Charodei

Charodei (Russian: Чародеи, translations Enchanters, Sorcerers, Magicians) is a 1982 Soviet romantic fantasy musical film directed by Konstantin Bromberg.[2][3]

Charodei
DVD cover
Directed byKonstantin Bromberg
Written byArkady Strugatsky
Boris Strugatskyа[1]
Produced byLyudmila Pozdnyakova
StarringAleksandra Yakovleva
Aleksandr Abdulov
Yekaterina Vasilyeva
Valentin Gaft
Yevgeny Vesnik
Valery Zolotukhin
CinematographyKonstantin Opryatin[2]
Edited byNadezhda Yavorskaya
Music byYevgeni Krylatov
Production
company
Release date
  • 1982 (1982)
Running time
160 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Plot summary

Ivan Puhov (Abdulov) is in love with a very kind and friendly girl, Alyona (Yakovleva). Alyona works as a witch in a research institution that researches magic called NUINU (Scientific Universal Institute of Extraordinary Services, a NIICHAVO subsidiary in Kitezhgrad; for NIICHAVO see Monday Begins on Saturday). The couple are about to get married when Alyona's jealous and scheming co-worker, Sataneev (Gaft), tricks Alyona's boss, Kira Shemahanskaya (Vasilyeva), the institute director, into putting a spell on Alyona. The spell makes Alyona undergo a severe personality change, become unable to control her actions, and forget about Ivan. Ivan and Alyona's friends must figure out a way to break the curse while simultaneously protecting the institution's latest research development, a magic wand.

Cast

Production

The film was initially written by brothers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky as adaptation of their 1965 science fantasy novel Monday Begins on Saturday. But Bromberg turned down the script due to its serious tone and social commentary, and the Strugatskys had to rewrite their script as a light-hearted romantic comedy. As a result, the movie bore almost no resemblance to the book besides the setting and several characters' names. History later repeated itself with another film by Sokurov Days of Eclipse (Dni zatmeniya).

The film became a classic Soviet New Year's Eve romantic comedy, similar to Irony of Fate (Ironiya sud'by) and The Carnival Night (Karnavalnaya noch).

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" ((Russian: Загадка женщины) performed by Irina Otieva
  • "Three White Horses" (Три белых коня) performed by Larisa Dolina[2][3]
  • "A Song About A Snowflake" (Песня о снежинке) performed by Olga Rozhdestvenskaya and Dobrie Molodtsy band
  • "Witch-River" (Ведьма-речка) performed by Irina Otieva
  • "A Song About a Suit" (Песенка про костюмчик) performed by Emmanuil Vitorgan and Mikhail Svetin
  • "Imagine That" (Представь себе) performed by Aleksandr Abdulov
  • "Time to Sleep" (Спать пора) performed by Mikhail Svetin
  • "Serenade" (Серенада) performed by original cast members
  • "Centaurs" (Кентавры) performed by Dobrie Molodtsy
  • "By The Mirror" (Подойду я к зеркалу) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya
  • "You Can't Command Your Heart" (Только сердцу не прикажешь) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya and Vladislav Lynkovskiy
  • "Don't Believe What They Say" (Говорят, а ты не верь) performed by original cast members

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

References

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