Viy
The Soviet Union’s first horror film!
Country
Budget
$0
Box office
$0
Director
Georgi Kropachyov, Konstantin Ershov
Actors
Leonid Kuravlyov, Natalya Varley, Aleksey Glazyrin, Nikolay Kutuzov, Vadim Zakharchenko, Petro Vesklyarov, Vladimir Salnikov, Dmytro Kapka, Stepan Shkurat, Georgiy Sochevko
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Vitaly Krivonoshchenko
Camera operator
Viktor Pishchalnikov
Composer
Artist
Nikolay Markin
Audition
Editing
Regina Pesetskaya, Tamara Zubova, Tamara Zubrova
Whole Team (24)
Whole Team (24)
Short description
A seminary student on monastery holiday kills an old witch in a remote village. The hag then transforms into a beautiful young woman whose dying wish is for him to watch over her wake for three nights. With terrors occurring and his faith waning, he reads prayers on the overnight watch and tries to survive the supernatural encounters.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the eponymous story by Nikolai Gogol.
- Alexandra Zavyalova, initially approved for the role of the Maiden, fell seriously ill immediately after the start of filming. As a result, the actress's future husband, director Rezo Esadze, demanded that she refuse the role.
- The idea of filming "Viy" belonged to the famous Soviet director, at that time the director of the Mosfilm film company, Ivan Pyryev. Due to an acute lack of time, he suggested that two students of the Higher Directing Courses of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR, Georgy Kropachev and Konstantin Ershov, direct the film.
- Viy’s costume was very heavy, and none of the actors could move normally in it, so this role had to be played by a specially invited weightlifter.
- During the filming of the flight scene, Natalia Varley fell out of the coffin. Only Leonid Kuravlyov's reaction, managing to catch the actress, saved her from injury. Nevertheless, this incident gave rise to rumors of Varley's death.
- The film featured 50 crows (caught in the studio area) and 9 trained black cats.
- According to Georgy Kropachev's idea, Viy himself was supposed to look more anthropomorphic – as a gigantic, feeble old man supported by all sorts of infernal creatures.
- Three coffins were prepared for Pannochka. One real one, for filming scenes of Natalia Varley lying in it. The other two were for the flight scenes through the church: a small, closed one, and an open one, with a special stand equipped with a harness worn by stagehands to prevent the actress from falling, secured in a suspended state by six metal cables.
- The rooster crowing in the film had previously been used by Ptushko in the filming of "The Tale of Tsar Saltan."
- Filming took place in the Bohorodchany district of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. However, the footage shot on location disappointed the management of Mosfilm, proving to be "too realistic." As a result, the renowned fairytale filmmaker Alexander Ptushko was brought in to work on the project. Consequently, a large portion of the material shot by Yershov and Kropachev was cut, and a number of ideas remained unrealized. The appearance of Viy was also altered.
- The Witch's flight on Khoma was filmed in a studio. A pole, disguised as a broom with a horizontal plank on which Nikolai Kutuzov sat, was secured at a low height. Leonid Kuravlyov, who played Khoma, also hung on this plank and pedaled his legs in the air, imitating running.
- Initially, Mikhail Kokshenov was considered for the role of Khoma Brut.
- When the heroine Natalia Varley shakes with anger during one of the final scenes, the actress stands on a special vibrating platform.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
