Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures
Country
Production
Budget
$0
Box office
$0
Director
Actors
Aleksandr Demyanenko, Aleksei Smirnov, Mikhail Pugovkin, Vladimir Basov, Natalya Seleznyova, Yuriy Nikulin, Georgiy Vitsin, Yevgeni Morgunov, Vladimir Rautbart, Viktor Pavlov
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Leonid Gaidai, Moris Slobodskoy
Producer
Pyotr Feller
Camera operator
Konstantin Brovin
Composer
Aleksandr Zatsepin
Artist
Artur Berger
Audition
Editing
Valentina Yankovskaya
Whole Team (27)
Whole Team (27)
Short description
The film consists of three independent parts: "Workmate", "Déjà vu" and "Operation Y". The plot follows the adventures of Shurik, the naive and nerdy Soviet student who often gets into ludicrous situations but always finds a way out very neatly.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was a box office leader in 1965 (69.6 million viewers).
- In 1965, the short film "Delirium" was awarded the "Silver Wawel Dragon" prize at the Krakow Short Film Festival.
- The film was shot in Leningrad, at the Mosfilm pavilions, in the Svyblovo district and near Moscow State University (Moscow), as well as in Odessa. Additionally, the architecture of Moscow in the 1960s can be seen in quite detail in the scenes of the novellas.
- It ranks 7th in attendance among domestic films for the entire history of Soviet film distribution.
- Vladimir Vysotsky auditioned for the role of the foreman.
- In the fight scene between Demyanenko and Nikulin, when the latter kicks the rail cart, it rolls backward and hits a car tire. However, in the next shot, we see that there is no tire behind the cart as it approaches Shurik.
- In the short story “Operation Y,” in the market scene, it is visible that when Balbes (Yuri Nikulin) pours money from a piggy bank into his jacket pocket, the money then spills out from under his jacket and falls down.
- At the moment when Yuri Nikulin breaks bottles at the base, he puts a bottle from the crate into his jacket's right pocket. But in the scene of the fight between Shurik and Balbes with rapiers, Shurik lunges and pierces a bottle that appears in his left pocket.
- During filming in Odessa, some of the actors – Alexei Smirnov, Georgy Vitsin, and Evgeny Morgunov – simultaneously appeared in Vladimir Arkhangelsky’s novella “The Skeleton of Apollo” (from the film anthology “It Happens Too” (1965)). The film crews of both films stayed in the same hotel.
- Following the success of his previous film, “Business People,” director Leonid Gaidai decided to make a film based on an original screenplay with a modern theme. From many options, he chose the screenplay for a comedy called “Unserious Stories,” written by two authors: Yakov Kostyukovsky and Moris Slobodsky. The initial version consisted of two novellas, the main character of which was a student named Vladik Arkov – an intelligent, bespectacled young man who found himself in various comical situations and emerged from them with honor. In the first novella, he reformed a gloomy and ignorant man, and in the second, he worked as a tutor, preparing a feckless young man named Ilyusha for university entrance exams.
- On June 1, 1964, auditions began for the main and supporting roles. The most difficult part was finding an actor to play Vladik, whom censors asked to be replaced with another name, seeing an analogy with the name Lenin. As a result, the character became Shurik. Gaidai reviewed over a hundred candidates, including: Oleg Vidov, Vsevolod Abdulov, Vitaly Solomin, Evgeny Petrosyan, Sergey Nikonenko, Evgeny Zharikov, Gennady Korolkov, Ivan Bortnik, Valery Nosik, Alexander Zbruev. Negotiations were also held with Andrey Mironov. Ultimately, the studio’s artistic council settled on Valery Nosik, although Gaidai himself had doubts. Accidentally seeing a photograph of the young actor Alexander Demianenko, Gaidai went to Leningrad on July 11 for personal negotiations. Both were pleased with each other. The actor later recalled: “As soon as I read the script for ‘Operation Y and Other Adventures of Shurik,’ I understood that the film was doomed to succeed. Nothing like it existed in our cinema at the time.” Valery Nosik did appear in the film after all – he played the episodic role of a student taking an exam.
- The role of the restless girl Lena in the novella “Operation Y” was played by the daughter of poet Pyotr Gradov and the sister of actor Andrey Gradov, Tatyana. For the role of the loafer Fedya, Gaidai initially invited Mikhail Pugovkin, but after two weeks of consideration, he preferred the role of a foreman on a construction site, citing unsuitable height and build.
- After the films “The Dog Barbos and the Unusual Cross” and “The Moonshiners,” Gaidai ended his creative collaboration with composer Nikita Bogoslovsky. His collaboration with Alexander Zatsepin, then an unknown composer, began with “Operation Y and Other Adventures of Shurik.” Subsequently, no famous film by Leonid Gaidai was complete without music and songs by this composer.
- Leonid Gaidai was drafted into the army in 1942 and initially served in Mongolia, where he broke in horses for the front. Once, a military commissar arrived at the unit to recruit reinforcements for active duty. When the officer asked, "Who wants to join the artillery?" Gaidai replied, "Me!" He gave the same answer to other questions: "Who wants to join the cavalry?", "The navy?", "Reconnaissance?", which annoyed the officer. "Hold on, Gaidai," said the commissar, "Let me read the whole list." Gaidai adapted this incident for his short story "The Partner."
- Many humorous scenes were invented during filming by the actors themselves. For example, Yuri Nikulin came up with the scene where Shurik "wounds" his character (Balbes) with a rapier, and "blood" (actually red wine) flows from his chest. The scene with the skeleton clacking its teeth was also Nikulin’s improvisation.
- Filming fees: Leonid Gaidai — 2,375 rubles, plus 1,500 for co-authoring the screenplay; Aleksandr Demyanenko — 3,376 rubles; Aleksei Smirnov — 875 rubles; Mikhail Pugovkin — 875 rubles; Natalya Selezneva — 450 rubles; Georgiy Vitsin — 1,620 rubles; Yuri Nikulin — 1,620 rubles; Yevgeny Morgunov — 810 rubles.
- In 1965, at the Krakow Short Film Festival, the short film "Obsession" was awarded the "Silver Wawel Dragon" prize.
- While filming in Odessa, some of the actors — Aleksei Smirnov, Georgiy Vitsin, and Yevgeny Morgunov — were simultaneously filming for Vladimir Arkhangelsky in the short "Apollo's Skeleton" (from the film almanac "It Happens" (1965)). The production crews of both films stayed in the same hotel.
- Following the success of his previous film, 'Business People,' director Leonid Gaidai decided to make a film based on an original script on a contemporary theme. From many options, he chose a screenplay for a comedy titled 'Not-So-Serious Stories,' written by two authors: Yakov Kostyukovsky and Maurice Slobodskoy. The initial version consisted of two novellas featuring a student named Vladik Arkov—a bespectacled intellectual who found himself in various comic situations and emerged from them with honor. In the first novella, he reformed a gloomy and ignorant fellow, and in the second, he worked as a tutor preparing a scatterbrain named Ilyusha for university entrance exams.
- Screen tests for lead and supporting roles began on June 1, 1964. The most difficult search was for the actor to play Vladik, whose name censors asked to be changed after noticing an analogy with Lenin's name. Consequently, the character became Shurik. Gaidai reviewed over a hundred candidates, including Oleg Vidov, Vsevolod Abdulov, Vitaly Solomin, Evgeny Petrosyan, Sergei Nikonenko, Evgeny Zharikov, Gennady Korolkov, Ivan Bortnik, Valery Nosik, and Alexander Zbruev. Negotiations were also held with Andrei Mironov. Ultimately, the studio's artistic council settled on Valery Nosik, although Gaidai himself had doubts. After accidentally seeing a photograph of young actor Alexander Demyanenko, Gaidai traveled to Leningrad on July 11 for personal negotiations. Both were pleased with each other. The actor later recalled: 'As soon as I read the script for "Operation Y," I knew the film was destined for success. There was nothing like it in our cinema at the time.' Valery Nosik did appear in the film after all—he played a supporting role as a student during an exam.
- The role of the restless girl Lena in the novella 'Operation Y' was played by Tatyana, the daughter of poet Pyotr Gradov and sister of actor Andrei Gradov. For the role of the loafer Fedya, Gaidai initially invited Mikhail Pugovkin, but after two weeks of deliberation, Pugovkin preferred the role of the construction foreman, citing his unsuitable height and build.
- After the films 'Dog Barbos and the Unusual Cross-Country Race' and 'The Moonshiners,' Gaidai ended his creative collaboration with composer Nikita Bogoslovsky. 'Operation Y and Other Adventures of Shurik' marked the beginning of his partnership with Alexander Zatsepin, who was then a little-known composer. Subsequently, not one of Leonid Gaidai's famous films was without the music and songs of this composer.
- Leonid Gaidai was drafted into the army in 1942 and initially served in Mongolia, where he broke in horses for the front. One day, a military commissar arrived at the unit to recruit replacements for the active army. To the officer's question, 'Who wants the artillery?' Gaidai replied, 'I do!' He answered the same way to other questions: 'Who wants the cavalry?', 'The navy?', 'Intelligence?', which drew the ire of the superior. 'Hold on, Gaidai,' the commissar said, 'Let me read the whole list first.' Gaidai adapted this incident for the novella 'The Partner.'
- Many of the comedic sketches were improvised by the actors themselves during filming. For instance, Yuri Nikulin came up with the scene where Shurik "wounds" his character (Balbes) with a rapier, and "blood" (actually red wine) flows from his chest. The scene with the skeleton chattering its teeth was also an improvisation by Nikulin.
- In the struggle scene between the characters played by Demyanenko and Nikulin, when the latter pushes a rail trolley with his foot, it bounces back after hitting a car tire. However, in the next shot, as the trolley rolls toward Shurik, there is no tire behind it.
- In the 'Operation Y' vignette, during the market scene, it can be seen that when Balbes (Yuri Nikulin) pours money from a piggy bank into his jacket, the money subsequently spills out from under the jacket and falls to the ground.
- At the moment Yuri Nikulin breaks the bottles at the warehouse, he puts a bottle from a crate into his right jacket pocket. However, in the sword fight between Shurik and Balbes, Shurik lunges and pierces a bottle that appears in the left pocket.
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