"Prisoner of the Caucasus or Shurik's new adventures". Donkey from "Prisoner of the Caucasus" and other four-legged actors: how animals were filmed in cult Soviet films Donkey from a Caucasian captive

April Fool's Day this year coincided with the anniversary of one of the most beloved Soviet comedy films. On April 1, 1967, "Prisoner of the Caucasus, Or Shurik's New Adventures" was released, which for many years became a welcome guest, first in the domestic film distribution, and then on television. .....

On June 15, 1965, the creative association "Luch" at the "Mosfilm" studio received a script request from Yakov Kostyukovsky and Maurice Slobodsky. Inspired by the success of the comedy film "Operation Y", they simply came up with new adventures of Shurik - Alexander Demyanenko. The future script was called "Shura in the Mountains" and consisted of two short stories. The first - "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - talked about how a student Nina came to her relatives in the Caucasus on vacation, but was kidnapped by the local chief Akhokhov. But Shurik rescues the girl from the hands of the kidnapper.

In the second short story - "Bigfoot and Others" - the plot was as follows: a scientific expedition led by a prominent scientist is looking for Bigfoot in the mountains. But the group does not even realize that the trinity in the person of Coward, Goonies and Experienced is posing as Bigfoot in order to knock the police off the trail. However, Shurik and Nina expose the rogues.

On October 26, the scriptwriting and editorial board met again to discuss the scenario entitled "Shura in the Mountains." This time it was a scenario of a full-length film (there were no short stories in it anymore), the plot of which was built around the kidnapping of a girl.

When the script was approved, there were unexpected problems with the actors. Immediately two participants in the legendary trinity - Yuri Nikulin and Yevgeny Morgunov - refused to participate in the filming of "Prisoner of the Caucasus". Much of the script, in their opinion, was strained. Nikulin said: “I don't like it. This is speculation in the troika. " Leonid Gaidai began to convince him that by joint efforts they will rewrite the script, bring in a lot of their own tricks.
The incredibly popular artists after "Operation Y" more and more often could not find a common language. Contemporaries recall the antics of the star-studded Morgunov, who could not have given up filming at the height of the working day. So quite often, instead of him, a stunt double appears in the frame with a similar physique.

Nevertheless, it was easy to work on the set of Gaidai. The director encouraged improvisation and creative rebellion. He prepared a box of champagne for the actors and handed over a bottle for every trick he came up with. Such a "prize" was awarded to Nikulin for the episode with scratching his feet, and Vitsin for the scene of the "inoculation" of Experienced ...

Working moment of filming "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

According to the original plan, "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was supposed to start like this. Experienced (Morgunov) approaches the fence and confidently draws a large letter "X". Then Goonies (Nikulin) appears and writes the same big "U". The warble of a police whistle is heard. A coward (Vitsin), who climbed over the fence, quickly adds: "... a film of the arts." This headpiece was then cut out, considering it hooliganism.

The opening screen saver for the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

And at the beginning of the film, Shurik appeared on a donkey.
The donkey Lucy became famous in 1966, when the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was released. The film was filmed in Crimea, and the assistant director Gaidai looked after exactly this hoofed good-looking companion Shurik - Demyanenko.
Lucy died three years ago. But it seems like not long ago I often visited the children's park with my son, and he rode this donkey.
By the way, Lucy was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. The average lifespan of donkeys is from 30 to 40 years, but long-livers live up to 60. So it turns out that Lucy has lived her life to her age-old limit.
The last time she was 55 years old shook the old days and starred in the "9th company"

There are many acting successes in "Prisoner of the Caucasus". Vladimir Etush played the role of Saakhov perfectly. As opposed to the fun three, he was serious on screen to create more comic effect. “Gaidai wanted Saakhov to be grotesque, parodic,” Etush said. - I understood him. But I could not agree with this. In this sense, our dispute with Gaidai about the scene when the heroine of the film Nina pours wine over Saakhov, the unlucky groom, was important in this sense. Gaidai offered maximum eccentricity in this episode. I suggested seriousness. After all, my Saakhov is serious, he does not understand how you can reject his advances. The scene was filmed, and the only concession to Gaidai was a flower behind my ear, which, however, only emphasized my seriousness, and this - I was happy to be convinced - gave the desired comic effect ... "

The picture of Leonid Gaidai took the fourth place among the absolute leaders of the Soviet distribution - in the year of its release on the screens it was watched by more than 76 million viewers. The famous film trinity performed by Georgy Vitsin, Yevgeny Morgunov and Yuri Nikulin, plus Alexander Demyanenko, Frunzik Mkrtchyan and Vladimir Etush, who joined them, outplayed such comedy masters as Louis de Funes and Jean Mare.

The "Caucasian Captive" sold 30 million more tickets than the popular French comedy films "Fantomas" and "Fantomas Raged".

Later, only such Soviet film hits as "Pirates of the 20th Century", "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" and another Gaidaev film, "The Diamond Hand", turned out to have more audience.

The sparkling comedy gave the people a lot of phrases that quickly became winged: "I'm sorry for the bird ...", "Memento mori. - Instantly, in the sea", "In short, Sklikhasovsky! ..", "Bambarbia, kergudu", "Live like they say, good. - A good life is even better "," I'm sorry, I'll change. - Don't worry, they will change your clothes in the morgue! " Traditionally, Russian channels do not do without "Prisoner of the Caucasus", for which this film is one of the proven ways to attract a mass viewer to the TV screen at the right time.

What is the secret of such long-term success? After all, films, unlike books and theatrical performances, quickly become outdated. It is unlikely that the modern viewer understands what, in fact, is the joke in the dialogue between the heroes Nikulin and Frunzik Mkrtchyan: "This is, like his, voluntarism. - I cannot express myself in my house!" Word as word. Meanwhile, the period of Nikita Khrushchev's rule, who was removed from the post of first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee several years before the film was released, was branded as "voluntarism" in the USSR. Such is the kinokukish in Gaidai's pocket.

The well-known film director Vladimir Naumov believes that it is primarily a matter of the talent of the creator of "Prisoner of the Caucasus". In an interview with RIA Novosti, Vladimir Naumovich said that his colleague saw the world from an unexpected angle: "Sometimes he presented completely serious things from the other side, ironic and comic. He tried to turn the event so that it was perceived as funny and funny."

In addition, according to Naumov, Gaidai's paintings are light, "bearing an aura of purification and goodness, and therefore, it is good to watch them even for those people who do not like the comedy genre."

Media sociologist and editor-in-chief of the "Art of Cinema" magazine Daniil Dondurei believes that "Prisoner of the Caucasus", like Gaidai's other films, still attract viewers with its powerful positive charge.

There is enough laughter even now - on almost all TV channels, says Dondurei. “But the point is not laughter and not even tears. But the fact that then people roughly imagined why and for what they live. And today there is nothing of this, except money,” the expert emphasized. According to him, Gaidai's paintings, for all their comedic frivolity, told, first of all, about human nobility.
It should be noted that Leonid Iovich found the time of commercialization, trying to reflect it in his comedies. However, his two most recent works - "Private detective, or Operation" Cooperation "(1989) and" Good weather on Deribasovskaya, or It rains again on Brighton Beach "(1992) and did not have such a noticeable audience success as his early films ...

Vladimir Naumov states that time has changed - political censorship has been replaced by money. “Now they have allowed to shoot whatever they want, whoever wants to shoot. But it is very difficult to get funding for any worthwhile project,” the filmmaker complained.

Fans of the film should only be glad that the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee had a good sense of humor and Gaidai's "fig" did not bother him. Rather, even amused. Remained in the film and a rather seditious phrase at that time that, they say, a party member was stolen in a neighboring area. At first, the hero of Mkrtchyan, the personal driver of comrade Saakhov and the main leader of the abduction of the girl Nina, was supposed to pronounce it, but after a sharp protest from the film officials, the cunning Gaidai instructed him to say a remark to Nikulin. As a result, he pronounced it, spitting watermelon bones, so stupidly that it became clear - this is Goonies, what can you take from him?

Bureaucrats always try to play it safe and prohibit this or that work, so as, just in case, not to incur the wrath of high-ranking officials. However, bosses are often more liberal than their blinkered subordinates.

In a similar way, for example, Vladimir Motyl's "White Sun of the Desert" was admitted to the rental, which at first categorically did not like the management of "Mosfilm". But Brezhnev, having seen the picture, was delighted, and this decided the fate of one of the best Russian films. One can also recall the famous comedy by Nikolai Gogol "The Inspector General", which was initially banned by censors. And only the benevolent response of Nicholas I allowed the play to take its well-deserved place among the Russian classics.

However, the liberalism of the bosses has its limits. When, in the wake of the popularity of "Prisoner of the Caucasus," Gaidai proposed to shoot the second episode in which Coward, Experienced and Goonies, along with comrade Saakhov and his personal driver, find themselves in an exemplary demonstration zone, the leadership lacked a sense of humor for such an idea.

The film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed almost entirely in Crimea. Probably, this film and the filming locations of its episodes are spoken about more than others on the peninsula - both truth and fiction. Any resident of the village of Luchistoe or the city of Alushta will be happy to show you dozens of places where the heroes Nikulin, Vitsin, Morgunov, Varley and others walked.

Nikulinsky nut - sight of Crimea

Only the episode with a mountain river was filmed on the Mzymta River near Krasnaya Polyana in the vicinity of Sochi (although I heard from Alushta residents that the river was built artificially at the foot of Demerdzhi. Allegedly, a long tarpaulin was laid along the mountain path and water was lowered from the top of the barrels of several water carriers - and this is how a mountain stream. Delirium, of course, but interesting).

The main filming location is Alushta and the vicinity of the village of Luchistoye near the Demerdzhi massif. Also filming took place in the vicinity of the village. Kuibyshevo in the Bakhchisarai region, a section of the old highway Alushta - Verkhnyaya Kutuzovka, the vicinity of Yalta and Ai-Petri.

Nikulinsky nut - still from the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"

The most recognizable place is an old walnut tree near Demerdzhi, on which Nikulin's hero was sitting and throwing nuts. This tree is about 600 years old (trunk circumference 296 cm) and grew earlier near a medieval Greek monastery located at the mouth of the Valley of Ghosts. Tourists love to be photographed next to it. Not far from the tree is the post of foresters of the Alushta forestry enterprise and there is a sign "Nikulinsky nut". Sometimes foresters try to take money (2-3 hryvnia) for a photo next to a tree. The age of the tree and its cultural and aesthetic value can justifiably serve as convincing arguments in favor of its legal protection.

A few meters from the Nikulinsky nut, there is a large block of conglomerate, passed off by the guides as "the stone on which Varley danced." A metal ladder is set up to the stone so that anyone (again, not for free) can climb up and imitate a dance to the "song about bears". A huge block of conglomerate next to the Nikulinsky nut is mistakenly shown to tourists. Either the guides themselves do not know the truth, or simply too lazy to go to the real stone.

In the film, it is clearly seen that Nina makes a rather light step on a stone before the dance, and a 2-meter block of a nut cannot be in any way. Also, in the frame, the orientation to the Elkh-kaya mountain, Angar-burun and lavender fields above the village of Lavender is well traced in the background. On February 10, 2007, a group of enthusiasts decided to put an end to the myth about the Varley stone and embarked on a mini-expedition. On hand were printouts of frames from the film. As a result of a half-hour search, a real stone and a filming site for the episode were found.

They are located about 100 meters northeast of Nikulinsky nut among huge boulders. The whole space is overgrown with shrubbery and rose hips. The stone itself is a flat block half a meter high. The trapezoidal stone that is visible in the frames on the right (Shurik is standing in front of it) is completely hidden in thorny bushes. The site where the camera was located is located 5 meters from the stone in the depression - therefore, the effect is created that Nina is dancing on a rather high stone - which in the film is up to Shurik's waist. Between the rock itself and the operator's seat, there are now several fresh small fragments of the conglomerate, which have fallen from a huge block hanging from the west. They weren't there during filming. Comparison with printouts showed 100% similarity.

The Varley stone was found. Unfortunately, the weather was very cloudy and the footage was not spectacular. The next time we visit the Valley of Ghosts, we will definitely take a picture of the stone from a good angle, try to clear it of the bushes and determine the exact coordinates with the help of the ZHPS. Considering that there were several Crimean guides and journalists in our group, we can hope that information about the whereabouts of the real stone will be distributed in this area across Crimea and most of the guides will no longer deceive guests of Crimea by showing a fictional filming location of a popularly loved film.

By the way, a few years ago one of the travel agencies organized a fancy-dress animation tour "Visiting the Prisoner of the Caucasus", where they tell in detail about the filming of the film with a screening on the ground. In Simferopol, several years ago, a wonderful investigation film "In the Footsteps of the Caucasian Captive" was shot. Here everything is shown in detail and told - where, when and how they filmed.

By the way, Shurik's cinematic donkey still lives in the Simferopol zoo. On the cage there was a sign “Donkey Lucy, transferred by the Yalta film studio, took part in the filming of“ Caucasian captive ”,“ 9th company ”,“ Spetsnaz ”. The donkey, of course, does not look as cheerful as in the film, after all, the years give their toll. The donkey-film actress is the favorite of the zoo corner employees and one of the living attractions of the city of Simferopol. The donkey Lucy was born on April 15, 1948 in Central Asia. The height at the withers is 112 cm. The average weight of the pack that Lucy is able to carry is 70 - 80 kg. The average lifespan of donkeys is from 30 to 40 years, but long-livers live up to 60.

Locals will recognize the filming locations of the film:

The episode with the hotel administrator was filmed at the Yunost MMC, this building and the inscription have survived to this day. The staircase along which at the beginning of the film Nina (Varley) runs and meets Saakhov is located behind the Sports Goods store and goes from the church to the bathhouse (Baglikova St.). The episode with the kunaks was filmed in the Solnechny restaurant, now the UNDERWORLD disco club. A moment with kebabs and a toast about cybernetics: city (not intercity) trolleybus ring. REGISTRY OFFICE - Alushta transfusion station. Police - registry office. The birthday was celebrated in front of the current bar "Natalina", in the area of ​​the boarding house "Severnaya Dvina", the building of the boarding house shines in the film (in front of him Shurik tells Saakhov about the stolen bride). And the most important thing. My family is associated with The Prisoner. The remains of the stage where Morgunov taught to dance the twist is 50 meters from my current house on the territory of the Chaika tourist center, and the kid looking in at Vitsyn's door is my father, and he really just looked at the site (not according to the script) for what they yelled at him, and then seeing how Vitsin played, they decided to leave. And the door to Saakhov's dacha, through which Shurik and Edik (an orderly) runs, is in the house next to the Genoese tower (it is in the frame to the left of the house) in which my grandmother, grandfather and young dad lived in those years.

Filming days of the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" in Crimea:

June 1 (Alushta) - the first day of shooting in the expedition. The first shots of the film were filmed: Shurik rides a donkey (there were two donkeys). On that day, we worked from 7.30 am to 6 pm, but only 11 useful meters of film were filmed.
June 2 - Shurik continues his journey on a donkey,
June 3 - the episodes “at the alpinist base” are being filmed: Shurik says goodbye to Nina. Nina: “It's late. Go ... "

Jump on a stone before the dance - still from the film

June 4 - episodes are being filmed in the village of Luchistoye: Nina descends from a cliff. Due to bad weather, only one shot was taken (5 useful meters).

June 6 (Radiant) - Nina, looking at Shurik in a sleeping bag, laughs (when filming this episode, Varley could not laugh contagiously. Then one of the crew members lifted his T-shirt and showed her his belly, after which the girl burst out laughing); Shura, being in a sleeping bag, falls to the ground and rolls.

June 8 - the group relocated to Simferopol, where the episodes “street at the dispensary” were filmed near the May 1 cannery: Shurik falls into the back of a truck; Shura jumps off the truck; Shurik runs down the street and meets Edik; Shurik gets into Edik's ambulance.

June 9 - the group returned to Alushta, where the episodes are being filmed: Shurik in the garden of the dispensary approaches two patients and offers to figure it out for three. Those conscience him: "It is a sin to laugh at sick people."

Nina's famous dance on a stone - still from the film

June 11-12 - days off.
June 13 - the group moved to Kuibyshevo. There are filmed episodes from the beginning of the film: Shurik meets Edik, whose car stalled. Edik delivers a passionate monologue to his ambulance, which is constantly stalling: “Damn the day when I sat down at the steering wheel of this vacuum cleaner. It was not for nothing that the great and wise Abu-Ahmad Ibn-bey, the first driver of this car, said: “Consider, Edik,” he said, “Allah alone knows where the spark of this unworthy degenerate goes in the glorious family of internal combustion engines. May his carburetor dry up, forever and ever! .. ”Shurik tries to move his stubborn donkey from his place. A. Demyanenko recalls how this actually happened:

“There were difficulties with the donkey. According to the plot, he either walked or stood. In general, donkeys are difficult to deal with. I have only one thing for him - and he tends to do his own thing. It's good that when you drag the donkey, he usually resists. And I came across a completely normal donkey. But how Varley made him go - you have to ask her ... "

June 14 (Kuibyshevo) - the beautiful Nina walks past Shurik and Edik; a donkey and an ambulance follow Nina; Shurik rides a donkey after Nina.
June 15 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik goes after Nina; Nina walks past the mirror; Nina is hiding in the woods.

June 16 (Kuibyshevo) - the donkey drags Shurik into the forest after Nina; Shura rushes through the thicket.
June 17 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik and Edik kick the car; Nina is walking; Edik drives by Nina; Shura rides out of the forest on a donkey.
June 18 is a day off.
June 19 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik stops Nina: “Excuse me, please. I have a big request for you: I can ask you to go only along the highway, without turning off. " Nina wonders: "And this is why?" - "Yes, my donkey follows you like a tied one." Nina doubts: "Donkey?" “Well, yes,” Shurik answers. - “So it was he who was following me? And I thought ... "-" No - he! " - Shurik decisively declares, removing all suspicions from himself; Shurik and Nina get to know each other, the girl says that she came to her aunt for the holidays.

June 20 (Kuibyshevo) - Shurik and Nina meet; Shura pulls his donkey, but he does not go; Shurik and Nina are walking along the road.

June 22 (Nikita village) - episodes are being filmed at the "alpbaza": Shurik sneaks into the camp to kidnap Nina; Shurik dives among people sleeping in sleeping bags; Shurik finds Nina.
June 23 (Nikita village) - Shurik is looking for Nina; Shura closes Nina in a bag.
June 24 - Shurik follows Nina on a donkey (episode from the beginning of the film); an ambulance is driving along the road, heading for the Eagle's Nest.
June 25 - 26 - days off.
June 27 (Radiant) - Shurik and Edik are racing on a wheel barrel.

June 28 (Radiant) - an episode from the film's finale: Shurik and Nina part near a minibus stop; Shurik and Edik are racing on a wheel barrel.

June 30 (Alushta) - Nina in an ambulance; Shurik and Edik on a wheeled barrel; the cucumber gets into Edik.

July 4 (Radiant) - Shurik and Edik on a wheeled barrel; trinity in the car; Nina's car stalls; Nina gets into the car of the trio; the three run after Nina.
July 5 (Alushta) - the trinity drives up to the dance floor. On that day, we worked from 7.30 to 18.00, but only 18 useful meters of film were filmed.

July 6 (Radiant) - filming episodes at the "alpbaz": Shurik is looking for Nina among the sleeping; Shura drags a sack with Nina.
July 7 (Radiant) - the trinity carries a sack with Nina (the sack was not Varley, but one of the members of the film crew); a policeman drives up to the car in which Nina is hidden and asks Shurik: "What are you loading?" “The bride was stolen,” Shurik answers honestly.

But Goonies shows ingenuity - he bleats, and the policeman laughs heartily: "If you are going to fry a shish kebab from this bride, do not forget to fire it."

The episode with the rotating head of Coward was filmed like this: Vitsin was filmed with a sheep's hat on his head, then interrupted by a plan from Morgunov and Nikulin. Vitsin rolled over, and he was filmed from behind. He wore the jacket the other way around, from behind his back were sticking out someone else's hands. And then again there was a return to the original position.

July 8 (Radiant) - Nina rides in an ambulance; the three run up to the ambulance; an ambulance passes along the road, followed by a cabriolet with a trio, then a wheel barrel.

July 9 (Alushta) - Experienced shows how to dance the twist; A coward cheats with tickets; Goonies plays dominoes (by the way, the old man who is terribly worried and afraid to lose is one of the scriptwriters of the film, Maurice Slobodskoy).
July 10 (Alushta) - the trinity drinks beer, while the Coward philosophically says: "It's good to live." And Goonies clarifies: "A good life is even better"; Coward and Experienced honking Goonies from the car: they say, we are leaving.
July 11 is a day off.

July 14 (Radiant) - Coward fires a slingshot; Goonies cut the rope with a knife; Goonies hanging on a rope; Goonies throws a can of oil on the road; Nina steals the car from the trio.

July 15 (Radiant) - Trinity gets into the refrigerator; the refrigerator driver hears a noise; the trinity crawls out of the refrigerator all covered in icicles.

July 16 (Radiant) - Nina signals the trinity to clear her way, the trinity stands on the road, hands clasped. By the way, this scene was invented by Vitsin. According to him, this is his favorite find in this film. And, indeed, he plays in this episode - you laugh.

July 17 (Radiant) - the trinity runs after Nina in the forest; Ning runs into the cave; a bear roars out of the cave (Bear, of course, trained, his trainer Zvonarev was always present with him on the set).

July 19 (Radiant) - Goonies and Nina, embracing, take a breath after meeting with a bear; Nina retreats from Goonies; A coward shies away from Nina's cape lying on the ground (this gag is also on Vitsin's account); Nina is caught in the car.

July 21 (pass) - Shurik and Edik on a wheel barrel.
July 22 (Radiant) - Shurik catches up on a horse with a car with a trinity and Nina; Shurik jumps from his horse into the car (jumped, of course, the understudy).

July 23 - 26 - days off. Filming resumed on July 27. On that day, the following episodes were filmed in Luchistoy: Sheep are brought to Dzhabraila; Shura on horseback.
July 28 (Radiant) - Saakhov leaves the house, after an unsuccessful rendezvous with Nina, walks past the trinity, says to Dzhabrail: “Well, nothing, in a day she will get hungry, in a week she will be sad, and in a month she will become smart. Will wait".

July 29 (Nikita village) - The trinity and the tied Nina ride in a car through the forest, winding through the trees.
July 30 (Radiant) - Nina and Shurik hang wet clothes; Goonies are hiding under a bag; The coward sings along to Nina.
July 31 (Radiant) - the trinity is hiding behind a stone. Goonies with a deck of cards; Goonies nearly fall from the tree; Goonies are scared that they got into Experienced; Experienced in command; experienced plan.

August 1 (Radiant) - Nina sings "The Song of Bears", Shurik asks her to sing; Nina sings; Shurik throws the nut up; Shurik leaves Nina; Coward and Experienced.

August 2 (Radiant) - Nina runs; Nina climbs a stone, dances; Goonies throws the nut down; Nina and Shurik leave; Goonies falls from a tree onto his accomplices.

By the way, this was the last day of Evgeny Morgunov on the expedition - after that the film was shot without him. Why? Because of his quarrel with Leonid Gaidai. We remember that even during the filming of "Moonshiners" Morgunov spoiled his relationship with the director, refusing to act in film at first. And only after Pyryev's intervention was he able to return to the trinity.

On "Operation Y", the relationship between the actor and Gaidai was also not developing in the best way, but then the picture was still completed. But on the "Prisoner" the abscess nevertheless opened up.

This is how L. Gaidai himself recalled what had happened: “On the set of The Prisoner, an emergency happened, which was the final chord of the joint work. Morgunov came to the shooting with fans. I say to the group director: "Get all outsiders off the site!" Morgunov almost with fists at me. I took the director's script and, in front of Morgunov, crossed out all the scenes with him. And there were still quite a few. “That's it,” I say to the director. - Send Morgunov to Moscow. He will no longer be filmed. " So my troika broke up ... "

By the way, on the set, Morgunov received the lowest rate in the trinity - 25 rubles per shooting day, while Nikulin received 50 rubles, Vitsin - 40 (Demyanenko's rate was 50 rubles, Varley's - 13 rubles 50 kopecks). But this is so, by the way. Now let's go back to the movie set.

On August 3, the group from Radiant moved to Alushta. On that day, the following episodes were filmed: the facade of the Yunost hotel; Shurik and Nina are walking.
August 4 is a day off.

August 5 (Alushta) - Dzhabrail stops his wife at the gate: “Where are you going? Go home…"
August 6 (Alushta) - Coward supervises bringing the refrigerator into the gates of Dzhabrail's house; Goonies, spitting watermelon bones, informs Dzhabrail's wife that the groom has stolen a party member in the neighboring area.
August 7 (Radiant) - Shurik and Edik follow Nina walking along the road (an understudy was filmed instead of Varley); Shurik is racing on horseback behind the car, where the trinity and Nina are sitting.
August 8 is a day off.

August 9 (Ai-Petri) - the car freezes on the edge of the abyss; Shura takes Nina out of the car; Nina slaps Shurik in the face, scolds him, and he closes her mouth with a kiss (the trinity is filmed in incomplete composition - instead of Morgunov, there is a double in the car, who is removed from the back).

Saakhov explains to the doctor (actress Nina Grebeshkova, she is the wife of Leonid Gaidai), what Shurik is sick with: “You understand, this is a very severe form of the disease. You just need to save a person, this is the question, honestly, I swear. You understand, on the basis of alcoholism, he has some obsessive ideas: some kind of stolen bride, he is eager to save someone all the time. Just a clouding of mind, honestly. "

The doctor immediately diagnoses: "It is clear: delilium tremens - delirium tremens." - “Yes, white, hot, completely white,” Saakhov agrees with the diagnosis. The doctor calms him down: "Don't worry, we'll put him back on his feet in three days." But Saakhov needs to keep Shurik as long as possible. Therefore, he asks the doctor: “No, no, there is no need to rush, there is no need to rush. This is our guest, it is important to cure, it is important to return a full-fledged person to society. No need to rush ... "

August 13 (Alushta) - Saakhov meets Shurik near the police station: he runs there to report Nina's abduction; Saakhov calls the hospital to get a car from there for Shurik.

August 14 (Alushta) - Shurik and the hotel administrator listen to a barbecue toast about cybernetics; Shurik writes in a notebook.

August 17-19 - moving to Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi, where river episodes will be filmed on the shore and in the waters of the mountain river Mzymta itself.

Again filming in the pavilions of Mosfilm.
October 7 - 8 - 12 people of the film crew go to Alushta to complete several episodes on location and the beginning and end of the film.
October 9-10 - preparation for filming.
October 11 (Alushta) - Shurik and Nina walk along the road, heading to the minibus stop; Shura rides a donkey for a taxi.
October 12 (Alushta) - Nina stands in the crowd at the opening of the Wedding Palace; Nina laughs; Shura rides a donkey behind a minibus.
October 13 (Alushta) - crowd of spectators at the Wedding Palace; Shura rides a donkey (final frame).

On the Internet, dozens of people have already discussed issues related to the filming locations of this popularly beloved film, so in order not to repeat ourselves, we will give the reader the opportunity to watch a discussion about the filming locations of the "Caucasian Captive" on the website of Alexei and Galina Petrovskikh:

Discussion on the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" (excerpts)

... I not only enjoy watching "Prisoner of the Caucasus", but also collect all kinds of information about this film. One of my interests is precisely the clarification of the locations of filming of certain subjects. And when I was in Alushta, I even closely dealt with this issue, but, unfortunately, I could not find practically anything. Even excursions to the Valley of Ghosts and the Glade of Fairy Tales, except, like: "Famous films were shot here ..." - do not say anything about it.

True, I found one place for sure - this is the building of the dispensary, near which the scene was filmed when Shurik, hurrying to the police, met Saakhov with shouts: "Stole, stole ..." - to something he asked: "What, your donkey was stolen ? Unfortunately, now I do not remember either the name of the street or the dispensary, or the number of the house, but who is interested - I can say that if you go from the market to the main post office by the shortest way - past the church, then the place is just before the street turns down to the sea ... It is impossible to make a mistake by the appearance of the glass staircase of the dispensary.

However, some of the filming locations remain dark spots for me. I would be very grateful, aLEX, if you can shed some light on this issue.

1. The very beginning of the film, when Shurik, Edik and Nina meet for the first time. Several times on the horizon was clearly visible a ridge of mountains with a smooth, steep and fairly high slope, rather long, ending in a cliff with a characteristic "profile". I have not seen such a thing from any point of Alushta, or any other place in the Crimea. Where is it?

2. Such a well-known and even "bright" scene, when Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov drank beer and enjoyed life, I agree, was filmed somewhere near the town of attractions. But there was a summer cinema nearby, where they taught visitors to twist, there was a road along which they drove up by car and there was a capital building - obviously a dispensary with large, vertically elongated windows. Moreover, I even managed to find out what that cinema was called, or was called "Surf", but I could not find it in nature, or at least a similar place. Do you know more precise coordinates of that place?

3. Well, the wedding palace - I also looked from nowhere, but I could not see such a picture. Couldn't they have already demolished it?

aLEX:
1. The very beginning of the film, when Shurik, Edik and Nina meet for the first time. Several times on the horizon was clearly visible a ridge of mountains with a smooth, steep and fairly high slope, rather long, ending in a cliff with a characteristic "profile". I have not seen such a thing from any point of Alushta or any other place in the Crimea. Where is it?

This is Crimea - 100%. And such places are the sea. Both in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai and in the vicinity of Simferopol and Belogorsk. Although, most likely this is in the area of ​​the village of Kuibyshevo. (Addition of KRYMOVED: this is a section of the Vysokoye - Kuibyshevo road, Utyug Mountain is visible in the background in the film)

2. Such a well-known and even "bright" scene, when Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov drank beer and enjoyed life, I agree, was filmed somewhere near the town of attractions. But there was a summer cinema nearby, where they taught visitors to twist ...

next to the film, but not in life. After all, as a sleeping Morgunov drove through the "pine forest", but ended up on the Ai-Petri ...

... there was a road along which they drove up by car, and there was a capital building - obviously a dispensary with large, vertically elongated windows. This building, if I'm not mistaken, is a former furniture store after the ring, "tank", on a hillock if you go to Simferopol. It's just that the episodes are so short. On the same "old" road to the pass, so many chase footage was filmed that it seems that the road is long.

Moreover, I even managed to find out what that cinema is called, or was called "Surf", but I could not find it in nature, or at least a similar place.

With the cinema it is not clear - you have to look. Also, with the Palace of Barcos, there are more questions than answers, because in one frame there is definitely Alushta, in another there is a suspicion that there is no. For example, I have a suspicion that the “madhouse” and the road to it (with a long fence) were filmed in Simferopol, but it is problematic to check now, since the fence on the other side of the suspect road has been demolished - the gates of that plant too.

Probably it is worth looking in more detail in Alushta for all the shooting locations. In the episode when Saakhov first sees Nina going down the stairs, I always have the feeling that I have seen this staircase many times in Alushta, but again I have to go and check it. Yes, and they say that the house where they drove the sheep, carried the refrigerator, from the stairs of which Shurik jumped on a donkey, is still in Alushta.

Mc:
I know where the stairs are located, along which Shurik went down on a donkey. It is inside the courtyard, the entrance to which is behind the shooting range at the beginning of the embankment. We bought wine there, and the hostess boasted that when the film was being filmed and we needed a staircase, we just went through the courtyards. And their yard was the closest, so their stairs were removed. We didn't really believe it and took a picture of the stairs. And then they looked at the cassette. It turned out that she really is!

There is a shot where Shurik and a friend are hanging on a tree when the barrel fell into the abyss, and so, it seems to me that this is still Chatyr-Dag, filmed from the side of the Simferopol-Alushta highway, the peak and a piece of the Cold Couloir. I will try to find this angle in the spring. Further (this frame is not in the cut), remember how Shurik ran away from the psychiatric hospital? I ran along the length-and-innogo fence. I think it was filmed in Simferopol, the fence of the May 1 plant, there are pillars there, of a farm type. There are still such in Simferopol, they have been standing since 1914, they were installed by the Belgian concession. In any case, I will also try to find this point of view.

aLEX):
I have the same guess about the fence! Moreover, from the other side, the fence of Shevchenko Park is visible when he was still there. And the gates of the psychiatric hospital, too, the distant gates of the plant. The 1 of May.

A selection of frames from the film

"Prisoner of the Caucasus" is a cult film of Soviet times, which many have watched with pleasure dozens of times. He was taken away for a long time for quotes, and millions of viewers happily sing along to the song about bears that twist the earth's axis.

Crimean Caucasus Mountains

Cinematography has a very distant relationship to reality: someone will say: deception, someone - an illusion. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that the place where the "Caucasian Captive" was filmed is geographically located far from the Caucasian peaks, no. The Crimean landscapes are shown to the audience practically throughout the entire film.

The only thing that was not found on the peninsula was a fairly full-flowing mountain river, which Shurik, who was stuck in a sleeping bag, had to cross. Thanks to this, you can find Sochi in the list of places where the "Caucasian Captive" was filmed - in fact, the city itself does not appear in the film. The scene of the miraculous rescue of the protagonist takes place between the Krasnaya Polyana resort and Adler. These shots are one of the few episodes of the film related to the geographical Caucasus.

Another moment, filmed near the river, is a crashing barrel, on which Shurik and Edik were rushing along the mountain road, trying to save the kidnapped Nina. Almost all the rest of the "nature" was filmed on the South Coast.

Famous walnut

The Crimean mountain range Demerdzhi (located 10 kilometers from Alushta) appears in the role of the Caucasian peaks in the picture. Here, on the territory where "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed, the famous giant nut also grows, from the fork of which Nikulin threw with improvised "shells", inadvertently knocking out the eyes of his own comrade-in-arms - Morgunov.

The tree is the pride of local residents, a real watchdog. It is already more than fifty years old, and the trunk reaches three meters in girth. A sign nearby reads: "Nikulinsky nut", and many tourists consider it a matter of honor to be photographed on it.

Exposing unscrupulous businessmen

A couple of steps away is a two-meter stone rock, on which (according to local enterprising citizens) Nina sang a song about bears to Shurik. For a long time, such a swindle haunted numerous connoisseurs and fans of the film: they argued that this place had nothing to do with the stone where the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: in the Crimea, fortunately, there are very recognizable landscapes.

On them relatively recently, and discovered "an authentic boulder": it is also located relatively close to the "Nikulinsky Oreha", just a hundred meters away. But it would be problematic to climb onto it now: the area is overgrown with wild rose and blackberry. With their thorns, tourists are not eager to get to know better.

Pilgrimage of tourists

Each Crimean resident will proudly tell in which city the "Caucasian Captive" was filmed: the places where the famous heroes stay in Alushta have long turned into a tourist attraction. Locals retell endless stories and legends associated with the film. These myths are juicy and colorful, but not all of them correspond to reality.

For example, some enthusiasts claim that one of the buildings where the "Caucasian Captive" was filmed is the Alushta restaurant "Solnechny" (now it houses the UNDERWORLD club). It is there, they say, that the insidious "friends" of the groom agree with Shurik to steal the bride. In fact, most of the indoor scenes were filmed in Mosfilm pavilions, and this one is no exception. The setting shown in the film does indeed resemble the interior of the aforementioned restaurant, but, nevertheless, it is just a decoration.

Recognizable places

Several years ago, in Simferopol, the film “Following in the footsteps of the“ Caucasian Captive ”was shot. In it, the events of 50 years ago are documented very accurately and reliably.

So, the episode in which comrade Saakhov meets the main character was actually filmed in Alushta. In the frame, you can see the steps where the "Caucasian Captive" was filmed: they connect Krapivny Lane with Baglikov Street. The house into which Shurik and Edik run in, disguised as orderlies, was inhabited at that time and is located to the right of the Alushta Genoese tower (it can be seen in the frame). In the episode where the repentant protagonist tells the failed groom about his accidental participation in Nina's abduction, the Northern Dvina boarding house is visible in the background. The famous scene with drinking alcoholic drinks was filmed near the local amusement park, and Morgunov gave twist lessons on the dance floor of the Chaika boarding house.

Alushta is replete with memorable places where the "Caucasian Captive" was filmed: photos of various relics associated with the film can be found on numerous forums and on social networks. Tourists even found and captured a staircase from which Shurik jumped on a donkey: it was found in one of the Alushta courtyards, the hostess is very proud of it.

Participation of the townspeople and the movie star donkey

There are a great many eyewitnesses of the events and their descendants in the city. Scrupulous researchers counted almost half a thousand local residents in the crowd scenes. According to one of the stories, the boys who look into the ballroom, where they want to join Western culture dance a twist, really happened to be by accident. At first, the guys got handed, but as a result they left the stage: the improvisation of Vitsin, who ate the "unaccounted ticket", and then swung at the annoying guys, liked Gaidai.

Filming began on June 1 in the vicinity of Alushta: the first two days they filmed Shurik's journey on his colorful stubborn horse. Ten years ago, the donkey Lucy, the star of the "Caucasian Captive", was still alive. They say that it was she who starred in the film "9th company". How true this is is unknown: by human standards, she is already well over a hundred, because the average life expectancy of a donkey is about 30-40 years, and only some individuals survive to the old age of sixty. According to some sources, the movie star donkey was born in 1947. At the time of filming in the "9th company" she should have been already 58 years old.

Village Luchisty

On June 3, they filmed an episode with the main characters saying goodbye at the base, and on the 4th - a scene in which a "student, a Komsomol member and just a beauty" demonstrates her climbing talents. The rocks from which Nina descends are located not far from Luchisty (a village near Alushta, where the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed). In the same village, Shurik climbed into and Nina laughed at him.

Then movie hoaxes begin: rolling down the Crimean slope, the main character finds himself in the already mentioned Caucasian river Mzymta. Varley recalled that the water temperature in it was about 7 degrees, so she and Demyanenko were shaking so naturally from the cold.

A few minutes later, Abkhazia will appear among the places where "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: in the scene of Nina's abduction, when Coward, Dunce and Experienced meet a policeman on a motorcycle and successfully pass off the wriggling girl as a lamb, some film lovers seem to have recognized the road leading to Lake Ritsa. According to information from other sources, this scene was filmed in the village of Luchistom, even a specific date is indicated - July 7, and has nothing to do with Abkhazia.

Simferopol fence

On June 8, the film crew was in Simferopol: Shurik's escape from the insane asylum was captured on film. A noticeable fence, over which with the help of a clever device (and sympathetic patients) the hero jumps over, is the fence of the May 1 cannery. Both locals and tourists will gladly recognize it by its characteristic columns.

The very next day, the filmmakers returned to their beloved Alushta and continued filming the imprisonment of Demyanenko: scenes in the hospital garden were filmed here.

Alushta surroundings

In the movie, they often shoot the finale first, and then the beginning: it is not surprising that the episode of meeting Edik, cursing the day when he “sat down at the wheel of this vacuum cleaner,” was started only in mid-June (on the 13th), after Shurik had escaped from mental dispensary. Local historians say that the scene, where the stubborn donkey, and then the stubborn ambulance, follows the beautiful Nina, takes place on the highway between Vysoky and Kuibyshevo. The mountain visible in the background is called the Iron, and the area was identified by it.

The immediate surroundings abound in places where Gaidai's "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was filmed: photos from the shooting show landscapes near Alushta and Alupka (Morgunov falls asleep while pursuing a fugitive on the Ai-Petri "serpentine").

Filming

In the village of Kuibyshevo, Nina and Shurik meet, then in the village of Nikita they shoot a “climbing base” where the main character first searches for and then kidnaps a girl.

Already on June 27, the group moved to Luchistoye, and after that the Crimean filming was carried out only here or in Alushta. The actors and other participants recalled these times with pleasure. Numerous impromptu scenes, unexpected funny scenes, impromptu jokes - the stories of their creation have long become public knowledge and are overgrown with numerous legends.

On the last day of summer, August 31, the film crew left for Moscow, where they filmed the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" already in the pavilions (for example, scenes in the corridors of the hospital, Saakhov's office, police station, making toasts in a restaurant).

In mid-October (from the 7th to the 14th), 12 film participants were in Alushta: it was necessary to complete some of the missing fragments. At this time, the final of the picture was completed (Nina and Shurik walk to a stop, the donkey runs after the departing minibus) and several scenes of the opening of the Wedding Palace (laughing Nina stands in the crowd of spectators). Many are trying to find a corresponding building in Alushta and even claim that this is the building of the local police, but in fact, only the crowd was filmed in the city, and everything else was a properly decorated courtyard of the film studio.

Remake

In 2014, a remake of the famous comedy was released, for which the general producer of the film, Fyodor Bondarchuk, together with director Maxim Voronkov, received a flurry of devastating criticism. If Gaidai chose to shoot his film in the Crimea, then the place where "Prisoner of the Caucasus-2" was filmed is the mountains that appear in the title. This is not surprising (commentators sarcastically note), considering that the client and the main sponsor of the filming was the North Caucasus Resorts company. Following the advanced European experience, the company decided to attract tourists in this way: to demonstrate captivating mountain views, create a positive image of the region, etc., etc.

The shooting took place, among other things, not far from the village of Ordzhonikidzevsky (Karachay-Cherkessia). Now local residents also have an attraction: a wobbly wooden bridge across the Kuban River, where they filmed "Prisoner of the Caucasus-2". In the process of filming, many unknowingly called the film a continuation of the famous comedy. Of course, this is not so: the script almost completely repeats the original - the creators of the picture invite viewers to laugh at jokes known from childhood, but the quality of their performance, unfortunately, cannot be compared with what was filmed almost half a century ago.