A Beginner's Guide to Soviet Comedy Cinema 

Office Romance is such a great movie

Love these Beginner's Guides! For one, they're a great reminder that movies are not only Hollywood or Disney, but that so many nations have or had their own filmmakers and studios. And it's interesting to get insight into different nations, their culture and history and their arts and how artists influence each other across national borders. ❤

23:28 'Chasing two hares' comes from a saying 'Chasing two hares you wont catch either'. The movie is based on a play of same name.

10:00 Irony of Fate, Gentlemen of Fortune and Carnival Night were all often shown on ex-Soviet TV for New Year eve, it became something of a tradition. Other popular choises: Home Alone, Die Hard, Fifth Element.

"They don't usually have sexual content *by modern standards* ..." Keywords are "modern standards", as the scene from "Operation Y" that was shown just before this line (1:18) ends with _very_ mature joke (and was considered quite sexual by USSR standards).

Thank you for the video. It's very interesting to see how somebody who didn't grow in that environment perceives those films. A couple of minor points: (1) Even though Eladar Ryazanov's films are more direct in criticizing Soviet system (especially Garage) Gaidai's films do that as well but they are more covert about it. For example in Operation Y during negotiations between the storage facility manager and the three stooges to stage a fake robbery, the manager says that there won't any criminal charges because EVERYTHING is already stolen thus implying that quite a widespread corruption among bureaucracy that is appointed to safeguard common property. Another example is in Diamond Arm where building supervisor forces tenants to purchase government lottery tickets and threatens to switch off the gas if they refuse. (In Soviet multifamily building gas was used to cook and heat up water to wash). Hearing those threats one suddenly realizes that a regular Soviet citizen has very little recourse against even somebody with such a low level of authority as a building supervisor. The key phrases used in the conversions I referenced above became cultural references in Soviet society because of the seemingly innocuous but actually very sarcastic deeper meaning. (2) In Operation Y it's not an English sound Y but the Russian letter Ы. Usage of this specific letter in this context is funny because naming a secret operation with one letter implies a word acronym but there are no Russian words starting with letter Ы.

Thank you so much for doing the research and putting this together. As both an amateur enthusiast of Soviet history and a lover of film from all times and places, this is a treasure trove.

Sir, I am impressed by your knowledge and your dedication and your work on these ones. As the native watcher I must add some few things, though. Please don't take them as somehow offensive. I am just adding, not correcting what you have already said. Ryazanov also made another memorable, excellent comedy in the early 1970s titled Stariki-razboyniki (Old men-robbers) which is very touching, tear-jerking and nice, overall. It is a warm comedy about treating the old people, about old men and women who still feel young but are not perceived that way in the society. One of the greatest movies by Daneliya was 1975's Afonya (familiar diminutive for a male name Afanasy). The most watched movie of the year! Full of nice songs and music, as well. There was also Lyubov i Golubi (Love And Pigeons/Doves) by an Oscar-winning director Menshov. The big hit in the USSR, as well! Love And Pigeons is half drama with woman's hysterics and such stuff, but is still a half comedy, too. The very late 1980s also gave two unforgettable comedies full of music and songs: The Man from the Boulevard des Capucines (western-themed comedy about spreading the movie industry in the wild west's USA) and musical comedy The Seaside Boulevard (filmed in Odessa, Ukrainian sea resort city). Highly recommended for anyone interested! There was a classic Soviet hit "Hello, I'm Your Aunt!" based on Brandon Thomas' play. A very chamber feel (low budget is obvious), but great acting and nice atmosphere. The beginning 10 or so minutes feature famous silent movie frames of Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, etc. There was a notable Soviet 2-part interpretation of Three Men In A Boat. While the movie loosely followed the book and featured three additional female travellers and even a light foot fetish moment, it is still a curious variation of the classic novel. Among the lesser known ones, there was a truly great comedy "Seven brides of corporal Zbruyev" about a retired corporal selecting a future wife among 7 candidates. There were also several movies featuring and created by the famous Soviet comic duo Tarapunka and Shtepsel from Ukraine. Among them were: 1953's Tarapunka and Shtepsel under the clouds ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Px7mEJ2PEGs.html 1957's Shtepsel organizes Tarapunka's marriage ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jYKZjArAQq4.html and especially the two-part The Mockanical Adventures Of Tarapunka and Shtepsel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7gf9UIx8_Dg.html Finally, there was a nice little known satirical comedy Zaychik (Little-hare; the last name of protagonist, a shy theatre worker).

I would like to add «Wedding in Malinovka» (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_in_Malinovka ) and «Balzaminov's Marriage» (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balzaminov%27s_Marriage ) to the list. And btw there is another version of «The Twelve Chairs» - four-part TV series from 1976.

As a Georgian myself, I can safely say that this is a really awesome video that does a ton of justice to these immensly underrated and awesome movies. I think you should've talked about Georgian comedies a bit longer as there are some really awesome gems in there, but the subtle mention of Veris Ubnis Melodiebi (Melodies of the Vera District, at least that's my rough literal translations) and talking about Mimino was more than enough for me :>

I'm so glad you made this video, gonna send it to my friends asap

4:12 that joke wad hillarious

If someone looking for really authentic movie (not just one with soviet setup, which is indeed authentic by itself). Kin-dza-dza, mentioned at 14:40 imho is really very unique one. It could resemble mad max, but only by desert environment and some of design choices. But actually it's very surreal fairy tale. Very rare, truly bizarre experience (which is by the way are common for soviet sci-fi literature). Also, if i remember correctly, you mentioned a dog's heart in a video about sci-fi. Which is also actually a good comedy. Just closer to satire. But in case, someone reading this - well, also a good movie, with more adult sense of humor. And of course video are great one even from perspective of a native.

I would like to add that before Operation Y, Gaidai made Businesspeople- anthology adaptaion of three of O. Henry short stories- one dramatic and two comedic. It is also considered a classic film in Russia.

I freaking love Propala Hramota, glad that you've included it

This might just be me, but I notice the film picture quality is really high for a lot of these movies. There's something about it that just makes it pop and look almost a tad bit modern. I'm no film student so it might just be me, haha.

One important director of light-hearted fare from the silent Twenties on was Boris Barnet (1902-1965), whose films 'The Girl with a Hatbox' (1927) and 'The House on Trubnaya Square' (1928) remain two of the most famous Soviet comedies from that decade.

Other directors that should be mentioned are Mark Zakharov, Alla Surikova, Vladimir Menshov.

I watched many of these movies as a teenager. Man this episode was nostalgic, will definitely rewatch and check out the movies of first three directors.

Thanks for the overview! I've watched almost all of these films here on YT courtesy of Mosfilms and some other channels. Big fan of the Shurik films, plus I'm constantly urging everyone to see TAKING A WALK IN MOSCOW, CARNIVAL NIGHT (what a surprise that one was!), and the wonderfully weird KIN-DZA-DZA. The time travel film with Ivan the Terrible was on continuous loop at a Russian restaurant in Austin, TX for years; took me awhile to find the complete film, but it's a hoot. If you haven't seen it, check out CHESS FEVER (1925), a Soviet silent film starring Vladimir Fogel, who also starred in BED AND SOFA (1927).

Krepkiy oreshek (1968), Koroleva benzakolonki (1962) starring Nadezhda Rumyanceva

i watched a few videos of yours that came to my feed and im so glad you made this video! im a huge foreign fan of soviet comedy, seeing a video about it in a language i understand rather than the usual russian makes me beyond overjoyed. have you ever looked into any of karen shakhnazarov's films? he's the current head of mosfilm and he makes great films too, the ones i've seen so far lean more to drama genre-wise but they have comedy elements as well. i wouldnt say he's my favorite though, he directed the film "we are from jazz" (mosfilm uploaded it on youtube under the title "jazzmen" iirc) which features two different kinds of blackface, and that makes me more fascinated in the soviet cinema's representation of black people, having watched "circus" by grigori aleksandrov just recently. i mean, isn't it crazy that mosfilm made a movie in the 1930s about ussr's acceptance of racial diversity but they made a movie in the 1980s depicting blackface? this might be a good theme for a future video that you may or may not pick up. regardless, love your vids!

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Irony of Fate is such a great movie, wish more people knew about it outside the former USSR

Hi, love your videos, will there ever be a guide to Polish cinema?

Thanks for a very informative video. Of all the movies you mentioned, the only one I've seen is "Hussar's Ballad". It was shown in a LGBT film festival in Buenos Aires. I completely forgot it was a musical. 😅

I suggest writing the film titles at the top of the screen, so that do not mix with subtitles.

Мужик, а как же "Свадьба в Малиновке" и "Не бойся, я с тобой"?

Gogol is Ukranian-Russian writer🗿🗿🗿

Автор, посмотри киноленту "Королева бензоколонки"! Снимать сюжет про комедии и не упомянуть этот фильм - упущение😊

It’s great that you mentioned the national republics of the USSR

Thanks. Soviet Comedy was totally off my radar. 07:00 Post-Stalin emphasis on youth - because so many of previous generations were dead from Socialist starvation, purges, and war. 11:16 Zelensky in the 21st century remake of "Office Romance" - will Putin take back Zelensky as an actor, or will the CIA make Zelensky into a "Martyr and National Hero" and take over the country?

Beware of the Car is actually an inspiration for the Gone in 60 seconds film.

How about a video about Westerns made in Eastern block countries or/and 'Easterns' - Western-like movies set during Russian Revolution?

Хватит нас баловать)

Автору посоветовал бы не вставлять в каждое предложение "коммунизм". Это идеология партии, а не общественно-политический строй. Используйте слово "советский".