''Walking the Streets of Moscow'' (''I walk across Moscow'', russian: link=no, italics=yes, Я шагаю по Москве) is a 1964 Soviet film directed by

Georgiy Daneliya Georgiy Nikolayevich Daneliya ( ka, გიორგი ნიკოლოზის ძე დანელია; russian: Георгий Николаевич Данелия; 25 August 1930 – 4 April 2019), also known as Giya Daneliya ( ka, გ� ...

and produced by

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio 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 film monopoly, its output inclu ...

studios. It stars

Nikita Mihalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

, Aleksei Loktev, Yevgeny Steblov and

Galina Polskikh Galina Polskikh (Гали́на Алекса́ндровна По́льских, born 27 November 1939) is a Soviet film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1962. In 1979 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia, ...

. The film also features four

People's Artists of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

Rolan Bykov Rolan Antonovich Bykov (russian: Ролан Антонович Быков; October 12, 1929 – October 6, 1998) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director, screenwriter and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Early life R ...

Vladimir Basov Vladimir Pavlovich Basov (russian: link=no, Владимир Павлович Басов; 28 July 192317 September 1987) was a Soviet Russian actor, film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1983). Biography Vladimir Basov was ...

Lev Durov Lev Konstantinovich Durov ( rus, Лев Константинович Дуров, p=ˈlʲef kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪdʑ ˈdurəf; 23 December 1931 – 20 August 2015) was a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actor who appeared in more than 200 ...

, and

Inna Churikova Inna Mikhailovna Churikova (russian: Инна Михайловна Чурикова; born 5 October 1943) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress. Biography Churikova was born in Belebey, Bashkir ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. In t ...

. The famous movie theme, performed by Mikhalkov, was written by the composer

Andrey Petrov Andrey Pavlovich Petrov (russian: Андре́й Па́влович Петро́в; September 2, 1930 – February 15, 2006) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1980. Andrey Petrov is known for his mus ...

. The film, regarded as one of the most characteristic of the Khrushchev Thaw, premiered at the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival was held from 29 April to 14 May 1964. On this occasion, the Palme d’Or was renamed "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film", a name that remained in use through 1974, after which it became the Palme d'Or ag ...

and won a prize for the work of cameraman

Vadim Yusov Vadim Ivanovich Yusov (, 20 April 1929 – 23 August 2013) was a Soviet and Russian cinematographer and professor at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. He was known for his collaborations with Andrei Tarkovsky on ''The Steamroller and the ...

, best known for his subsequent collaboration with Andrei Tarkovsky.А я иду…
/ref>

Plot summary

The film opens at a Moscow airport in summer 1963. A young man, Volodya ( Aleksei Loktev), calls out to a young woman he sees singing to herself and dancing. :– Arriving or departing? :– Waiting for arrivals. :– Who is it? :– My husband. :– He's lucky to have someone to meet him. :– Get married, you'll have someone as well. :– And you are both happy? :– Yes, we are. :– It never happens. :– Believe me, it happens.''Данелия Г. Н. ''Безбилетный пассажир: «байки» кинорежиссёра. — М.: Эксмо, 2006. — 416 с. — 5100 экз. — , 5-699-12714-3 Volodya is an aspiring writer from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

. His first short story has just been published in the magazine ''

Yunost ''Yunost'' (russian: Ю́ность, ''Youth'') is a Russian language literary magazine created in 1955 in Moscow (initially as a USSR Union of Writers' organ) by Valentin Kataev, its first editor-in-chief, who was fired in 1961 for publishing Va ...

'' ("Youth"); and a famous author, Voronin, has invited him to Moscow to discuss his work. In the

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first ...

Volodya unexpectedly makes a friend, Kolya (

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

), who is returning home after a hard night shift. Volodya wants to stay at his old friends' home, but he doesn't know where the necessary street is so Kolya decided to help him to find it. Unfortunately, a dog bites Volodya near

Clean Ponds The Clean Ponds (russian: Чистые пруды, ''Chistye Prudy''), is a large pond in Moscow, Russia, located in the Basmanny District, on the Boulevard Ring. The pond gives its name to Chistoprudny Boulevard, which runs from Turgenevskaya ...

. Then Kolya decided to help his new friend againthey both came to Kolya's home where Kolya sews Volodya's trousers and introduces him to Kolya's large family. Volodya recognised that his old Moscow friends aren't in Moscow (they left for south) and Volodya stays at Kolya's. Then Volodya goes for a walk. At last alone, Kolya decided to sleep, but then came his old friend Sasha ( Yevgeny Steblov). Sasha is in troublehe was planning on marrying his fiancée Sveta today, but he has been called up for military service. He begs Kolya to help him. Kolya helps. Then two young men go to the GUM department store to buy a suit for a bridegroom and they meet Volodya there (Volody has recently bought a new suit for himself). Then friends decided to buy a present for a bride and they go to the music shop, because the saleswoman, Alyona (

) is a love interest for Kolya...

Cast

* Aleksei Loktev – Volodya *

– Kolka *

– Alyona * Yevgeny Steblov – Sasha *Irina Titova – Sveta *

Irina Miroshnichenko Irina Petrovna Miroshnichenko (russian: Иpина Пeтpoвна Миpoшничeнкo; born 24 July 1942) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1988). Selected filmography *1964 – Walking the Streets o ...

– Katya, Kolka's sister * Lyubov Sokolova – Kolka's mother *Yekaterina Melnikova – Kolka's grandmother *Arkadiy Smirnov – Aleksey Petrovich Voronov, writer *

– floor polisher *

– Man in Park *

Valentina Ananina Valentina Georgievna Ananina (russian: Валентина Геopгиeвна Ананьина; May 18, 1933, Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress. Biography Valentina Ananina was born May 18, 1933 in Moscow. In 1957 she grad ...

– ice-cream vendor *Veronika Vasilyeva – mistress of ceremonies *

Irina Skobtseva Irina Konstantinovna Skobtseva (russian: Ирина Константиновна Скобцева; 22 August 1927 – 20 October 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actress and second wife of Sergei Bondarchuk. Biography Irina Konstantinovna Skobtsev ...

– Nadya *

– girl participating in the playful contest *

Maria Vinogradova Maria Sergeyevna Vinogradova (russian: Мари́я Серге́евна Виногра́дова; 13 July 1922 – 2 July 1995) was a Russian actress. She appeared in more than one hundred films from 1940 to 1995. Filmography References ...

– woman with a dog *Gennadiy Yalovich – tour guide *Alevtina Rumiantseva – underground guard *Vladimir Shurupov – Viktor, Kolka's brother *Danuta Stolyarskaya – Anya, Viktor's wife *Boris Balakin – taxi driver *Boris Bityukov – Alyona's father *Pyotr Dolzhanov – passerby *

– militsioner *Arina Aleynikova – girl at the airport *Igor Bogolybov – military commissar *Vadim Shilov – underground squabbler *Anna Pavlova – secretary at the

military commissariat A military commissariat is an institution that is part of military service or law enforcement mechanisms in some European countries. As part of the British Army in the 19th century, military commissariats were used for organisational, accounti ...

*Viktor Volkov – construction foreman *Viktor Shkurin – thief *Uno Masaaki – Japanese man *Svetlana Besedina – girl in the rain *

Oleg Vidov Oleg Borisovich Vidov (russian: Олег Борисович Видов; June 11, 1943 – May 15, 2017) was a Soviet Russian American actor, film director and producer. He appeared in 50 films beginning in 1961. A refugee from his native Sovi ...

– boy on the bike *

– shoeshine man

Legacy

This film was highly beloved by Soviet youth in the early 1960s. Though its plot is a bit naive and unpretentious, it showed how wonderful life was, gives hope and tries to look at the unpleasant things in an optimistic way. The song by the same name from the film is still popular and became the unofficial hymn of Moscow youth.А я иду…
/ref> The popularity of this film was low in the 1970s but rose again in the 1980s in contrast to contemporaneous "chernukha" ("black") films, gloomy satirical and social dramas with philosophical motifs. Nowadays it is still very famous. There are new versions of the song by some 1990s Russian rock groups (for example,

Nogu Svelo! Nogu Svelo! (russian: Ногу свело!, lit=Cramp in the Leg!) is a popular Russian rock band from Moscow, usually associated with humor and parody and accessible and sometimes childishly simple melodies. They have experimented with many styl ...

) and also a film remake, ''The Heat'', which was commercially successfully but critically panned.

References

External links

* *
''Walking the Streets of Moscow'' on MosFilm video channel
{{Authority control 1964 films 1960s Russian-language films 1964 romantic comedy films Mosfilm films Films set in Moscow Films shot in Moscow Films directed by Georgiy Daneliya Films scored by Andrey Petrov Soviet romantic comedy films Russian romantic comedy films