Following their annual tradition, a group of friends meet at a banya in Moscow to celebrate New Year's Eve. The friends all get very drunk toasting the upcoming marriage of the central male character, Zhenya Lukashin (Andrei Myagkov) to Galya (Olga Naumenko). After the bath, one of the friends, Pavlik (Aleksandr Shirvindt), has to catch a plane to Leningrad; Zhenya, on the other hand, is supposed to go home to celebrate New Year's Eve with his fiancée. Both Zhenya and Pavlik pass out. The others cannot remember which of their unconscious friends is supposed to be catching the plane; eventually they mistakenly decide that it is Zhenya and put him on a plane instead of Pavlik. On the plane, he collapses onto the shoulder of his annoyed seatmate, played by the director himself (Ryazanov) in a brief comedic cameo appearance. It turns out that in Leningrad there is a street with the same name, with a building at his address which looks exactly like Zhenya's. The key fits in the door of the apartment with the same number. Zhenya is too drunk to notice the differences, and goes to sleep. Later, the real tenant, Nadya Shevelyova (Barbara Brylska), arrives home to find a strange man sleeping in her bed. To make matters worse, Nadya's fiancé, Ippolit (Yuri Yakovlev), arrives before Nadya can convince Zhenya to get up and leave. Ippolit becomes furious, refuses to believe Zhenya and Nadya's explanations, and storms out. Zhenya desperately tries to get back to Moscow, and Nadya herself wants to get rid of him as soon as possible, but unfortunately there are no flights to Moscow until the next morning. Thus the two are compelled to spend New Year's Eve together. With a heavy heart, Zhenya returns to Moscow. Meanwhile Nadya reconsiders everything and, deciding that she might have let her chance at happiness slip away, takes a plane to Moscow following Zhenya, easily finding him in Moscow, since their addresses are the same.
Y**P
A RomComTour De Force
A movie that openly criticized the Soviet regime for the sameness of its rectangular residential buildings, to invent a whole story based on someone from Moscow ending up on a similar apartment (with the same address!) in Leningrad. Wonderfully acted by everyone including the two very likeable protagonists, with many nice songs in the somewhat maudlin Russian genre. The film, though very enjoyable, could have cut 20 minutes of some needless repetitions .
L**T
Closed captions won't display
I've heard great things about this movie, but after several attempts on different days, I'm not able to turn on the English closed captions. As a result, I'm not able to watch it. For what it's worth, I can't get captions to display in Russian, either, although those wouldn't be helpful to me. Disappointing.
R**R
Aht Lichna!!!! Excellent movie that grows on you!
This is a Christmas screwball comedy that gets better with each viewing. The reason is does is because each viewing brings out subtleties that were not apparent before.For example, the fact that all mass-produced apartments from the communist era were identical is a given, but the lifestyles and values generated by this environment are pretty darned unique.The story is akin to the movies made in America during the 1940s, during the Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant era, when the movies' undercurrents and implications were just as important as the flash and bling of today's films.If you are tired of all the competitive special effects and razzle-dazzle, and want instead the more human intricacies of dialogue and the emotional roller coaster rides they can engender, all mixed with a splash of gentle humor, this is definitely your cup of tea.It has become a permanent part of my holiday fare.
C**2
One of my favorites
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 hilarious. This movie transcends Soviet Comedy to be one of the best Chrismas (holiday) 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.
D**N
Best Holiday Movie
This is my favorite Russian movie. My family has watched it since I was a little girl and, even now, though I am married to a non-Russian speaker, we still watch it! This movie has subtitles and the acting and plot is so good that it doesn't even need them but still handy. It is a family favorite and I'm glad I'll be able to share this with my kids! It has become a tradition....we watch it every New Year! :D
S**E
A great Soviet love story of the mid 1970's. Who knew?
This movie is the Russian equivalent of "It's a Wonderful Life", which is shown on Turner Classic Movies every Christmas eve. Many Russians watch "Irony of Fate" every New Years Eve. It's a great Soviet love story from the 1970's. Who knew? Don't worry, you won't see any Soviet propaganda.I don't want to give away the plot. Give in to your curiosity. Watch it and see for yourself!
J**K
Awesome flick
This movie is simply wonderful. Other reviewers have covered the details, so I'll skip that portion of the review. It's the ultimate chick flick that guys can really enjoy. After watching so many Russian films that were done in fine style, yet were almost always lacking in the "technical" (read budget) department, this movie has it all. Great script, great acting, a director who was matched for this movie in Heaven, and an all around superb production. Even if you don't understand a word in Russian, this movie will not let you down. The subtitles serve to highlight what the screenplay already told you, and the musical scores fit the storyline perfectly. One viewing and you will understand why this movie has become a perennial classic. Buy it and see for yourself. When this DVD arrived today, it turned a so-so workday evening into a great night. By the way, it has an English dub track, but I hve not listened to it, as there is usually too much lost in the translation. Listen to it in Russian, and just let the English subtitles fill inthe gaps. Enjoy.
S**R
Delightful Soviet-era romantic comedy
"The Irony of Fate" is a Soviet-era made-for-television romantic comedy from 1975. I recommend that you buy this movie without reading any of the reviews here, since at least one review contains many "spoilers." It is best to watch this film without any idea of what it is about, or how it ends (surprise is part of the fun). I will just say that this movie is very funny and touching.A sequel ("The Irony of Fate 2") was released in 2007. It is very good also (it was the highest grossing film ever shown in Russia, with the exception of "Avatar"); however, I enjoyed the original movie better.The English subtitles are excellent, without the typographical and machine-translation errors seen in more recent Russian films.
A**X
prodotto ottimo
il film e' adatto a tutta la famiglia e'divertente e ben fatto e si nota uno spaccato della russia di fine anni 70 suggestivo....un film da vedere....
E**S
No Russian subtitle :(
The movie is a bit long but the quality is good. The option is either chinese ou Russian with english subtitle. Would have expected Russian subtitle to be avalable but I'm overall happy with my purchase.
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