best examples of Russian comedy

[John Schillinger]

In addition to Jolly Fellows, other films featuring Aleksandrov's 
songstress/comedienne wife Ljubov' Orlova  are his 1938 "Volga Volga" 
which has extended slapstick sequences with villagers and a boat race 
up the Volga; and his 1940 "Radiant Road"--Svetlij put', in which the 
opening minutes with Orlova as a Cinderella type in a rural "Grand 
Hotel" --and her concluding flight over Moscow a la 'Flubber" provide 
unexpectedly light touches for Stalin era film.  Also--a favorite 
segment for my students was Orlova's (solo) flighty dance of joy in an 
empty ballroom after meeting Stalin (you only see his hands pinning on 
the medal).   The humor was unintended, of course, but to my students' 
eyes it's almost slapstick.

For humor in more recent films, Riazanov's 1975 "Irony of Fate,"  
though lengthy, is the classic and hilarious film for New Year's 
viewing; and his 1987 "Forgotten Melody for a Flute," along with the 
somewhat more serious theme of an unsuccessful and awkward affair of a 
married careerist official (in the Bureau of Leisure Time--a 
perestroika dig), has a number of wonderful moments, including 
recurring segments of a traveling folk chorus sent on an ill-fated 
journey to perform around the USSR under progressively deteriorating 
conditions, and the official's imagined daydream sequences which catch 
the viewer off-guard.


>> Dear SEELANGers,
>>
>> A friend has asked me to suggest the best examples of Russian comedy
>> for
>> a course sequence she is proposing.  I immediately thought of Gogol
>> and
>> Zoshchenko but thought I would ask my fellow SEELANGers what
>> authors/texts/films would make their top ten list.
>>
>> Thank you very much.
>>
>> Mike O'Donnell
>>
John Schillinger
Emeritus Prof. of Russian
American University
Home address:
192 High St., Strasburg, VA 22657
(540) 465-2828

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