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Charodei
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Wikipedia article
'Charodei' (, translations 'Enchanters', 'Sorcerers', 'Magicians') is a 1982 Soviet romantic fantasy musical film directed by Konstantin Bromberg.[https://www.domkino.tv/news/9846 // 'Dubikvit']
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
* Aleksandra Yakovleva as Alyona Igorevna Sanina "Alyonushka"
* Aleksandr Abdulov as Ivan Sergeevich Puhov
* Yekaterina Vasilyeva as Kira Anatolyevna Shemahanskaya (vocal by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya)
* Valentin Gaft as Apollon Mitrofanovich Sataneev
* Yevgeny Vesnik as chairman of the commission
* Valery Zolotukhin as Ivan Kivrin
* Emmanuil Vitorgan as Viktor Kovrov
* Mikhail Svetin as Foma Ostapych Bryl
* Roman Filippov as Modest Matveevich Kamneyedov
* Anna Ashimova as Nina Puhova
* Semyon Farada as The Guest from South
* Leonid Kharitonov as Amatin
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" ( performed by Irina Otieva
* "Three White Horses" ( ) performed by Larisa Dolina[https://www.domkino.tv/news/9846 // 'Dubikvit']
* "A Song About A Snowflake" ( ) performed by Olga Rozhdestvenskaya and Dobrie Molodtsy band
* "Witch-River" (-) performed by Irina Otieva
* "A Song About a Suit" ( ) performed by Emmanuil Vitorgan and Mikhail Svetin
* "Imagine That" ( ) performed by Aleksandr Abdulov
* "Time to Sleep" ( ) performed by Mikhail Svetin
* "Serenade" () performed by original cast members
* "Centaurs" () performed by Dobrie Molodtsy
* "By The Mirror" ( ) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya
* "You Can't Command Your Heart" ( ) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya and Vladislav Lynkovskiy
* "Don't Believe What They Say" (, ) performed by original cast members
Music performance by State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography of the USSR.
References
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