This Merry Planet (Russian: Эта весёлая планета, romanizedEta vesyolaya planeta) is a 1973 Soviet science fiction-musical television film directed by Yuri Saakov and Yuri Tsvetkov [ru].[1][2]

This Merry Planet
Written byDmitri Ivanov
Yuri Saakov
Directed byYuri Saakov
Yuri Tsvetkov
Starring
Music byDavid Tukhmanov
Country of originSoviet Union
Original languageRussian
Production
CinematographyKonstantin Petrichenko
Running time94 minutes
Production companyMosfilm
Original release
Release1973 (1973)

Plot

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On the eve of the New Year a delegation from space arrives on Earth. The aliens find it difficult to understand what is happening on the planet. By chance they end up at a party of a Soviet scientific research organization.

The aliens are convinced that they will immediately become the center of attention, but, as everyone is dressed up in costumes, their appearance at the evening in the House of Culture does not cause any excitement. They try to prove their extraterrestrial origin, but no one believes them. One young astronomer is trying to bring this extraordinary event to the audience, but also to no avail, and additionally he is deeply mistaken — he mistook earthling (Saveliy Kramarov) for an alien as he was dressed as a "perpetuum mobile".

And only by midnight some of the aliens realize that they had discovered the most beautiful planet in the universe, where people know how to love, rejoice and be sad.

Cast

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Production

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Cast

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Valery Nosik auditioned for the role of Prokhor; as a result, Savely Kramarov was approved, who was "fooling around from the heart" on the set. As Leonid Kuravlev said: "You better not shoot with dogs and with Kramarov. They will outplay you anyway".[1]

Filming

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The initial scene of the aliens' arrival was filmed in the backyard of the Mosfilm studio, where there was a windfall covered with snow. The actors made the most primitive spacesuits: made of silver fabric and glass caps, with a zipper in the whole back (that is, the suit could not be removed alone). During the filming, Kuravlev joked a lot; so, during the break, he ran into the neighboring pavilion where "The Red Snowball Tree" was filming; seizing the moment when Vasily Shukshin, after playing the episode, went to the camera, Kuravlev in a "spacesuit" sat in his place and repeated his speech word for word, and "earned" Shukshin did not immediately understand what was happening, and the film crew roared with laughter.[1]

According to the scenario, the musicians of "Pesniary", standing at the entrance doors, greeted guests in fancy dress with bows. Everything was going well, but when, according to the memoirs of bassist Leonid Tyshko [ru], a policeman appeared in the doorway, the musicians, still in the character, pushed him into the corridor with bows. It turned out that the policeman was an actor as well. The audience was overcome with laughter, but this episode was not included in the picture — the scene was reshot.[1]

Soundtrack

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External videos
  Our Beloved Ones
External videos
  White Dance
Translation Original title Transliterated title Performer
White Dance «Белый танец» Belyi tanets Tatyana Sashko
Our Beloved Ones [ru] «Наши любимые» Nashi Lyubimye Pesniary
In the Land of Fairy Tales «В стране сказок» V strane skazok Vladimir Malchenko [ru]
Shatritsa «Шатрица» Shatritsa Trio «Romen» [ru]
On the Most Perfect of Planets «На самой совершенной из планет» Na samoy sovershennoy iz planet Victor Sergachev [ru] & Leonid Kuravlyov
A Heart Must Love «Сердце любить должно» Serdtse lyubit' dolzhno Janina Brazaitiene [ru]
A Song About Perpetual Motion «Песня о вечном движении» Pesnya o vechnom dvizhenii Dmitriy Ivanov

The song of Valerik "In the land of fairy tales" is performed by Vladimir Malchenko. The screenwriter Dmitry Ivanov sang for Savely Kramarov in the film, Tatiana Sashko sang for Larisa Barabanova, and Alla Pugacheva was supposed to sing for Ekaterina Vasilyeva, but David Tukhmanov rejected her.[1]

The soundtrack was partly released in 1974 by Melodiya.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Anna Veligzhanina. "Эта весёлая планета: песни Аллы Пугачевой забраковал Тухманов". Komsomolskaya Pravda.
  2. ^ "Эта веселая планета. Х/ф". Russia-1.
  3. ^ Эта весёлая планета at Discogs (list of releases)
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