Not a single, even the most famous director, is immune from "blunders". The painting by Leonid Gaidai, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary these days, was no exception. However, in such "folk" films, any mistake is not a mistake, but just another "zest".
Amnesia Shurik
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Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Already in the title of the film lies a well-known inconsistency. The tape is called "Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik's New Adventures", and it was conceived as a continuation of the sensational "Operation Y". That's right - and Shurik is the same, and the "magnificent trinity." Only one thing is not clear: how did the main character not recognize the bandits who attempted on the warehouse in the first film in the “kunaks”?
ghost pencil
In the episode with the twist lesson, on the table of the hero Vitsin, who is counting money, there is a double-sided pencil, which is first turned with the red side to the Coward, and after a fraction of a second, it miraculously turns blue.
false fish
An attentive domino player, having watched the episode with a simultaneous game session, may notice that, in fact, there can be no talk of any fish, contrary to the words of the Dunce. Firstly, in two places there is a "5:4" bone, in the second there is no "5:1" bone.
Boots in the river
In the scene where Nina pulls Shurik out of a mountain river, he kicks off his shoes before climbing into a sleeping bag. Everyone knows the continuation: the packed Shurik starts jumping across the clearing and, in the end, falls off a cliff right into a mountain river. Athlete and Komsomol member pulls him out of the water. But Shurik gets out of the river in shoes.
Two carnations and a gluttonous Komsomol member
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Varley, Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov in the feature film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"
The greatest number of "blunders" fell on scenes filmed in Comrade Saakhov's house. To begin with, the peephole, through which the hero of Frunzik Mkrtchan is peeping at Nina, disappears from the wall in a minute. Another "inconsistency" - a tray of food. Coward, Dunce and Experienced bring Nina a sumptuous lunch of fruit and gingerbread. And when the performance of the song about the Sultan is over, the viewer clearly sees that the tray is completely empty. It turns out that the starving Komsomol member “swept away” a whole table with dishes in a matter of minutes.
Gauze bandage
The scene where Morgunov is given an injection with a syringe, more like a pump, is also marked by a funny inconsistency. Shurik's friend, who can't get the syringe out of the sirloin of Experienced's body, spits on his hands... through a gauze bandage.
"Real" icicles and "wild" bear
Himalayan bears, like a clubfoot jumping out of a cave right at the heroes of the film, do not live in this region. Perhaps that is why the collar is clearly visible on the "wild beast".
The following fact will not hide from the eyes of an attentive viewer: when Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov climb into the refrigerator in the heat of the chase, they come out covered with "hoarfrost". Everything looks pretty natural, except for the icicles on the Coward's hat, swaying with every movement.
Microphone shadow
In the episode with Swan Lake, the shadow of a microphone is clearly visible to the right of Comrade Saakhov, who is kneeling.
Dropped off Shurik
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Demyanenko in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"
At the end of the film, when Shurik escorts Nina on a donkey, a bus drives up to them. For a moment, he hides the heroes, all the legs, including the donkey's, disappear, and the bus leaves. And a second later, Shurik reappears on the screen, riding after the departing bus. How and why the young man, along with the donkey, was dropped out of the vehicle, forcing them to travel on their own, the viewer can only guess.
Censorship and little tricks
The idea of the film was born after Gaidai read in one of the newspapers a story about the kidnapping of a girl by a dzhigit in love in the Transcaucasian republic. Gaidai immediately wanted to shoot his friend Yuri Nikulin and came up with a role for him. But he went into refusal: "These days they steal a bride? Stupidity! I will not act in films." Gaidai managed to persuade Nikulin, promising to improve the script together.
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Mkrtchyan, Etush, Nikulin and Morgunov in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Soviet censorship banned the following opening scene of the film, which was invented by Gaidai and Nikulin: A coward approaches a wooden fence and, looking around, draws the letter "X" with chalk. The Dunce appears next and finishes the letter "U". The policeman who saw this disgrace burst into a trill of whistles. But Dunce, not at a loss, adds: "A feature film."
It is noteworthy that Natalia Varley did not manage to voice her character Nina. "Prisoner" speaks in the voice of Nadezhda Rumyantseva.
The focus with the rotation of Vitsin's head by one hundred and eighty degrees was filmed in several steps. First: Vitsin, lowering his hat on his face, moves his fingers folded on his chest - the camera shoots, stops. Second: Vitsin puts on his jacket back to front, the hat is on his face, his fingers move - the camera shoots, stops. And these frames are "broken up" by one more piece, where the back of Georgy Mikhailovich's head is filmed: first under the hat, and then when it is moved up.
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Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov in the feature film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"
It is also interesting that in the bargaining scene in Saakhov's office, the hero of Mkrtchyan says the phrase - "But you're not getting a goat!" In this phrase, the word "get" was voiced by another actor.
In the scene where the trinity Vitsin-Morgunov-Nikulin drinks beer, Vitsin, being an avid teetotaler, took a sip of real beer.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
"Prisoner of the Caucasus" is a cult film of the Soviet era, which many people have already watched dozens of times with pleasure. It has long been taken away for quotes, and the song about bears that turn the earth's axis is sung with pleasure by millions of viewers.
Crimean Caucasus Mountains
Cinematography has a very remote relation to reality: someone will say: deception, someone - an illusion. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that the place where the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed is geographically located far from the Caucasian peaks. Almost throughout the film, the audience is shown Crimean landscapes.
The only thing that was not found on the peninsula was a fairly full-flowing mountain river, which Shurik, who was stuck in a sleeping bag, had to force. Thanks to this, Sochi can be found in the list of places where the “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was filmed - in fact, the city itself does not appear in the film. The scene of the protagonist's miraculous rescue takes place between the resort of Krasnaya Polyana and Adler. These frames are one of the few episodes of the film that are related to the geographical Caucasus.
Another moment taken near the river is a breaking barrel, on which Shurik and Edik raced along the mountain road, trying to save the kidnapped Nina. Almost all the rest of the "nature" was filmed on the South Coast.
famous walnut
The Crimean mountain range Demerdzhi (located 10 kilometers from Alushta) appears in the role of the Caucasian peaks in the picture. Here, on the territory where the “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was filmed, the famous giant nut grows, from the fork of which Nikulin threw improvised “shells”, inadvertently knocking out the eye of his own comrade-in-arms, Morgunov.
The tree is the pride of the locals, a real watchdog. He is already more than fifty years old, and the trunk in girth reaches three meters. A sign nearby reads: “Nikulinsky Nut”, and many tourists consider taking a picture on it a matter of honor.
Exposure of unscrupulous businessmen
In a couple of steps there is also a two-meter stone rock, on which (according to local enterprising citizens) Nina sang a song about bears to Shurik. Such a swindle haunted numerous connoisseurs and fans of the film for a long time: they claimed that this place had nothing to do with the stone where the “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was filmed: fortunately, very recognizable landscapes are in Crimea.
According to them, relatively recently, an “authentic boulder” was discovered: it is also located relatively close to the “Nikulinsky Nut”, just a hundred meters away. But climbing it now would be problematic: the area is overgrown with wild roses and blackberries. With their thorns, tourists do not burn with a special desire to get to know each other better.
Pilgrimage of tourists
Every Crimean will proudly tell in which city the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: the places where the famous heroes in Alushta have long turned into a tourist attraction. Locals retell the endless tales and legends associated with the film. These myths are juicy and colorful, but not all of them are true.
So, some enthusiasts claim that one of the buildings where the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed is the Solnechny restaurant in Alushta (now it houses the UNDERWORLD club). It is there, they say, that the insidious "friends" of the groom agree with Shurik to steal the bride. In fact, most of the indoor scenes were filmed in Mosfilm pavilions, and this one is no exception. The setting shown in the film does indeed resemble the interior of the said restaurant, but it is, nevertheless, just a set.
Recognizable places
A few years ago in Simferopol they filmed the film “In the footsteps of the “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. In it, the events of 50 years ago are documented very accurately and reliably.
So, the episode in which Comrade Saakhov meets the main character was actually filmed in Alushta. In the frame you can see the steps where the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: they connect Krapivny Lane with Baglikova Street. The house into which Shurik and Edik run in, disguised as orderlies, was residential at that time and is located to the right of the Alushta Genoese tower (it can be seen in the frame). In the episode where the repentant protagonist tells the failed groom about his accidental participation in Nina's abduction, the Northern Dvina boarding house is visible in the background. The famous scene with drinking intoxicating drinks was filmed near the local amusement park, and Morgunov gave twist lessons on the dance floor of the boarding house "Chaika".
Alushta is replete with memorable places where the “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was filmed: photos of various relics associated with the film can be found on numerous forums and social networks. Tourists even found and captured the ladder from which Shurik jumped on a donkey: it was found in one of the Alushta courtyards, the hostess is very proud of her.
Citizen Participation and the Movie Star Donkey
There are a great many eyewitnesses of the events and their descendants in the city. Scrupulous researchers counted almost half a thousand local residents in the crowd scenes. According to one of the stories, the boys who look into the ballroom, where they dance the twist, who want to join Western culture, really turned out to be by chance. At first, the guys got a scolding, but as a result, they left the scene: Vitsin's improvisation, who ate the "unaccounted ticket" and then swung at the annoying boys, Gaidai liked.
Filming began on June 1 in the vicinity of Alushta: the first two days filmed Shurik's journey on his colorful stubborn horse. Ten years ago, the donkey Lucy, the star of the "Prisoner of the Caucasus", was still alive. They say that it was she who starred in the film "9th Company". It is not known how true this is: by human standards, she is already well over a hundred, because the average life expectancy of a donkey is about 30-40 years, and only some individuals live to the advanced age of sixty. According to some sources, the movie star donkey was born in 1947. At the time of filming in "9 company" she should have been 58 years old.
Settlement Radiant
On June 3, an episode was filmed with the farewell of the main characters at the base, and on the 4th - a scene in which "a student, a Komsomol member and just a beauty" demonstrates climbing talents. The rocks from which Nina descends are located not far from Radiant (a village near Alushta, where the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was filmed). In the same village, Shurik climbed into and Nina laughed at him.
Then cinematic hoaxes begin: having rolled along the Crimean slope, the main character finds himself in the already mentioned Caucasian river Mzymta. Varley recalled that the temperature of the water in it was about 7 degrees, so she and Demyanenko are shaking so naturally from the cold.
A few minutes later, Abkhazia will appear among the places where the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: in the scene of Nina's abduction, when Coward, Dunce and Experienced meet a policeman on a motorcycle and successfully pass the writhing girl for a lamb, some film lovers seem to have identified the road leading to Lake Ritsa. According to information from other sources, this scene was filmed in the village of Luchistoye, even a specific date is indicated - July 7, and has nothing to do with Abkhazia.
Simferopol fence
On June 8, the film crew was in Simferopol: Shurik's escape from the lunatic asylum was captured on film. The conspicuous fence, over which the hero jumps with the help of an ingenious device (and sympathetic patients), is the fence of the May 1 cannery. He is happy to be identified by the characteristic columns of both locals and tourists.
The very next day, the filmmakers returned to the beloved Alushta and continued filming Demyanenko's imprisonment: the scenes in the hospital garden were filmed here.
Alushta surroundings
In the cinema, they often shoot the finale first, and then the beginning: there is nothing surprising that the episode of meeting Edik, cursing the day when he “sat down at the steering wheel of this vacuum cleaner”, started only in mid-June (on the 13th), after Shurik had escaped from mental dispensary. Local historians claim that the scene where the beautiful Nina is followed first by a stubborn donkey, and then by a stalled ambulance, takes place on the highway between Vysokoe and Kuibyshevo. The mountain visible in the background is called Iron - the area was identified from it.
The immediate surroundings abound in places where Gaidai's "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: photos from the filming show landscapes near Alushta and Alupka (Morgunov falls asleep while chasing a fugitive on the Ai-Petri "serpentine").
Shooting Strada
In the village of Kuibyshevo, Nina and Shurik meet, then in the village of Nikita they rent a “climbing base”, where the main character first searches for and then kidnaps the girl.
Already on June 27, the group moved to Luchistoye, and after that the Crimean shootings were carried out only here or in Alushta. Actors and other participants with pleasure recalled these times. Numerous impromptu, unexpected funny scenes, impromptu jokes - the stories of their creation have long been made public and overgrown with numerous legends.
On the last day of summer, August 31, the film crew left for Moscow, where they filmed the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" already in the pavilions (for example, scenes in the corridors of the hospital, Saakhov's office, police station, toasting in a restaurant).
In mid-October (from the 7th to the 14th), 12 participants in the film were in Alushta: it was necessary to finish some missing fragments. At this time, the finale of the picture was completed (Nina and Shurik go to the bus stop, the donkey runs after the departing minibus) and several scenes of the opening of the Wedding Palace (Nina laughing stands in the crowd of spectators). Many are trying to find the appropriate building in Alushta and even claim that this is the building of the local police, but in fact, only the crowd was filmed in the city, and everything else was a properly designed courtyard of the film studio.
remake
In 2014, a remake of the famous comedy was released, for which the general producer of the film Fyodor Bondarchuk, together with director Maxim Voronkov, received a flurry of devastating criticism. If Gaidai chose to shoot his film in the Crimea, then the place where they filmed "Prisoner of the Caucasus-2" is the mountains that appear in the title. There is nothing surprising in this (commentators sarcastically note), given that the customer and main sponsor of the filming was the North Caucasus Resorts company. Following the best European experience, the company decided to attract tourists in this way: to demonstrate captivating mountain views, create a positive image of the region, etc., etc.
Filming took place, among other things, not far from the village of Ordzhonikidzevsky (Karachay-Cherkessia). Now the locals also have an attraction: a wobbly wooden bridge across the Kuban River, where they filmed "Prisoner of the Caucasus-2". In the process of filming, many unknowingly called the film a continuation of the famous comedy. Of course, this is not so: the script almost completely repeats the original - the creators of the picture offer the audience to laugh at jokes known since childhood, but the quality of their performance, unfortunately, cannot be compared with what was filmed almost half a century ago.
... after reading "Shurik's toasts", I wanted to remember the "Prisoner of the Caucasus". Do you know what prompted this topic? We watched the film "9th Company" with my family, and so, my daughter said that the donkey from the Caucasian prisoner played the donkey in this film !!!
interesting facts about Gaidai's best comedy:
And at the beginning of the film, Shurik appeared on a donkey.
Donkey Lucy became famous in 1966, when the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was released.
. The motion picture was filmed in the Crimea, and the assistants of the director Gaidai looked after this particular hoofed handsome man as Shurik's partner - Demyanenko.
By the way, Lucy was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. The average life expectancy of donkeys is 30 to 40 years, but centenarians live up to 60. Lucy has lived her life to her age limit.
The last time she shook her old age at the age of 55 and starred in the "9th Company", remember where Vlad Galkin (Yakut) played
An interesting story told by Vladimir ETUSH (in the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - Comrade Saakhov):
On the set, Lucy shot down a Moskvich
“We suffered with this stubborn animal. When you need to go - stop, stand - go. Leonid Gaidai was very careful about the donkey, saying that the animal is biblical, so "comrade actors, be careful." Demyanenko (Shurik) called the donkey (or donkey) "eared", and he responded. In general, the donkey got along only with Sasha and Natasha Varley. They fed him sugar. At the end of filming, the donkey followed Sasha with his tail. And here, when the episode with the stubbornness of the donkey was filmed, they persuaded the donkey to stand for a long time, and he - a smart beast - knows that Sasha has sugar in his pocket, and runs after him. They did 30 duplicates. Alexander even changed his pants - so that the smell of sugar would not remain. And the animal does not come off! We decided to shoot another episode. So this animal galloped off somewhere around the bend. A second later there was a crash, donkey screams and screams. And because of the turn, a group of angry comrades fell out, who demanded compensation for damages for the crippled Moskvich. But when the guys saw our trinity - Vitsin, Morgunov and Nikulin - they smiled, asked for autographs, and the incident was settled.
According to the original plan, the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was supposed to begin like this. Coward (Vitsin) comes up to the fence, timidly writes a big letter “X” and, looking around, runs away. Then Experienced (Morgunov) appears and confidently draws a large letter "U". The policeman who noticed this disgrace takes the whistle. However, Balbes (Nikulin) does not hesitate, goes to the fence and adds: "... a dozhestvenny film." This screensaver was later cut out, considering it to be hooliganism.
For every trick invented by the actors, Gaidai paid them with champagne. They say that in the end, Nikulin earned 24 bottles, Morgunov - 18, and Vitsin only one, because he did not like champagne. In fact, he came up with tricks in the film no less than his partners.
Here's what he saidGeorgy Vitsin:“Remember the episode when they knock down the door and I fly out the window? I added one touch - the Coward flies and shouts "Watch out!" Or another improvisation - when I run after Varley and get frightened by a handkerchief that has fallen from her. It seems to be a trifle, but for some reason the audience remembered this moment very well. And I just walked from the image - since a Coward, it means that he should be afraid of everything, even a scarf. I also came up with a scene with a cucumber while Shurik was chasing us on a railcar. I shoot from a slingshot, the cucumber remains in my hands, and the slingshot flies away. But my favorite find is "stand to the death." Remember when the three of us, holding hands, blocked Varley's road? And I am convulsing between Morgunov and Nikulin. Everyone still reminds me of this scene ... "
For a long time they could not find an actress for the role of a student, a Komsomol member, an athlete Nina. Gaidai made a strict requirement: "The girl must immediately draw attention to herself." Assistants brought photographs from all over the country; more than five hundred photo tests were made.
Natalya Varley was "discovered" by director Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich (the future author of "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers"). In Odessa, during a tour of the Moscow Circus, he drew attention to a beautiful tightrope walker girl. Right under the dome, balancing on a suspended trapeze, Natalya Varley beat out the rhythms of Spanish dances. The director immediately offered her the lead role in his film The Rainbow Formula. But the artistic council did not approve her, and she played only a cameo role.
From the very first screen tests, Varley, unexpectedly for everyone, made the donkey go. “How she made him go - you have to ask her,” Alexander Demyanenko was surprised.
If the stunt episodes were given to the young actress quite easily, then the game scenes were much more difficult. “She didn’t know how to do anything in the cinema,” Gaidai recalled, “but there was a natural artistry in her that could do a lot. In addition, she perfectly performed all the tricks, and there are a lot of them in the picture.
According to the unanimous opinion of all persons involved in the filming, the film was a success. It was so successful that “Operation Y” will overtake in all respects. However, after the first viewing, Alexei Romanov, chairman of the USSR Goskino, attacked the director and screenwriters with accusations of being anti-Soviet. The censorship disliked the jokes, the songs, the frivolity of the narrative, and the seriousness of the issues involved. The censor didn't like anything. It was easier to put the film on the shelf and admit it was a complete failure than to go along with the critics and turn a bright comedy into its weakest semblance.
The picture was saved by chance. Once, some fresh comedy had to be delivered to Brezhnev's dacha. Gaidai's rejected film was sent at their own risk. Leonid Ilyich liked “The Prisoner of the Caucasus” so much that he revised it several times over the weekend, showed it to members of the Politburo of the Central Committee who lived in the neighborhood and, sprinkling his speech with replicas from the film, congratulated the then chairman of the USSR Goskino Alexei Romanov on the phone with another victory for Soviet cinema, ” - recalls the screenwriter of the picture Yakov Kostyukovsky.
Few people know that in the same sixties, the plot was ready for the continuation of the “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Comrade Saakhov ends up in prison, where he becomes the leader of the amateur camp activities. For a Caucasian - the occupation of death is similar. After many misadventures, he is released and hopes to resume his career .... However, his position has already taken ... Nina. The scriptwriters were convinced that the picture was doomed to success, but the ubiquitous Goskino did not allow the plans to be implemented.
This movie is beyond praise. Both adults and children know it, a film that you want to watch again and again. The film contains not only the immortal humor of the characters, a slight intrigue, but!. .. even an element of light erotica, of course, the level of the 60s of the last century. And I have long been haunted by the question of how Soviet censorship gave the charming Natalya Varley half the film to run around in pantyhose alone.
At the box office in 1967, "Prisoner of the Caucasus" confidently took first place, for the year it was watched by 76.54 million viewers.
The film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was almost entirely filmed in the Crimea. Probably, this film and the filming locations of its episodes are talked about more than others on the peninsula - both truth and fiction. Any resident of the village of Radiant or the city of Alushta will be happy to show you dozens of places where the heroes of Nikulin, Vitsin, Morgunov, Varley and others have set foot.
Nikulinsky nut - a landmark of the Crimea
Only the episode with the mountain river was filmed on the Mzymta River near Krasnaya Polyana in the vicinity of Sochi (although I heard from Alushta residents that the river was built artificially at the foot of Demerdzhi. Allegedly, a long tarpaulin was laid along the mountain path and water was drained from the top of the barrels of several water carriers - and so a mountain flow. Nonsense, of course, but interesting).
The main filming location is Alushta and the surroundings of the village of Radiant near the Demerdzhi massif. The same shooting took place in the vicinity of the village. Kuibyshevo in the Bakhchisaray district, a section of the old highway Alushta - Verkhnyaya Kutuzovka, the vicinity of Yalta and Ai-Petri.
Nikulinsky Nut - a frame from the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" The most recognizable place is an old walnut tree near Demerdzhi, on which Nikulin's hero sat and threw nuts. This tree is about 600 years old (trunk circumference 296 cm) and used to grow near a medieval Greek monastery located at the mouth of the Valley of Ghosts. Tourists love to take pictures near it. Not far from the tree there is a post of foresters of the Alushta forestry and there is a sign "Nikulinsky Nut". Sometimes foresters try to take money (2-3 hryvnias) for a photo next to a tree. The age of a tree and its cultural and aesthetic significance can rightly be convincing arguments in favor of its legal protection.
A few meters from the Nikulinsky nut there is a large block of conglomerate, given out by the guides as "the stone on which Varley danced." A metal ladder is substituted for the stone, so that anyone (again, not for free) can climb up and imitate a dance to the “song about bears”. A huge block of conglomerate next to the Nikulinsky nut is mistakenly shown to tourists. Either the guides themselves do not know the truth, or they are just too lazy to go to the real stone.
It is clearly seen in the film that before the dance, Nina takes a rather light step onto a stone, and a 2-meter block near a nut cannot possibly be one. Also in the frame, the orientation to Mount Elkh-kaya, Angar-burun and lavender fields above the village of Lavender is clearly visible in the background. On February 10, 2007, a group of enthusiasts decided to put an end to the myth about the Varley stone and embarked on a mini-expedition. On the hands were printouts of frames from the film. As a result of a half-hour search, the real stone and the filming site of the episode were found.
They are located about 100 meters northeast of Nikulinsky Nut among huge boulders. The entire space is overgrown with blackberry and rosehip shrubs. The stone itself is a flat block half a meter high. The trapezoidal stone, which is visible in the shots on the right (Shurik is standing in the background) is completely hidden in the thorny bushes. The site where the camera was located is located 5 meters from the stone in a recess - therefore, the effect is created as if Nina is dancing on a rather high stone - which in the film is Shurik's waist. Between the stone itself and the operator's station now lies several fresh small fragments of the conglomerate, which fell from a huge boulder overhanging from the west. They weren't there during filming. Comparison with printouts of frames showed 100% similarity.
The Varley stone was found. Unfortunately, the weather was very cloudy and the shots were not spectacular. The next time we visit the Valley of Ghosts, we will definitely photograph the stone from a good angle, try to clear it of bushes and determine the exact coordinates using the ZHPS. Considering that there were several Crimean guides and journalists in our group, we can hope that information about the location of the real stone will spread in this area in Crimea and most of the guides will no longer deceive the guests of Crimea by showing a fictitious filming location of the popularly beloved film.
By the way, a few years ago, one of the travel agencies organized a costumed animation tour “Visiting the Prisoner of the Caucasus”, where they tell in detail about the shooting of the film with a demonstration on the ground. In Simferopol, a wonderful film-investigation "In the footsteps of the Caucasian captive" was filmed several years ago. Here everything is shown and told in detail - where, when and how they filmed.
By the way, the movie donkey Shurik still lives in the Simferopol zoo. There was a sign on the cage “Lusya the donkey, transferred by the Yalta film studio, participated in the filming of The Caucasian Captive”, “9th Company”, “Special Forces”. The donkey, of course, no longer looks as cheerful as in the film, after all, the years take their toll. The movie actress donkey is a favorite of the zoo staff and one of the living sights of the city of Simferopol. Donkey Lusya was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. The height at the withers is 112 cm. The average weight of a pack that Lucy is able to carry is 70 - 80 kg. The average life expectancy of donkeys is 30 to 40 years, but centenarians live up to 60.
Locals will recognize the filming locations of the film:
The episode with the hotel administrator was filmed at the IMC "Yunost", this building and the inscription have survived to this day. The staircase along which Nina (Varley) runs away at the beginning of the film and meets Saakhov is located behind the Sporting Goods store and goes from the church to the bathhouse (Baglikova Street). The episode with kunaks was filmed at the Solnechny restaurant, now the UNDERWORLD disco club. A moment with kebabs and a toast about cybernetics: a city (not intercity) trolleybus ring. ZAGS - Alushta transfusion station. Police - registry office. The birthday was celebrated in front of the current Natalina bar, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Severnaya Dvina boarding house, the building of the boarding house shines in the film (against it, Shurik tells Saakhov about the stolen bride). Well, the most important thing. My family is connected to the Captive. The remains of the stage on which Morgunov taught to dance the twist is located 50 meters from my current house on the territory of the Chaika camp site, and the kid looking at the door to Vitsyn is my father, and he really just looked at the site (not according to the script) for which they yelled at him, and then when they saw how Vitsin played, they decided to leave. And the door of Saakhov's dacha, into which Shurik and Edik (the orderly) runs, is in the house next to the Genoa Tower (it is in the frame to the left of the house) in which my grandmother, grandfather and young father lived in those years.
Shooting days of the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" in the Crimea:
June 1 (Alushta) - the first shooting day in the expedition. The first frames of the film were shot: Shurik rides a donkey (there were two donkeys). On that day, they worked from 7.30 am to 6.00 pm, but only 11 useful meters of film were shot.
June 2 - Shurik continues his journey on a donkey,
June 3 - episodes are filmed "at the mountaineering base": Shurik says goodbye to Nina. Nina: "It's getting late. Go…”
Jumping on a stone before the dance - still from the movie June 4 - episodes are filmed in the village of Radiant: Nina descends from the cliff. Due to bad weather, only one shot was taken (5 useful meters).
June 6 (Radiant) - Nina, looking at Shurik in a sleeping bag, laughs (when this episode was filmed, Varley could not manage to laugh contagiously. Then one of the members of the film crew pulled up his T-shirt and showed her his stomach, after which the girl sincerely burst out laughing); Shurik, being in a sleeping bag, falls to the ground and rolls.
June 8 - the group moved to Simferopol, where the episodes “street near the dispensary” were filmed near the May 1 cannery: Shurik falls into the back of a truck; Shurik jumps off the truck; Shurik runs down the street and meets Edik; Shurik gets into Edik's ambulance.
June 9 - the group returned to Alushta, where episodes are being filmed: Shurik in the garden of the dispensary approaches two patients and offers to think for three. Those conscience him: "It is a sin to laugh at sick people."
Nina's famous dance on the stone - still from the film June 11-12 - days off.
June 13 - the group moved to Kuibyshevo. Episodes from the beginning of the film are filmed there: Shurik meets Edik, whose car has stalled. Edik delivers a passionate monologue to his ambulance, which constantly stalls: “Damn the day when I sat down at the steering wheel of this vacuum cleaner. No wonder the great and wise Abu Ahmad Ibn Bey, the first driver of this car, said: “Keep in mind, Edik,” he said, “Allah alone knows where the spark goes for this unworthy geek in the glorious family of internal combustion engines. May his carburetor dry up, forever and ever!..” Shurik tries to budge his stubborn donkey. A. Demyanenko recalls how this actually happened:
“There were difficulties with the donkey. According to the plot, he either walked or stood. In general, donkeys are difficult to deal with. I give him one thing - and he tends to his own. It's good that when you drag a donkey, he usually resists. And I got a completely normal donkey. But how Varley made him go - you have to ask her ... "
June 14 (Kuibyshevo) - the beautiful Nina passes by Shurik and Edik; Nina is followed by a donkey and an ambulance; Shurik rides on a donkey for Nina.
June 15 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik goes for Nina; Nina walks past the mirror; Nina hides in the forest.
June 16 (Kuibyshevo) - a donkey drags Shurik into the forest after Nina; Shurik rushes through the thicket.
June 17 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik and Edik kick the car; Nina is coming Edik is driving past Nina; Shurik leaves the forest on a donkey.
June 18 is a day off.
June 19 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik stops Nina: “Excuse me, please. I have a big request to you: I can ask you to go only along the highway, without turning off. Nina is surprised: “And why is that?” - "Yes, my donkey is following you as if tied." Nina doubts: "Donkey?" - "Well, yes," Shurik answers. “So he was following me? And I thought ... "-" No - he is! - Shurik resolutely declares, removing all suspicions from himself; Shurik and Nina get acquainted, the girl says that she came to her aunt for the holidays.
June 20 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik and Nina get acquainted; Shurik pulls his donkey, but he does not go; Shurik and Nina are walking along the road.
June 22 (Nikita village) - episodes are filmed at the "alp base": Shurik sneaks into the camp to kidnap Nina; Shurik snoops among the people sleeping in sleeping bags; Shurik finds Nina.
June 23 (Nikita village) - Shurik is looking for Nina; Shurik closes Nina in a bag.
June 24 - Shurik rides after Nina on a donkey (an episode from the beginning of the film); an ambulance is driving along the road, heading towards the Eagle's Nest.
June 25 - 26 - days off.
June 27 (Radiant) - Shurik and Edik race on a wheeled barrel.
June 28 (Radiant) - an episode from the finale of the film: Shurik and Nina part near the bus stop; Shurik and Edik are racing on a wheeled barrel.
June 30 (Alushta) - Nina in an ambulance; Shurik and Edik on a wheeled barrel; the cucumber hits Edik.
July 4 (Radiant) - Shurik and Edik on a wheeled barrel; trinity in the car; Nina's car stalls; Nina gets into the trio's car; the trio runs after Nina.
July 5 (Alushta) - the trinity drives up to the dance floor. On that day, they worked from 7.30 to 18.00, but only 18 useful meters of film were removed.
July 6 (Radiant) - episodes were filmed at the "alpbase": Shurik is looking for Nina among the sleeping ones; Shurik drags a bag with Nina.
July 7 (Radiant) - the trinity carries a bag with Nina (it was not Varley in the bag, but one of the members of the film crew); a policeman drives up to the car in which Nina is hidden on a motorcycle and asks Shurik: “What are you loading?” - “The bride was stolen,” Shurik honestly answers.
But Dunce shows resourcefulness - he bleats, and the policeman laughs heartily: "If you fry shish kebab from this bride, don't forget to piriglait."
The episode with the spinning head of the Coward was filmed like this: Vitsin was filmed with a ram's hat on his head, then they interrupted the plan of Morgunov and Nikulin. Vitsin rolled over and was filmed from behind. He put on his jacket the other way around, with strange hands sticking out from behind his back. And then again there was a return to the original position.
July 8 (Radiant) - Nina rides in an ambulance; the trio run up to the ambulance; an ambulance passes along the road, followed by a convertible with a trinity, then a wheeled barrel.
July 9 (Alushta) - Experienced shows how to dance the twist; The coward cheats with tickets; Dunce plays dominoes (by the way, the old man who is terribly worried and afraid to lose is one of the authors of the script for the film, Maurice Slobodskoy).
July 10 (Alushta) - the trinity drinks beer, while the Coward utters philosophically: "To live is good." And Balbes clarifies: “And it’s good to live even better”; Coward and Experienced are signaling to the Dunce from the car: they say, we are leaving.
July 11 is a day off.
July 14 (Radiant) - Coward shoots from a slingshot; Dunce cuts the rope with a knife; Dunce hangs on a rope; Dunce throws a jar of oil on the road; Nina steals the trio's car.
July 15 (Radiant) - the trinity gets into the refrigerator; the refrigerator driver hears a noise; the trinity crawls out of the refrigerator covered in icicles.
July 16 (Radiant) - Nina signals to the trinity to clear the way for her, the trinity stands on the road, hands clasped. By the way, Vitsin came up with this scene. According to him, this is his favorite find in this film. And, indeed, he plays in this episode - you will laugh.
July 17 (Radiant) - the trinity runs after Nina in the forest; Ning runs into the cave; a bear comes out of the cave with a roar (Mishka, of course, is trained, his trainer Zvonarev was always present next to him on the set).
July 19 (Radiant) - Dunce and Nina, embracing, take a breath after meeting with a bear; Nina retreats from the Goon; The coward shies away from Nina's cape lying on the ground (this gag is also on Vitsin's account); Nina is caught in the car.
July 21 (pass) - Shurik and Edik on a wheeled barrel.
July 22 (Radiant) - Shurik catches up on a horse with a car with a trinity and Nina; Shurik jumps from the horse into the car (jumped, of course, understudy).
July 23 - 26 - days off. On July 27, filming resumed. Episodes were filmed that day in Radiant: Dzhabrail was brought rams; Shurik on a horse.
July 28 (Radiant) - Saakhov leaves the house, after an unsuccessful rendezvous with Nina, passes by the trinity, says to Jabrail: “Well, nothing, in a day she will get hungry, in a week she will yearn, and in a month she will become smart. Will wait".
July 29 (the village of Nikita) - the trinity and the bound Nina are driving in a car through the forest, winding between the trees.
July 30 (Radiant) - Nina and Shurik are hanging wet linen; Dunce hides under a bag; The coward sings along to Nina.
July 31 (Radiant) - the trinity hides behind a stone. Dunce with a deck of cards; Dunce nearly falls out of the tree; Dunce is frightened that he has hit Experienced; Experienced in command; experienced plan.
August 1 (Radiant) - Nina sings "The Song of the Bears", Shurik asks her to sing; Nina sings; Shurik throws a nut up; Shurik leaves Nina; Coward and Experienced.
August 2 (Radiant) - Nina runs; Nina climbs a rock, dances; Dunce throws a nut down; Nina and Shurik leave; Dunce falls from a tree onto his accomplices.
By the way, this was Evgeny Morgunov's last day on the expedition - after that the film was shot without him. Why? Because of his quarrel with Leonid Gaidai. We remember that even during the filming of "Moonshiners" Morgunov spoiled his relationship with the director, refusing to act at first. And only after the intervention of Pyryev, he was able to return to the trinity.
At the “Operation Y”, the actor’s relationship with Gaidai also did not develop in the best way, but then the picture still managed to be completed. But on the Captive, the abscess nevertheless opened up.
Here is how L. Gaidai himself recalled the incident: “An emergency happened on the set of The Captive, which was the final chord of the joint work. Morgunov came to the shooting with fans. I tell the group director: “Remove all outsiders from the site!” Morgunov at me almost with his fists. I took the director's script and crossed out all the scenes with him in front of Morgunov's eyes. And a lot hasn't been filmed yet. “Everything,” I say to the director. - Send Morgunov to Moscow. He won't shoot again." So my trio broke up ... "
By the way, on the set, Morgunov received the lowest rate in the trinity - 25 rubles per shooting day, while Nikulin received 50 rubles, Vitsin - 40 (Demyanenko's rate was 50 rubles, Varley's - 13 rubles 50 kopecks). But this is so, by the way. Now back to the film set.
On August 3, a group from Radiant moved to Alushta. Episodes were filmed that day: the facade of the Yunost Hotel; Shurik and Nina are coming.
August 4 is a day off.
August 5 (Alushta) - Dzhabrail stops his wife at the gate: “Where are you going? Go home…"
August 6 (Alushta) - A coward directs the bringing of a refrigerator into the gates of Dzhabrail's house; The dunce, spitting watermelon pits, informs Jabrail's wife that in the neighboring district the groom stole a member of the party.
August 7 (Radiant) - Shurik and Edik go after Nina, walking along the road (instead of Varley, an understudy was filmed); Shurik rushes on a horse behind the car, where the trinity and Nina are sitting.
August 8 is a day off.
August 9 (Ai-Petri) - the car freezes on the edge of the abyss; Shurik takes Nina out of the car; Nina gives Shurik a slap in the face, scolds him, and he closes her mouth with a kiss (the trinity is removed in an incomplete composition - instead of Morgunov, there is an understudy in the car, which is removed from the back).
Saakhov explains to the doctor (actress Nina Grebeshkova, she is also the wife of Leonid Gaidai) why Shurik is ill: “You understand, this is a very severe form of the disease. You just need to save a person, that's the question, honestly, I swear. You understand, on the basis of alcoholism, he has some obsessive ideas: some kind of stolen bride, he is eager to save someone all the time. Just a clouding of the mind, honestly.
The doctor immediately makes a diagnosis: "It's clear: Delilium tremens is delirium tremens." - “Yes, white, hot, completely white,” Saakhov agrees with the diagnosis. The doctor reassures him: “Don’t worry, we’ll put him on his feet in three days.” But Saakhov needs Shurik to be kept as long as possible. Therefore, he asks the doctor: “No, no, no need to hurry, no need to hurry. This is our guest, it is important to cure, it is important to return a full-fledged person to society. There is no need to rush…”
August 13 (Alushta) - Saakhov meets Shurik near the police station: he runs there to report Nina's abduction; Saakhov calls the hospital so that a car comes from there for Shurik.
August 14 (Alushta) - Shurik and the hotel administrator listen to a barbecue toast about cybernetics; Shurik writes in a notebook.
August 17-19 - moving to Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi, where river episodes will be filmed on the banks and in the waters of the Mzymta mountain river itself.
Again filming in the pavilions of Mosfilm.
October 7 - 8 - 12 people of the film crew go to Alushta to shoot a few episodes on location and the beginning and end of the film.
October 9-10 - preparation for filming.
October 11 (Alushta) - Shurik and Nina are walking along the road, heading to the minibus stop; Shurik rides a donkey for a taxi.
October 12 (Alushta) - Nina stands in the crowd at the opening of the Wedding Palace; Nina laughs; Shurik rides on a donkey behind a minibus.
October 13 (Alushta) - a crowd of spectators at the Wedding Palace; Shurik rides a donkey (final frame).
In the Internet space, dozens of people have already discussed issues related to the filming locations of this popularly beloved film, so in order not to repeat ourselves, we will give the reader the opportunity to watch the discussion about the filming locations of "Prisoner of the Caucasus" on the website of Alexei and Galina Petrovsky:
Discussion on the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" (excerpts)
... Not only do I enjoy watching The Prisoner of the Caucasus, but I also collect all kinds of information about this film. One of my interests is precisely the clarification of the filming locations of certain plots. And when I was in Alushta, I even closely dealt with this issue, but, unfortunately, I could not find practically anything. Even excursions to the Valley of Ghosts and the Glade of Fairy Tales, except, like: "Famous films were filmed here ...." - they don't say anything about it.
True, I found one place for sure - this is the building of the dispensary, near which the scene was filmed when Shurik, hurrying to the police, met Saakhov with shouts: “They stole, stole ...” - he asked something: “What, your donkey was stolen ? Unfortunately, now I don’t remember either the name of the street or the dispensary, or the number of the house, but for those who are interested, I can say that if you go from the market to the main post office in the shortest way - past the church, then the place is just before the street turns down to the sea . It is impossible to make a mistake by the appearance of the glass staircase of the dispensary.
However, some filming locations remain dark spots for me. I would, aLEX, be very grateful if you could shed some light on this matter.
1. The very beginning of the film, when Shurik, Edik and Nina meet for the first time. Several times on the horizon a range of mountains was clearly visible with a flat, steep and rather high slope, of a rather large extent, ending in a cliff with a characteristic “profile”. From no point in Alushta, and other places in the Crimea, I have not seen this. Where is it?
2. Such a well-known and even “bright” scene, when Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov drank beer and enjoyed life, I agree, was filmed somewhere near the amusement town. But there was a summer cinema nearby, where they taught visitors how to twist, there was a road along which they drove up in a car, and there was a capital building - obviously a dispensary with large, vertically elongated windows. Not only that, I even managed to find out that that cinema was called, or was called "Surf", but I could not find it in kind, or at least a similar place. Do you know the exact coordinates of that place?
3. Well, the wedding palace - also from wherever I looked, but I could not see such a picture. Couldn't they have taken it down?
aLEX:
1. The very beginning of the film, when Shurik, Edik and Nina meet for the first time. Several times on the horizon a range of mountains was clearly visible with a flat, steep and rather high slope, of a rather large extent, ending in a cliff with a characteristic “profile”. From no point in Alushta and other places in the Crimea, I have not seen this. Where is it?
This is Crimea - 100%. And there are a lot of such places. As in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai, and in the vicinity of Simferopol and Belogorsk. Although, most likely it is in the area of the village of Kuibyshevo. (Addition of KRYMOVED: this is a section of the Vysokoye - Kuibyshevo road, Mount Utyug is visible in the background in the film)
2. Such a well-known and even “bright” scene, when Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov drank beer and enjoyed life, I agree, was filmed somewhere near the amusement town. But there was a summer cinema nearby, where they taught visitors to twist ...
next to the film, but not in life. After all, how the sleeping Morgunov traveled through the "pine forest", but ended up on Ai-Petri ...
... there was a road along which they drove up in a car, and there was a capital building - obviously a dispensary with large, vertically elongated windows. This building, if I'm not mistaken, is a former furniture store after the ring, "tank", on a hillock if you go to Simferopol. The episodes are just so short. On the same “old” road to the pass, so many shots of the chase were filmed that it seems that the road is long.
Not only that, I even managed to find out that that cinema is called, or was called "Surf", but I could not find it in kind, or at least a similar place
It's not clear with the cinema - you have to look. Also with the Palace of Barco-Combinations, there are more questions than answers, because in one frame it’s definitely Alushta, in the other, suspicions creep in that there isn’t. For example, I have a suspicion that the "madhouse" and the road to it (with a long fence) were filmed in Simferopol, but it is problematic to check now - since the fence is now demolished on the other side of the suspected road - the gates of that plant too.
It is probably worth looking in more detail in Alushta for all the filming locations. In the episode when Saakhov first sees Nina descending the stairs, I always have the feeling that I have seen this staircase many times in Alushta, but again I have to go to check. Yes, and they say that the house where they drove the sheep, carried the refrigerator, from the stairs of which Shurik jumped on the donkey is still in Alushta.
Mc:
I know where the stairs are located, along which Shurik rode down on a donkey. It is inside the courtyard, the entrance to which is behind the shooting gallery at the beginning of the embankment. We bought wine there, and the hostess boasted that when the film was being shot and a ladder was needed, we just went around the yards. And their yard was closest, so they took off their stairs. We didn’t really believe it and took a picture of the stairs. And then we looked at the cassette. It turned out she was!
There is a shot where Shurik and his friend are hanging on a tree when the barrel fell into the abyss, and so, it seems to me that this is still Chatyr-Dag, filmed from the side of the Simferopol-Alushta highway, the top and a piece of the Cold couloir. I'll try to find this angle in the spring. Further (this frame is not in the cut), remember how Shurik ran away from the psychiatric hospital? He ran along the long-and-innogo fence. I think that it was filmed in Simferopol, the fence of the May 1 factory, there are poles there, of a truss type. There are still such in Simferopol, they have been standing since the 14th year, they were installed by the Belgian concession. In any case, I will also try to find this point of shooting.
aLEX):
About the fence I have the same guesses! And on the other side, you can see the fence of Shevchenko Park, when he was still there. Yes, and the gates of the psychiatric hospital, too, the far gates of the plant. The 1 of May.
A selection of stills from the film
What animal was filmed in both "Prisoner of the Caucasus" and "9th company"? and got the best answer
Answer from?[guru]
It's actually not a donkey, but a donkey...
Lucy was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. Height at the withers - 112 cm.
The average weight of a pack that Lucy is able to carry is 70 - 80 kg.
The average life expectancy of donkeys is 30 to 40 years, but centenarians live up to 60.
The legendary donkey Lusya has been registered in the Simferopol zoo since the day of its creation in the Children's Park for forty years. And she became famous in 1966, when the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was released. The motion picture was filmed in the Crimea, and the assistants of the director Gaidai looked after this particular hoofed handsome man as Shurik's partner - Demyanenko.
“The fact that our Lucy is a celebrity was told to me by our veteran employees,” says the head of the zoo corner, Alexei Kamentsev. - In front of their eyes, filmmakers took Lucy to the shooting.
And our 55-year-old donkey shook the old days and starred in the TV series "Special Forces".
A donkey was needed to shoot the scene with the old Afghan man in the film "9th Company". The film crew turned to the Yalta Zoo, explaining that they need an animal that is not afraid of the camera and loud sounds. Zoo workers immediately advised the donkey Lucy, who starred in The Captive of the Caucasus almost 40 years ago, carrying Shurik. The role in the "9th company" she also played perfectly.
For three days she galloped through the mountains in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai. She and three other donkeys participated in a risky episode of hostilities. When the pyrotechnicians set off the explosions, the actors of the extras (according to the script!) rushed in all directions, and the donkeys remained in place: they simply were not afraid. Removed only from the third take. By the way, in the same mountains, the "special forces" Yakut found out about Lucy's cinematic past - he is played by Vlad Galkin. He took a picture with a donkey and already in Moscow, during a break between filming, he showed this picture to Natalya Varley - "a Komsomol member, an athlete and just a beauty."
- Natalya Vladimirovna recognized the same donkey in the picture, - Vladislav Galkin told us, returning to the shooting. - She recalls the Crimean "holidays" with nostalgia. If he comes to the Crimea, he will definitely visit Lucy.
- She is very cunning, with character, understands literally everything and, despite her advanced age, can gallop, - says the caretaker of the zoo Sasha. - Celebrations on the occasion of Lucy's anniversary have not yet been arranged in the zoo corner: conventionally, April 15 is considered her birthday, like Alla Pugacheva. But we decided to honor the legendary donkey in the summer...
A little bit about Lucy... Finally... Vladimir ETUSH (in the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - Comrade Saakhov):
On the set, Lucy shot down a Moskvich
“We suffered with this stubborn animal. When you need to go - stop, stand - go. Leonid Gaidai was very careful about the donkey, saying that the animal is biblical, so "comrade actors, be careful." Demyanenko (Shurik) called the donkey (or donkey) "eared", and he responded. In general, the donkey got along only with Sasha and Natasha Varley. They fed him sugar. At the end of filming, the donkey followed Sasha with his tail. And here, when the episode with the stubbornness of the donkey was filmed, they persuaded the donkey to stand for a long time, and he - a smart beast - knows that Sasha has sugar in his pocket, and runs after him. They did 30 duplicates. Alexander even changed his pants - so that the smell of sugar would not remain. And the animal does not come off! We decided to shoot another episode. So this animal galloped off somewhere around the bend. A second later there was a crash, donkey screams and screams. And because of the turn, a group of angry comrades fell out, who demanded compensation for damages for the crippled Moskvich. But when the guys saw our trinity - Vitsin, Morgunov and Nikulin - they smiled, asked for autographs, and the incident was settled.
Material from 04/24/2003.
Lucy died of old age in 2007.
Thanks for the question...
