''Walking the Streets of Moscow'' (''I walk across Moscow'', russian: link=no, italics=yes, Я шагаю по Москве) is a 1964 Soviet film directed by

Georgiy Daneliya Georgiy Nikolayevich Daneliya ( ka, გიორგი ნიკოლოზის ძე დანელია; russian: Георгий Николаевич Данелия; 25 August 1930 – 4 April 2019), also known as Giya Daneliya ( ka, გ� ...

and produced by

Mosfilm Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output inclu ...

studios. It stars Nikita Mihalkov,

Aleksei Loktev Aleksei Vasilievich Loktev (russian: Алексей Васильевич Локтев; 30 December 1939 – 17 September 2006) was a Russian and Soviet actor. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (12 April 1972). He graduated from the State Insti ...

Yevgeny Steblov Yevgeny Yurievich Steblov (russian: Евге́ний Ю́рьевич Стебло́в; born December 8, 1945, Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, honored as a People's Artist of Russia in 1993. He serves as First Deputy Chair ...

and Galina Polskikh. The film also features four

People's Artists of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

Rolan Bykov Rolan Antonovich Bykov (russian: Ролан Антонович Быков; October 12, 1929 – October 6, 1998) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director, screenwriter and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Early life R ...

Vladimir Basov Vladimir Pavlovich Basov (russian: link=no, Владимир Павлович Басов; 28 July 192317 September 1987) was a Soviet Russian actor, film director and screenwriter. People's Artist of the USSR (1983). Biography Vladimir Basov was ...

Lev Durov Lev Konstantinovich Durov ( rus, Лев Константинович Дуров, p=ˈlʲef kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪdʑ ˈdurəf; 23 December 1931 – 20 August 2015) was a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actor who appeared in more than 200 ...

, and

Inna Churikova Inna Mikhailovna Churikova (russian: Инна Михайловна Чурикова; born 5 October 1943) is a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress. Biography Churikova was born in Belebey, Bashkir ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. In th ...

. The famous movie theme, performed by Mikhalkov, was written by the composer

Andrey Petrov Andrey Pavlovich Petrov (russian: Андре́й Па́влович Петро́в; September 2, 1930 – February 15, 2006) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1980. Andrey Petrov is known for his mus ...

. The film, regarded as one of the most characteristic of the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...

, premiered at the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival was held from 29 April to 14 May 1964. On this occasion, the Palme d’Or was renamed "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film", a name that remained in use through 1974, after which it became the Palme d'Or aga ...

and won a prize for the work of cameraman

Vadim Yusov Vadim Ivanovich Yusov (, 20 April 1929 – 23 August 2013) was a Soviet and Russian cinematographer and professor at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. He was known for his collaborations with Andrei Tarkovsky on '' The Steamroller and th ...

, best known for his subsequent collaboration with

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

.А я иду…
/ref>

Plot summary

The film opens at a Moscow airport in summer 1963. A young man, Volodya (

), calls out to a young woman he sees singing to herself and dancing. :– Arriving or departing? :– Waiting for arrivals. :– Who is it? :– My husband. :– He's lucky to have someone to meet him. :– Get married, you'll have someone as well. :– And you are both happy? :– Yes, we are. :– It never happens. :– Believe me, it happens.''Данелия Г. Н. ''Безбилетный пассажир: «байки» кинорежиссёра. — М.: Эксмо, 2006. — 416 с. — 5100 экз. — , 5-699-12714-3 Volodya is an aspiring writer from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

. His first short story has just been published in the magazine '' Yunost'' ("Youth"); and a famous author, Voronin, has invited him to Moscow to discuss his work. In the

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first und ...

Volodya unexpectedly makes a friend, Kolya (

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the ...

), who is returning home after a hard night shift. Volodya wants to stay at his old friends' home, but he doesn't know where the necessary street is so Kolya decided to help him to find it. Unfortunately, a dog bites Volodya near Clean Ponds. Then Kolya decided to help his new friend againthey both came to Kolya's home where Kolya sews Volodya's trousers and introduces him to Kolya's large family. Volodya recognised that his old Moscow friends aren't in Moscow (they left for south) and Volodya stays at Kolya's. Then Volodya goes for a walk. At last alone, Kolya decided to sleep, but then came his old friend Sasha (

). Sasha is in troublehe was planning on marrying his fiancée Sveta today, but he has been called up for military service. He begs Kolya to help him. Kolya helps. Then two young men go to the GUM department store to buy a suit for a bridegroom and they meet Volodya there (Volody has recently bought a new suit for himself). Then friends decided to buy a present for a bride and they go to the music shop, because the saleswoman, Alyona ( Galina Polskikh) is a love interest for Kolya...

Cast

– Volodya *

– Kolka * Galina Polskikh – Alyona *

– Sasha *Irina Titova – Sveta * Irina Miroshnichenko – Katya, Kolka's sister * Lyubov Sokolova – Kolka's mother *Yekaterina Melnikova – Kolka's grandmother *Arkadiy Smirnov – Aleksey Petrovich Voronov, writer *

– floor polisher *

– Man in Park *

Valentina Ananina Valentina Georgievna Ananina (russian: Валентина Геopгиeвна Ананьина; May 18, 1933, Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress. Biography Valentina Ananina was born May 18, 1933 in Moscow. In 1957 she grad ...

– ice-cream vendor *Veronika Vasilyeva – mistress of ceremonies * Irina Skobtseva – Nadya *

– girl participating in the playful contest * Maria Vinogradova – woman with a dog *Gennadiy Yalovich – tour guide *Alevtina Rumiantseva – underground guard *Vladimir Shurupov – Viktor, Kolka's brother *Danuta Stolyarskaya – Anya, Viktor's wife *Boris Balakin – taxi driver *Boris Bityukov – Alyona's father *Pyotr Dolzhanov – passerby *

– militsioner *Arina Aleynikova – girl at the airport *Igor Bogolybov – military commissar *Vadim Shilov – underground squabbler *Anna Pavlova – secretary at the

military commissariat A military commissariat is an institution that is part of military service or law enforcement mechanisms in some European countries. As part of the British Army in the 19th century, military commissariats were used for organisational, accountin ...

*Viktor Volkov – construction foreman *Viktor Shkurin – thief *Uno Masaaki – Japanese man *Svetlana Besedina – girl in the rain *

Oleg Vidov Oleg Borisovich Vidov (russian: Олег Борисович Видов; June 11, 1943 – May 15, 2017) was a Soviet Russian American actor, film director and producer. He appeared in 50 films beginning in 1961. A refugee from his native Sovie ...

– boy on the bike *

– shoeshine man

Legacy

This film was highly beloved by Soviet youth in the early 1960s. Though its plot is a bit naive and unpretentious, it showed how wonderful life was, gives hope and tries to look at the unpleasant things in an optimistic way. The song by the same name from the film is still popular and became the unofficial hymn of Moscow youth.А я иду…
/ref> The popularity of this film was low in the 1970s but rose again in the 1980s in contrast to contemporaneous "chernukha" ("black") films, gloomy satirical and social dramas with philosophical motifs. Nowadays it is still very famous. There are new versions of the song by some 1990s Russian rock groups (for example, Nogu Svelo!) and also a film remake, ''The Heat'', which was commercially successfully but critically panned.

References

External links

* *
''Walking the Streets of Moscow'' on MosFilm video channel
{{Authority control 1964 films 1960s Russian-language films 1964 romantic comedy films Mosfilm films Films set in Moscow Films shot in Moscow Films directed by Georgiy Daneliya Films scored by Andrey Petrov Soviet romantic comedy films Russian romantic comedy films