Eldar Ryazanov: Film director whose light touch helped his comedies avoid attention from the Soviet censors
Most of his films were centred on an improbable event that turns the boredom of daily life into a vortex of comic escapades
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The film director Eldar Ryazanov satirised and romanticised the life of ordinary Russians in his popular comedies for almost six decades. He was a household name in Russia, and his films are arguably the most recognisable titles in Soviet popular culture. His films ridiculed Soviet bureaucracy and lifestyle, but the lightness of his satires helped him dodge censorship. Only one of his works was banned, the 1961 comedy A Man From Nowhere, about a noble savage from an imaginary primitive tribe who visits the Soviet Union and is amused and shocked by its people and customs.
Compared to Billy Wilder, Ryazanov directed nearly 30 films, spawning countless catchphrases and popular jokes. Most of his films were centred on an improbable event that turns the boredom of daily life into a vortex of comic escapades. He acknowledged that fear of the Soviet government had dominated his life. “Every time I worked, I had to force a slave out of myself and overcome my fear of Soviet authorities,” he said in 2008.
His most popular film, the 1975 comedy The Irony of Fate, mocked what ideologues hailed as the pinnacle of a planned economy – the identical apartment blocks on streets with identical names in cities around the country. It follows a drunk surgeon who gets on a plane on New Year's Eve to Leningrad and makes his way into an apartment whose address, locks and even furniture are identical to his new residence in Moscow. The real owner is a teacher who finds him on her sofa. The showing of the film on New Year's Eve has become as big a part of the celebrations as the champagne flutes and Russian salad on family tables.
Eldar Alexandrovich Ryazanov, film director: born Samara, Soviet Union 18 November 1927; died 30 November 2015.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments