This is How Movies Should Be Made

Highly Overrated But Still Good

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This feature actually consists of three half-hour-long story lines one after another, related only in that they all star the same hapless protagonist. I read somewhere that the director took Charlie Chaplin as a model for his comedy, and the influence shows here, even to the point of the short-subject-length segments -- and especially in the first story. That one is basically a pure slapstick comedy, drawing gags from the situation of the Sharik character (who actually ends up resembling Harold Lloyd in appearance and behavior more than Chaplin) working part time on a construction site, alongside the man who he caused to be working there as a sentence. The second segment is the one I thought to be the greatest success, as it combines the visual humor (many sequences of which, throughout, would work without dialogue at all) with a well-tuned funny situation and good actor chemistry. The third and titular segment is amusing as well, but perhaps get a little too involved in its own story. Overall, it's funny material and recreates well what made the silent comedies of the short-subject era funny, if without the inspiration of an actual Chaplin on set.

This naive old comedy is a landmark of Russian cinema. The humor is mostly Charlie Chaplin style (cake in the face etc.), however many verbal jokes from this comedy have made it into everyday language. There are three novels in this movie: one about a convict doing community service hand by hand with a student with orthogonal morale, another about college students cheating, and the last one about a trio of junks (the famous Russian comedians Nikulin, Vitsin, and Morgunov) staging a burglary to cover the real one.I would like to invite visitors to see pictures from the movie and watch a detailed trailer at RussArt.com. Those who read Russian can find more materials useful: reviews, actor biographies, articles, etc.Pictures: http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=69 . Trailer: http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=69 .

I love this movie, and the guy who plays Shurik is hilarious. Much funnier than Jim Carey. I want to see more of his movies. Too bad he lived on the wrong side of the curtain for so many years. And sadly, like all the best, he died young. He should have tried to be more like Ted Kennedy. And his side-kicks were hilarious as well. A friend told me that they were famous Russian actors in their own right. Just plane fun, light-hearted and simple. Whether you speak Russian or not, it's worth it to have a look at this classic comedy collection. It is a fascinating look into the Russian sense of humor, as it is universally loved in the former Eastern Bloc countries, and if you look at the ratings for US viewers, here in the West as well.

It is one of those 'must' soviet films that any educated man should see. Most talented actors, really cleverly made script and all, and also containing many words and phrases that got into lexicon. Nikulin as always geniusely acts both the facial expressions in the song "Postoy Porovoz", and the ones in other scenes (like the fight with Shurik). I could say that the song alone is enough to watch it, even for those who did not directly experience that kind of life, it would still cause a sense of cheerful nostalgy. Morgunov - also one of the most talented and known soviet actors, for those who ever liked him - it is most definitely one of his best pictures. Few more can be said, I mean - just watch it.