Kidnapping, Caucasian Style
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''Prisoner of the Caucasus or Shurik's New Adventures'' () is a 1967 Soviet romantic
musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...
dealing with a plot revolving around
bride kidnapping Bride kidnapping, also known as marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry. Bride kidnapping (hence the portmanteau bridenapping) has been practiced around the world and t ...
, an old tradition that used to exist in certain regions of the
Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...
. The film was directed by
Leonid Gaidai Leonid Iovich Gaidai (30 January 192319 November 1993) was a Soviet comedy film director, screenwriter and actor who enjoyed immense popularity and broad public recognition in the former Soviet Union. His films broke theatre attendance records a ...
. It is the last film featuring the trio of the "Coward" (
Georgy Vitsin Georgy Mikhailovich Vitsin (; 18 April 1917 – 22 October 2001) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Vitsin was born in Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg in 1917 (Soviet documents list h ...
), the "Fool" (
Yuri Nikulin Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid Gaidai's comedies, such as ''The Diamond Arm'' and ''Kid ...
), and the "Pro" ( Yevgeny Morgunov), a group of bumbling antiheroes similar in some ways to the
Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...
. The film premiered in Moscow on 1 April 1967.


Background and production

As a result of the popularity of the earlier film, '' Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures'', Yakov Kostyukovsky and Moris Slobodsky requested
Mosfilm Mosfilm (, ''Mosfil’m'' , initialism and portmanteau of Moscow Films) is a film studio in Moscow which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's fi ...
to support a new film about the character of Shurik. The screenplay for the new film was initially titled "Shurik in the mountains" and was divided into two parts. The first part, "Prisoner of the Caucasus", was about the student Nina who comes to visit her relatives in the Caucasus and is kidnapped by a local director named Okhokhov. The second part, "Snow Man and Others", was about a scientific expedition seeking the
Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
is an ape-like creature purported t ...
in a mountainous region, with the Coward, the Fool, and the Pro pretending to be the Yeti by way of hiding from the local militia. In the end, Shurik and Nina were supposed to expose the trio. As the process went forward, it was decided to focus on just the first part of the screenplay. ''Kidnapping, Caucasian Style'' followed the success of Gaidai's previous film, '' Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures'', which featured some of the same characters (Shurik, and the trio of Coward, Fool, and Pro). According to one of the writers, Yakov Kostyukovsky, Gaidai had decided that the trio had reached the height of their popularity and did not want to feature them again. Kostyukovsky and co-writer Slobodsky convinced Gaidai to film ''Kidnapping, Caucasian Style''. Yuri Nikulin and Evgeny Morgunov initially refused to be part of the film as they felt the screenplay was too unrealistic. In the end, Gaidai convinced both actors to reprise their roles by agreeing to make some adjustments to the screenplay. It also took a long time to cast the role of Nina, with more than 500 screen tests completed before Natalya Varley was selected for the role. Because she worked as a circus
tightrope walker Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
prior to acting, she had an easier time with the stunt work and physicality required in the role. On the other hand, her relative lack of acting experience made the dialogue scenes more challenging for her. In the case of the character of Saakhov, there were disagreements between Gaidai and the actor playing Saakhov, Vladimir Etush. While Etush thought Saakhov should be played as an accomplished, intelligent man who takes himself seriously, Gaidai wanted more of an over-the-top performance.


Plot

A kind, yet naïve, ethnography student named Shurik ( Alexander Demyanenko), known from earlier films as a student at a polytechnic institute, goes to the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
to learn ancient customs and traditions practised by the locals, including "myths, legends, and toasts". At the start of the film, Shurik is making his way along a mountain road in the Caucasus on a donkey. He comes upon a truck driver named Edik whose truck refuses to start. The donkey gets stubborn and neither man is able to get his respective mode of transportation going. Suddenly, a young woman named Nina ( Natalya Varley) comes walking down the road. The donkey immediately begins to move after her and the truck starts working again. Nina is "a higher education student, an athlete, a member of the
Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
, and last but not least — a beauty". Her uncle, Comrade Dzhabrail ( Frunzik Mkrtchyan), works as a chauffeur for Comrade Saakhov ( Vladimir Etush), who is the director of the regional agricultural cooperative and the wealthiest and most powerful man in town. Saakhov likes Nina and invites her to take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new
civil registry Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events ( births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in diffe ...
. Shurik shows up to the ribbon-cutting completely drunk because the locals refused to tell him local toasts unless he drank to each of them. He ends up becoming disorderly and the
militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...
carts him off. Meanwhile, Saakhov decides to marry Nina and strikes a deal with Dzhabrail to purchase the bride in return for 20 head of sheep and an imported Finnish Rosenlew refrigerator. Rather than asking for Nina's agreement (which her uncle realizes would be impossible to get), they decide to kidnap her instead. The trio of the Coward, the Fool, and the Pro, hired to do the job, find it difficult to get Nina alone because she has started to spend a lot of time with Shurik. At this point, Saakhov has the idea to unwittingly get Shurik in on it by telling him that the kidnapping of the bride is a local custom. Dzhabrail meets with Shurik in a restaurant and tells him this story, lying to him that Nina has already agreed to marry Saakhov and that she wants to be kidnapped in order to comply with tradition. Shurik is devastated, because he is in love with Nina, but thinking that this is what she wants, he agrees to help. Nina has gone camping and spends a night in a
sleeping bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...
. Shurik bids her an emotional good-bye; misunderstanding him, she shrugs and also says good-bye. Shurik then zips her up in her sleeping bag and signals to the Coward, the Fool, and the Pro, who run over to grab the helpless Nina and transport her to Saakhov's
dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...
. Soon after, Shurik learns that the kidnapping was real and that the story about it being a custom was a lie. Shurik immediately runs to the militsiya, but Saakhov (who Shurik does not realize is involved) is waiting for him outside. Saakhov explains to Shurik that if he says anything, the militsiya will arrest him as a co-conspirator and suggests they go straight to the local prosecutor instead. Shurik agrees, but Saakhov tricks him by leading him to a house where there is a party going on and getting him to drink, then calling doctors from the local psychiatric clinic and having Shurik committed. Meanwhile, at Saakhov's dacha, the trio of kidnappers lock Nina in a room and try to cheer her up by bringing food and singing songs. Nina pretends to be interested, but then when the kidnappers are distracted, she tries to run away. She is stopped by her uncle and forced to return to her room, where she is locked up. Saakhov arrives with a bottle of wine and goes in to speak with Nina, but runs out moments later covered from head to toe in the wine. Deciding to give Nina some time to "think about it", Dzhabrail and Saakhov drive away from the dacha, leaving the trio of kidnappers in charge of Nina. At the hospital, Shurik finally realizes that Saakhov is the one behind the kidnapping. Shurik escapes from the psychiatric ward and happens to run into Edik, the truck driver he had met at the beginning of the film. Together, they drive toward Saakhov's dacha. When they arrive, they have changed into doctors' uniforms and convince the Coward, the Fool, and the Pro that they are doing emergency vaccinations against a dangerous hoof-and-mouth disease that is affecting the area. Under this guise, they inject the trio with sedatives. While Edik is performing the injections, Shurik goes up to Nina's room. Still thinking that he was in on the kidnapping, she hits him over the head with a fruit plate, runs out of the room, jumps out of a first-floor window, and steals one of the trucks. A car chase ensues in which the kidnappers chase Nina while Shurik and Edik chase the kidnappers. The kidnappers catch up with Nina, commandeer her vehicle, and tie her up, but at that moment the sedative begins to take effect and they all fall asleep. Shurik catches up with the truck right before it veers off the road and stops it. He begins to untie Nina, but she attacks him, still thinking that he is in league with the kidnappers. To reveal his feelings for her, Shurik kisses Nina before he finishes untying her. The action moves to Saakhov's apartment at night. He is alone. Suddenly, Nina, Shurik, and Edik appear, holding rifles, dressed in masks, and calling themselves the enforcers of the "law of the mountains". Saakhov does not recognize them and, scared to death, jumps out of the window. Edik shoots him with his shotgun, which turns out to be loaded with nothing more than salt. He hits him in the rump and, when Saakhov is brought up on charges in court the next day, he is unable to sit. The film ends with Shurik walking Nina to a bus and then following after her on his donkey.


Cast

* Aleksandr Demyanenko as Shurik * Natalya Varley as Nina (voiced by Nadezhda Rumyantseva) * Vladimir Etush as Saakhov * Frunzik Mkrtchyan as Dzhabrail * Ruslan Akhmetov as Edik *
Yuri Nikulin Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid Gaidai's comedies, such as ''The Diamond Arm'' and ''Kid ...
as the Fool *
Georgy Vitsin Georgy Mikhailovich Vitsin (; 18 April 1917 – 22 October 2001) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Vitsin was born in Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg in 1917 (Soviet documents list h ...
as the Coward * Yevgeny Morgunov as the Pro * Donara Mkrtchyan as Nina's aunt * Mikhail Gluzsky as the hotel manager * Nina Grebeshkova as the nurse * Georgy Millyar as the
domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...
player * Pyotr Repnin as the doctor * Noy Acaliani as the hotel employee * Ammanuil Geller as the
shashlik Shashlik, or shashlyck ( ''shashlyk''), is a Dish (food), dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat, similar to or synonymous with shish kebab. It is known traditionally by various other names in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, an ...
seller * Georgy Svetlani as the old man by the beer stall * Leonid Dovlatov as the judge * Georgy Ahundov as the domino player


Censorship

During production, the screenplay was also altered by Soviet censors. For instance, a phrase yelled by the Coward was originally written as: "Long live ''the Soviet'' justice system, the most humane justice system in the world!" was changed to "Long live ''our'' justice system, the most humane justice system in the world!" as the original was viewed as too obviously mocking the Soviet justice system. After release, it became the biggest Soviet hit of 1967 and became known as one of the greatest Russian comedies of all time. The censors of
Goskino Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...
had decided to prevent the film's release but
Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...
, who was sworn in as the
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissoluti ...
less than a year before, saw the film and expressed his fondness for Gaidai's work. Due to Brezhnev's appreciation, the censors reconsidered their initial decision and the movie was officially released.


Reception

The film topped the Soviet box office in 1967 with 76.54 million viewers.


Soundtracks

;" Pesenka o medvedyakh" ("A little song about bears") The song was recorded by Aida Vedishcheva (Vais), with Varley
lip-synch Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements ...
ing during the performance of the song in the film. Varley accompanies her performance with a brief display of the " twist", conveying — in concert with the fast-paced melody — the light-hearted and optimistic theme of the song. ;"Yesli b' ya byl sultan" ("If I were a sultan") The song was performed by Nikulin, with Vitsyn and Morgunov featured in the chorus. It is a comical song about the polygamy practiced in Middle Eastern cultures, with Varley dancing in a style partly reminiscent of the Old Tbilisi dance theme during its performance.


Popular quotes

Many popular sayings have entered the
Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...
from the film. * 'My great grandfather always said: "I desire to buy a house, but I don't have the means to do it. I have the means to purchase a goat, but I don't desire it." So let us drink to our desires always meeting our capabilities.'


Remake

In 2014, the film was remade as '' Kidnapping, Caucasian Style!''. The remake was criticized for how closely it resembled Gaidai's version and it is considered by some to be one of the worst films of all time.


References

;Notes ;Sources


External links

* (official upload by Mosflim) *
Kidnapping, Caucasian style
at official
Mosfilm Mosfilm (, ''Mosfil’m'' , initialism and portmanteau of Moscow Films) is a film studio in Moscow which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's fi ...
site with English subtitles {{Leonid Gaidai Mosfilm films 1960s Russian-language films 1967 films 1960s romantic comedy-drama films 1960s romantic musical films 1960s musical comedy-drama films Soviet romantic comedy-drama films Soviet musical comedy-drama films Films about kidnapping Films directed by Leonid Gaidai Films scored by Aleksandr Zatsepin Films set in Russia Films set in the Soviet Union Films shot in Crimea Films shot in Sochi 1960s adventure comedy films 1960s adventure drama films Soviet adventure comedy films Soviet adventure drama films Journalism adapted into films