Kidnapping, Caucasian Style

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Kidnapping, Caucasian Style
Directed by Leonid Gaidai
Produced by Mosfilm
Written by Yakov Kostyukovsky, Moris Slobodskoy, Leonid Gaidai
Starring Aleksandr Demyanenko
Natalya Varley
Yuri Nikulin
Yevgeny Morgunov
Georgy Vitsin
Vladimir Etush
Frunzik Mkrtchyan
Music by Aleksandr Zatsepin
Cinematography Konstantin Brovin
Release date(s) 1966
Running time 77 min.
Language Russian
IMDb profile

Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik's New Adventures (Russian: Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика, Kavkazskaya plennitsa, ili Novie priklucheniya Shurika) also known as Kidnapping, Caucasian Style - a famous Soviet-era Russian comedy film directed by Leonid Gaidai, the last film featuring the famous trio Coward — Fool — Experienced (Vitsin — Nikulin — Morgunov). The premier of the film was on the April 1, 1967 in Moscow.

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[edit] Plot summary

A kind, yet naïve, student named Shurik (Demyanenko) goes to a place in the Caucasus to learn the ancient customs of the locals. He falls in love with a girl called Nina (Varley), her uncle (Mkrtchyan) sells her as a bride without her knowledge and arranges to have her kidnapped by the eccentric trio: Coward, Fool and Experienced. After a failed attempt, the uncle decides to trick Shurik into helping with the kidnapping - telling him that it is a traditional custom and that it was Nina's own wish. Shurik goes through with the kidnapping, and does not figure out what has really happened at first, but with the help of a friend he manages to rescue Nina from her captors.

[edit] Casting of main characters

[edit] Production

Kidnapping, Caucasian Style followed the success of Leonid Gaidai's previous film Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures, which featured some of the same characters (Shurik and the trio Fool, Coward and Experienced) and was largely successful within the Soviet Union.[1]

According to one of the writers, Yakov Kostyukovsky, Gaidai has decided that the trio (Fool, Coward and Experienced) have been used up and did not want to feature them again; he was only convinced to feature them again by Kostyukovsky and co-writer Slobodskoy.[1]

The censors of Goskino did not like the film and were ready to keep it from playing. But by chance Leonid Brezhnev, the ruler of the Soviet Union at the time, saw the film and liked it so much that he had rewatched it several times. The censored reconsidered and the movie was allowed to be shown.[1]

[edit] Reception

The film was hugely popular, topping the Soviet box office of 1967 with 76.54 million viewers.[2]

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[edit] Trivia

Vitsin (Coward) was known to improvise many comedic moments for his character and the directors never minded it, with an example in this movie being when the trio are standing on the road, arm in arm, trying to make the car Nina is in to stop. Coward, being a coward, and being portrayed by Vitsin, starts whimpering and crying, trying to get away from the other guys' arms, not wanting to be run over. In a climax he falls to the ground on his knees whimpering, but when the car stops, he jumps up all excited.

Another example is when Nina was chased by the trio, she ran into the forest, and dropped her yellow table cloth that she used as a dress. Vitsin (the Coward) runs by and sees it and starts yelling like a little girl, hopping up and down out of fright, but then only realising that it was the table cloth, he acted brave and picked it up, only being interrupted with Nina and the other two from the trio running out of the forest being chased by a bear.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "В плену у "Кавказской Пленницы"", Trud, 2006-04-08. Retrieved on 2007-02-18. (Russian)  - interview with script writer Yakov Kostyukovsky
  2. ^ Кавказская пленница или Новые приключения Шурика (Russian). KinoExpert.ru. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.

[edit] See also

[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
v • d • e
Cinema of Russia
Cinema of the Russian Empire (pre-1917) • Cinema of the Soviet Union (1917–1990)