to return and save Alyona right now.

Cast

* Aleksandra Yakovleva, "Alyona Igorevna Sanina"
* Aleksandr Abdulov, "Ivan Sergeevich Puhov"
* Yekaterina Vasilyeva, "Kira Anatolyevna Shemahanskaya"
* Valentin Gaft, "Apollon Mitrofanovich Sataneev"
* Yevgeny Vesnik
* Valery Zolotukhin, "Ivan Kivrin"
* Emmanuil Vitorgan, "Kovrov"
* Mikhail Svetin, "Foma Ostapych Bryl"
* Roman Filippov, "Modest Matveevich Kamneyedov"
* Anna Ashimova, "Nina Puhova"
* Semyon Farada, The Guest from South
* Ye. Abramova, "Verochka"
* I. Belger, "Katenka"
* V. Smolyanitskaya, as a master of a speaking cat
* Liliya Makeyeva, secretary

Film soundtrack

Film soundtrack includes many classical Soviet songs (some of them romantic), written by Yevgeni Krylatov and Leonid Derbenyov, including:
* "A woman's enigma" (Zagadka zhenschiny) performed by Irina Otieva
* "Three white horses" (Tri belykh konya) performed by Larisa Dolina
* "A song about a snowflake" ("Pesnya o snezhinke") performed by Olga Rozhdestvenskaya and Dobrie Molodtsy band
* "Witch-river" ("Ved'ma-rechka") performed by Irina Otieva
* "A Song About a Suit" (Pesenka Pro Kostyumchik) performed by Emmanuil Vitorgan and Mikhail Svetin
* "Just Imagine" (Predstavte Sebe) performed by Leonid Serebrennikov
* "Time to Sleep" (Spat Pora) performed by Mikhail Svetin
* "Serenade" performed by original cast members
* "Centaurs" performed by Dobrie Molodtsy
* "By The Mirror" (Podoidu Ya K Zerkalu) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya
* "You Can't Command Your Heart" (Tol'ko Serdtsu Ne Prikazhesh) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya and Vladimir Lynkovskiy
* "Don't believe what they say" (Govoryat A Ti Ne Ver') performed by original cast members

Music performance by State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography of the USSR.

External links

*imdb title|0083730