Twelve Chairs (1971)

Two gentlemen of fortune from the times of Imperial Russia are looking for the uncountable treasure at the dawn of Soviet Union age.

Director:

Leonid Gaidai

Writers:

Ilya Ilf (novel), Yevgeni Petrov (novel)

Stars:

Archil Gomiashvili, Sergey Filippov, Mikhail Pugovkin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Archil Gomiashvili	...	Ostap Bender
Sergey Filippov	...	Kisa Vorobyaninov
Mikhail Pugovkin	...	Father Fyodor
Natalya Krachkovskaya	...	M-me Gritsatsuyeva
Natalya Vorobyova	...	Ellochka Schukina
Glikeriya Bogdanova-Chesnokova	...	Yelena Stanislavovna Bowr
Nina Grebeshkova	...	Musik / Tsaritza Tamara
Yuriy Nikulin	...	Dvornik Tikhon
Natalya Varley	...	Liza
Klara Rumyanova	...	Katerina Alexandrovna, Father Fyodor's wife
Leonid Gaidai	...	Varfolomey Korobeynikov
Igor Yasulovich	...	Engineer Schukin
Georgiy Vitsin	...	Stage worker Mechnikov
Saveliy Kramarov	...	Chess club chairman
Viktor Pavlov	...	Kolya

Storyline

A former aristocrat Ippolit Vorobyaninov leads a miserable life in Soviet Russia. His mother-in-law reveals a secret to him - she hid family diamonds in one of the twelve chairs they once had. Vorobyaninov in cooperation with a young con artist Ostap Bender start a long search for the diamonds.

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Plot Keywords:

crook | russia | aristocrat | mother in law | con artist | 

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Taglines:

...it's finally been filmed by the country that couldn't stand the unauthentic version!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian Lithuanian German Georgian French

Release Date:

2 November 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twelve Chairs

Filming Locations:

Mosfilm Studios, Moscow, Russia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm, Eksperimentalnoe Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

159 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Georgiy Daneliya was originally set to direct, but he yielded the job to Leonid Gaidai who wanted to direct the movie.

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Goofs

During the boat chase, a white triangle, presumably a sail, is seen as Ostap circles the overturned boat; would not be visible during the true night scene.

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Crazy Credits

17 minutes before the ending there is an intertitle stating: There are 00 hours, 17 minutes and 19 seconds before the end of the film.

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Connections

Version of The Twelve Seats (2012)

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Soundtracks

Slyshen zvon bubenzov
(uncredited)
written by Aleksandr Kusikov and Vladimir Bakaleynikov

User Reviews

Eternal Videofilm

This videofilm is not only the comedy. This film depicts many various aspects of the human life not only in the USSR but also on the whole planet Earth. This film was actual in the past time, is actual now and seems that it will be actual in the future.

The film shows the internal life of the people's society: from the ordinary janitor to the figures of the governmental level. It shows, in a form of a comedy, those sides of the human kind which they themselves will never tell you about.

One of the best films ever made on this planet!