Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future

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Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future
Directed by Leonid Gaidai
Written by Original play:
Mikhail Bulgakov
Screenplay:
Vladlen Bakhnov
Starring Yuri Yakovlev
Leonid Kuravlev
Aleksandr Demyanenko
Natalia Selezneva
Natalia Krachkovskaya
Vladimir Etush
Mikhail Pugovkin
Natalia Kustinskaya
Sergey Filippov
Saveliy Kramarov
Edward Bredun
Natalia Gurzo
Nina Maslova
Music by Aleksandr Zatsepin
Leonid Derbenev
Release date(s) 1973 (USSR), September 11, 2001 Flag of Russia (DVD Release)
Running time 93 minutes
Country Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
Language Russian / German
IMDb profile

Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (English: Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Profession) (Russian: Васильевич меняет профессию) is a Soviet comedy film produced by Mosfilm in 1973.

This film is based on a play by Mikhail Bulgakov and was the most attended movie in the Soviet Union in 1973 with more than 60 million tickets sold.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot summary

The movie begins in 1973 Moscow, where Engineer Shurik (Aleksandr Demyanenko) is working on a time machine in his apartment. By accident, he sends Ivan Vasilevich Bunsha (Yuri Yakovlev), superintendent of his apartment building, and George Miloslavsky (Leonid Kuravlev), a small-time burglar, back into the time of Ivan IV. The pair is forced to disguise themselves, with Bunsha dressing up as Ivan IV and Miloslavsky as a knyaz of the same name (who everybody thought was executed by the tsar). At the same time, the real Ivan IV (also played by Yuri Yakovlev) is sent by the same machine into Shurik's apartment, he has to deal with modern-day life while Shurik tries to fix the machine so that everyone can be brought back to their proper place in time. As the police (tipped off by a neighbor who was burgled by Miloslavsky) close in on Shurik, who is frantically trying to repair the machine, the cover of Bunsha and Miloslavsky is blown and they have to fight off the palace guards, who find out that Bunsha is not the real Ivan IV. The movie ends with Bunsha, Miloslavsky, and Ivan IV all transported back to their proper places, although the entire thing is revealed to be a dream by Shurik.

[edit] Trivia

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  • The beginning and ending scenes are in black-and-white, while the rest of the movie is in color. This was done to show the contrast between reality and dream (respectively), and perhaps as a tongue-in-cheek homage to The Wizard of Oz.
  • In the scene where Bunsha meets with the Swedish ambassador, the first thing he says is "Hitler kaputt!" However, the original script had him say "Peace - friendship!", but the Soviet censors thought it inappropriate. The resulting change ended up being more humorous.
  • Not only Bunsha is mistaken for the Tsar, but Ivan IV has to deal with Bunsha's wife who believes him to be her husband.
  • Bunsha's wife's hair keeps changing every scene. This is revealed to be because she wears wigs.
  • There are several events which could have had dire consequences to the timeline had the whole thing not turned out to be a dream:
    • Ivan IV sees a painting in Shurik's apartment - Ivan the Terrible killing his son by Ilya Repin, but the event itself is only supposed to happen later in his life. It is clear, though, that he does not recognize the person (himself) in the painting.
    • Before stealing the Swedish ambassador's medallion, Miloslavsky distracts him by giving him a souvenir ballpoint pen centuries before they are invented.
    • Ivan IV at one point is listening to the "Hare's Song" on the tape-player, a song from Gaidai's "The Diamond Arm".
  • The movie is an inspiration for an Indian movie starring Paresh Rawal called fun2sh.

[edit] Locations

[edit] Film locations

[edit] Shooting locations

[edit] Deviations from the original play

The original play was written by Bulgakov in 1935 (albeit not published until 1965) and, therefore, used a setting typical to the 1930s. The film, released in 1973, made a changes to the setting to make it contemporary. For instance, Shpak's phonograph was replaced in the film with a tape recorder, and the time machine was envisioned as using more advanced technology, like transistors. In addition, inventor Timofeyev is inspired to travel to Ivan IV's era after seeing a film about it on television, as opposed to listening to the play Pskovityanka on the radio.

There were other deviations, not related to changes designed to modernize the setting. While the inventor's surname Timofeyev was retained, he was called Nikolai (nicknamed "Koka" by his wife Zinaida), while in the film, his name is Alexander (called "Shurik" informally). He is presumably an older version of the protagonist of two previous Leonid Gaidai films: Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures and Kidnapping, Caucasian Style, played by the same actor, Aleksandr Demyanenko; this connection, though, is not stated outright and neither of these earlier films are referenced.

In addition, the reason for the time machine malfunction was changed. In the original play, Bunsha and Miloslavsky knowingly disable the machine to seal the gateway between the two time periods, but are dragged into the past, along with the key to the machine, forcing Timofeyev to make a replacement key. In the film, the time machine is accidentally damaged by a halberd, and Timofeyev has to search for some transistors to repair it.

Finally, while the "all just a dream" ending is present in both the play and the film, the play ends on a revelation that Shpak's apartment has been robbed in reality, not only in the dream. This twist is absent in the film.

In the play, Ivan Vasilievich Bunsha is the son of a nobleman, something, which as a conscientious Soviet bureaucrat, he tries to hide. This isn't mentioned in the film.

Despite the aforementioned inconsistencies, the film can be considered a fairly faithful and accurate adaptation.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Leonid Gaidai Films
Films:
Long path • Fiance from the world beyond • Arisen thrice • Dog Barbos and unusual cross • Samogonshchiki • Business people • Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures • Kidnapping, Caucasian Style • The Diamond Arm • Twelve chairs • Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future • That couldn't be! • Incognito from Petersburg • On the street commode was showing • For the matches • Sportloto-82 • Dangerous for the life! • Private detective, or Operation Cooperation • There's Good Weather in Deribasovskaya, It's Raining Again in Brighton Beach