The Irony of Fate, or "Enjoy Your Bath"

The Irony of Fate, or

Starring:Liya Akhedzhakova, Aleksandr Belyavsky, Barbara Brylska, Georgi Burkov, Lyubov Dobrzhanskaya, Andrei Myagkov, Olga Naumenko, Sergei Nikitin, Alla Pugachyova, Gotlib Roninson, Aleksandr Shirvindt, Lyubov Sokolova, Valentina Talyzina, Yuri Yakovlev
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

An unforgettable New Year's Eve provides the backdrop as four friends embark on their annual get-together at a local bathing house, where too much steam and plentiful vodka result in hilarious and charming consequences. Two men pass out, another winds up in the wrong city, and the women in their lives are left scratching their heads as midnight rapidly approaches in this wintry, scenic delight!

Customer Reviews:

The Russian Tradition.......2006-06-20

The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath is a pretty old movie, though every year on the morning on New Year's Eve it's on Russian TV. This movie is a Russian tradition. It's very warming and funny. Of course, it's not a life situation, but it's a great movie. Worth watching.

One of my favorites.......2006-05-19

My Russian language professor showed us this movie just before Christmas break several years ago. It was a poor VHS of a VHS copied who knows how many times. Even after only three semesters of the course, enough of the film was understandable to be quite funny. Since that time, I've learned a bit more of the language, and best of all, Image Entertainment has added subtitles in several different languages including Russian and English. Over the years this movie has become a New Years tradition way more enjoyable than "It's a Wonderful Life." This movie is emotionally compelling and absolutely hilarious. This movie transcends Soviet Comedy to be one of the best films of all time.

It's important to note that Image Entertainment has again put a lot of excellent work into this edition. The audio/video quality is excellent as always. The menu page can be in English or Russian, and subtitles are in several languages.

a classic.......2006-03-25

I love this movie. Incredible poetry, depth, acting, songs, music.. It's a Russian staple of "It's a Wonderful Life" stature, except much more moving and powerful. Give it a try!

An inseparable part of a Russian New Years!.......2006-01-13

This movie was first aired on dec 31 in 1975. The second part was shown on jan 1 in 1976. The next day people could not stop talking about this movie. Nadya's orange dress rocked Russian women's world. Thirty years later everyone still talks about this movie. It is the "Christmas Storie" for Russians. Eldar Ryazanov, the director, did a superb job with costumes, decorations and actors.

A bit about the film: Ryazanov wasn't sure if the script would be approved for filming by the Committee of Culture of USSR, so he made it into a play at first because it was easier to get approval for plays. Once the permission was obtained, he easily got an approval for the movie. Then came an extensive search for the actors. Someone proposed Andrei Mironov (a Russian sex-symbol and a great actor/singer/dancer) for the part of Ippolit, but Ryazanov felt that no woman would leave Mironov, no matter how negatively he portrayed his character (Mironov was THAT loved by Russian women). Thus Ryazanov picked Yakovlev for that part. Barbara Brylska was a star of Polish Cinema and a perfect match for the role of Nadya, but spoke Russian with a heavy accent. To solve the problem, Valentina Talyzina (who plays one of Nadya's friends in the movie) dubbed her part completely. The hardest part was in finding the actor to play Zhenya. After a long search that gave no result, someone advised Ryazanov to see a play where a young man by the name Andrei Myagkov played a drunk man. After the play was over, Ryazanov handed him the role.
The songs are sang by Alla Pugacheva and Sergei Nikitin - beloved Russian singers and songwriters. Poems by Pasternak, Akhmadulina, Akhmatova, and (one of the most tender and beautiful poems read at the end) Kochetkov make this film beautiful, lyrical and complete. I have not yet met a Russian who does not like this film. All Americans who watched this film loved it, too.

You will enjoy watching this film no matter if you are Russian or not.

A glimpse into Russian culture.......2005-12-27

We watched this movie in a highly experiential Russian language class where it is an especially good fit. Not only is the movie thoughtful and funny but the nuances of the streets, the apartments, the blocks, the locks!! I bought this movie for me for New Year's Eve and gave DVDs as gifts to my friends who've been to Russia. Da. Get this movie!

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