''Charodei'' (russian: Чародеи, translations ''Enchanters'', ''Sorcerers'', ''Magicians'') is a 1982 Soviet

romantic fantasy Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Konstantin Bromberg The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. ...

.Как снимали «Чародеи» // ''Dubikvit''
/ref>

Plot summary

Ivan Puhov (Abdulov) is in love with a very kind and friendly girl, Alyona (Yakovleva). Alyona works as a witch in a research institution that researches magic called NUINU (Scientific Universal Institute of Extraordinary Services, a NIICHAVO subsidiary in

Kitezh Kitezh (russian: Ки́теж) is a legendary and mythical city beneath the waters of Lake Svetloyar in the Voskresensky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in central Russia. Reference to Kitezh appears for the first time in ''Kitezh Chronicle ...

grad; for NIICHAVO see Monday Begins on Saturday). The couple are about to get married when Alyona's jealous and scheming co-worker,

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

eev (Gaft), tricks Alyona's boss, Kira Shemahanskaya (Vasilyeva), the institute director, into putting a spell on Alyona. The spell makes Alyona undergo a severe personality change, become unable to control her actions, and forget about Ivan. Ivan and Alyona's friends must figure out a way to break the curse while simultaneously protecting the institution's latest research development, a magic wand.

Cast

Aleksandra Yakovleva Aleksandra Evgenievna Yakovleva (born Aleksandra Evgenievna Ivanes, russian: Александра Евгеньевна Иванес; 2 July 1957 – 1 April 2022) was a Soviet and Russian actress and businesswoman (transportation industry - Air ...

as Alyona Igorevna Sanina "Alyonushka" *

Aleksandr Abdulov Aleksandr Gavrilovich AbdulovАбдулов Г. Д.
Ферганский г� ...

as Ivan Sergeevich Puhov *

Yekaterina Vasilyeva Yekaterina Sergeyevna Vasilyeva (russian: Екатерина Серге́евна Васильева; born 15 August 1945 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress. She performed in more than ninety films since 1967. Vasilyeva ...

as Kira Anatolyevna Shemahanskaya (vocal by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya) *

Valentin Gaft Valentin Iosifovich Gaft (russian: Валенти́н Ио́сифович Гафт; 2 September 1935 – 12 December 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was People's Artist of the RSFSR (1984). Biography Early life and education Gaft was ...

as Apollon Mitrofanovich Sataneev * Yevgeny Vesnik as chairman of the commission * Valery Zolotukhin as Ivan Kivrin *

Emmanuil Vitorgan Emmanuil Gedeonovich Vitorgan (russian: Эммануи́л Гедео́нович Виторга́н; born 27 December 1939) is a Soviet, Russian film and theater actor, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1990). People's Artist of Russia (1998). He act ...

as Viktor Kovrov *

Mikhail Svetin Mikhail Semyonovich Svetin (russian: Михаил Семёнович Светин; born Michail Solomonovitch Goltsman; 11 December 1929 – 30 August 2015) was a Soviet, Russian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films. Svetin's room 2 ...

as Foma Ostapych Bryl * Roman Filippov as Modest Matveevich Kamneyedov * Anna Ashimova as Nina Puhova *

Semyon Farada Semyon Lyvovich Ferdman PAR, better known by his stage name Semyon Farada (russian: Семён Львович Фердман, Семён Фарада, born December 31, 1933, Nikolskoye village of Moscow Oblast, USSR — died August 20, 2009 in ...

as The Guest from South * Leonid Kharitonov as Amatin

Production

The film was initially written by brothers

Boris and Arkady Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...

as adaptation of their 1965

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scienti ...

novel '' Monday Begins on Saturday''. But Bromberg turned down the script due to its serious tone and

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

, and the Strugatskys had to rewrite their script as a light-hearted

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

. As a result, the movie bore almost no resemblance to the book besides the setting and several characters' names. History later repeated itself with another film by Sokurov '' Days of Eclipse'' (Dni zatmeniya). The film became a classic Soviet

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

romantic comedy, similar to '' Irony of Fate'' (Ironiya sud'by) and '' The Carnival Night'' (Karnavalnaya noch).

Film soundtrack

Film soundtrack includes many classical Soviet songs (some of them romantic), written by Yevgeni Krylatov and Leonid Derbenyov, including: * "A woman's Enigma" ((russian: Загадка женщины) performed by

Irina Otieva Irina (Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene (Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of pe ...

* "Three White Horses" (Три белых коня) performed by

Larisa Dolina Larisa Aleksandrovna Dolina (russian: link=no, Лариса Александровна Долина, , née Kudelman, Кудельман, formerly Mionchinskaya, Миончинская; born 10 September 1955) is an Azerbaijani-born prominent Rus ...

Как снимали «Чародеи» // ''Dubikvit''
/ref> * "A Song About A Snowflake" (Песня о снежинке) performed by

Olga Rozhdestvenskaya Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia ...

and Dobrie Molodtsy band * "Witch-River" (Ведьма-речка) performed by Irina Otieva * "A Song About a Suit" (Песенка про костюмчик) performed by

and

* "Imagine That" (Представь себе) performed by

Aleksandr Abdulov Aleksandr Gavrilovich AbdulovАбдулов Г. Д.
Ферганский г� ...

* "Time to Sleep" (Спать пора) performed by Mikhail Svetin * "Serenade" (Серенада) performed by original cast members * "Centaurs" (Кентавры) performed by Dobrie Molodtsy * "By The Mirror" (Подойду я к зеркалу) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya * "You Can't Command Your Heart" (Только сердцу не прикажешь) performed by Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya and Vladislav Lynkovskiy * "Don't Believe What They Say" (Говорят, а ты не верь) performed by original cast members Music performance by

State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography of the USSR State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

References

External links

* {{Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Films based on works by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky 1982 films 1982 in the Soviet Union 1980s science fiction comedy films Soviet science fiction comedy films Soviet musical comedy films 1980s Russian-language films Soviet fantasy films Russian fantasy films Soviet television films Odessa Film Studio films 1980s musical comedy films Films based on science fiction novels Films based on Russian novels Films shot in Moscow Films shot in Vladimir Oblast Science fiction television films Films about witchcraft The Devil in film 1982 comedy films