''The Bodyguard'' (russian: Телохранитель, ''Telokhranitel'') is a 1979

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

released by Tadjikfilm. It is one of the best known of the Red Westerns and directed by the veteran feature and documentary maker,

Ali Khamraev Ali Hamroyev (sometimes spelled Ali Khamrayev in English) ( uz, Ali Hamroyev, Али Ҳамроев; russian: Али Хамраев) (born May 19, 1937) is an Uzbek actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known in the ...

.Али Хамpaeв
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Plot

The setting is Central Asia during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

. In the post-

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

twenties, when the power in European

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

was (officially) "fully in the hands of the workers and peasants", but the fight against the Basmachi rebels was in full swing. When a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

detachment captures

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Nazar (

Anatoly Solonitsyn Anatoly (Otto) Alekseyevich Solonitsyn (russian: Анатолий (Отто) Алексеевич Солоницын; 30 August 1934 – 11 June 1982) was a Soviet actor known for his roles in Andrei Tarkovsky's films. He won the Silver Bear for ...

), the brains behind the Basmachi contingent, a decision is made to escort urgently the prisoner to the

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

province. The difficult mission is entrusted to a grizzled mountain trapper and conscientious revolutionary Mirzo. His expertise is essential to traverse the precarious paths and steep mountain ridges along the way, impossible terrain for the inexperienced. A group consisting of Mirzo (

Alexander Kaidanovsky Alexander Leonidovich Kaidanovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Леони́дович Кайдано́вский; 23 July 1946 — 3 December 1995) was a Soviet and Russian actor and film director. His best known roles are in films such as ''At H ...

), his brother Kova, the Sultan, his daughter Zarangis (D. Alimova) and

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Saifulla set off on this journey, pursued doggedly along the way by Fottabek (Shavkat Abdusalyamov), the ruthless new head of the Basmachis. They are forced to fight on the mountain ridges as well as negotiate the natural dangers and harsh elements.

Cast

(voiced by

Sergey Shakurov Sergey Kayumovich Shakurov (russian: Сергей Каюмович Шакуров, tt-Cyrl, Сергей Каюм улы Шәкүров, translit=Sergey Qayum ulı Şäkürov; born 1 January 1942) is a Soviet and Russian actor of theater. He has ...

) - Mirzo *

- Sultan Nazar *Shavkat Abdusalyamov (dubbed by

Oleg Yankovsky Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (russian: Оле́г Ива́нович Янко́вский; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russia, Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectu ...

) - Fottabek *Gulcha Tashbaeva - Aibash, wife of Fottabek *

Nikolai Grinko Nikolai Grigoryevich Grinko or Mykola Hryhorovych Hrynko ( uk, Микола Григорович Гринько; russian: Никола́й Григо́рьевич Гринько́; 22 May 1920, Kherson – 10 April 1989, Kyiv was a Soviet ...

- Nikolai Grigorievich, border guard commander *D. Alimova - Zaranghis, daughter of Nazar *G. Igamberdyev - Kula, younger brother of Mirzo *Saidmurad Ziyautdinov - Saifulo, servant of Nazar *Bolot Beishenaliev - Mashrab, sorcerer, shaman *Rajab Adashev - Utash Ahmad Dodho *Sh. Mavlyanov - Basmachi *Saidmurad Saidmuradov - Nazar-aka, old hermit *Anvar Alimov

References

External links

* Ostern films 1979 films 1979 in the Soviet Union Films scored by Eduard Artemyev 1970s Russian-language films Russian Civil War films 1979 Western (genre) films Soviet action films {{1970s-Western-film-stub