A Man from the Boulevard des Capucines
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| A Man from the Boulevard des Capuchines | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster for A Man from the Boulevard des Capuchines |
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| Directed by | Alla Surikova |
| Written by | Eduard Akopov |
| Starring | Andrei Mironov Aleksandra Yakovleva-Aasmyae |
| Music by | Gennadi Gladkov |
| Cinematography | Grigori Belenky |
| Editing by | Inessa Brozhovskaya |
| Distributed by | Mosfilm, Sovexportfilm |
| Release date(s) | June 23 1987 |
| Running time | 99 min |
| Country |  USSR |
| Language | Russian |
| IMDb profile | |
A Man from the Boulevard des Capuchines (Russian: Человек с бульвара Капуцинов, transliteration: Chelovek s bulvara Kaputsinov) is a comedy Red Western film of 1987 (Mosfilm production) with a nod to the advent of silent film, and the transforming power of celluloid.
It is particularly unusual in Soviet cinema for two reasons, firstly being directed by one of the few female Soviet directors of any stature, Alla Surikova, and secondly as being a rare post-modernist outing.
The film was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1987 and had 39.8 million viewers.
[edit] Plot
The plot involves the arrival of Mr Johnny First in a sleepy 'Wild West' town. After Mr First starts showing the residents Chaplinesque silent films on his cinematograph, the town's wild inhabitants are tamed by the images on the silver screen, trading saloons and brawls for glasses of milk and moving pictures.
Beautiful dancer Diane falls for First, and so he ends up making a few enemies, including Diane's many other admirers, and the barman who is threatened by the new competition for "entertainment".
In many ways, the film is a comedy critique of the wild west myth, and takes the whole thing full circle. Just as Buffalo Bill mythologized his exploits, and later Hollywood elaborated the image, so in this way you have a Soviet film (i.e. the other side of the Cold War deconstructing it, and satirizing it, both through the film, and the "film within film" that Johnny First shows. It is a self-reflexive fable documenting its own evolution.
[edit] Cast
- Andrei Mironov as Johnny First
- Alexandra Yakovleva-Aasmäe as Ms. Diana Little
- Nikolai Karachentsov as Billy King
- Oleg Tabakov as Harry
- Mikhail Boyarsky as "Black" Jack
- Igor Kvasha as Pastor
- Lev Durov as Undertaker
- Galina Polskikh as Mrs. Thompson
- Natalya Krachkovskaya as Conchita
- Natalya Fateyeva as Chief's wife
- Spartak Mishulin as Chief of the Comanches
- Albert Filozov as Mr. Second
- Mikhail Svetin as Pharmacist
- Leonid Yarmolnik as One-eyed cowboy Martin
- Borislav Brondukov as Stray cowboy
