The film "White Sun of the Desert": plot, music and tragedies

Tonight's film "White Sun of the Desert." - It is already a classic, a masterpiece of its time and genre that has no equal. However, in 1969, the fate of the film was in jeopardy: the censors literally trashed the work Vladimir Motyland each new - revised version was accompanied by a storm of criticism... It came to the point that Motyl wanted to be suspended from shooting, but "White Sun of the Desert" is not the kind of film for which directors fought with each other. On the contrary: from it, all of them recanted, because no one wanted to end his career under the gloomy shadow of this istern....

Motyl himself became the director of this tragicomedy absolutely inadvertently - one might say, he had no choice. At some point Vladimir Yakovlevich already got used to the idea that his career will put a fat cross, and the tape itself will be sent to dust in the shelf. However, when the film was shown Brezhnev - he was delighted. Leonid Ilyich gave the order to put "White Sun of the Desert" into distribution, so that the Soviet people could enjoy a native, domestic version of the then popular Westerns. Alas, this film masterpiece was not a success at first - only years later it would be labelled a classic.

Today, this film is considered cult even by young viewers. But few people know under which intense pressure and what tragedies hang over "White Sun of the Desert".

A "borscht western" that was talked about even in the West

"White Sun of the Desert" is about valour. Red Army soldier Sukhovwho rescues women from the harem of the bandit Abdullah. The story is set in the vast desert, during the Civil War. We won't retell the whole plot verbatim - let's talk about the source of inspiration. At that time, the USSR cinemas were gaining momentum. American westernsThe Soviets decided to experiment: to make their own Western-inspired films, but on a domestic basis. And then the country of the Soviets decided to make an experiment: to make their own cinema in the spirit of westerns, but only in the domestic way. The directors were given full freedom of action, but there was one condition: the fee would be directly linked to the success of the work at the box office.

The script is based on a real fact, how during the Civil War Basmachi abandoned their homes in the desert, and with them their wives. To be honest, no one was interested in this idea unimpressed. Directors simply refused, because they did not see the potential in this experiment, and nobody wanted to ruin their careers. Initially, Vladimir Motyl refused, but Grigory Chukhrai managed to change his mind: at the time, Motyl was going through a bad time - it seemed that things could not get any worse. But then it became clear that things could be worse...

The difficulties started already with the trials: Georgy Yumatov was to play Sukhov, but on the eve of filming got drunk and got into a fight. Then Yumatov's friend died - crashed on a car presented by the actor. Georgy Alexandrovich long struggled with guilt ... Another problem, not counting the 50-degree heat and frankly horrible conditions - thieves! To protect the film crew from them, Motyl even had to involve in the filming of the local criminal authority - the famous bandit in a red shirt.

There were fights, there were arguments and drunkenness... A lot of things happened during the filming of "White Sun of the Desert". How this film was completed and released at all is still a mystery.

Vereshchagin's Song

Despite all the difficulties, the film turned out to be brilliant - and so did the musical accompaniment to it. The famous composition "Your nobility."Also known as Vereshchagin's song, it was written especially for Eastern with lyrics by Bulat Okudzhava and music by Isaac Shvarts. It is noteworthy, but when the composer composed the music, he mentally imagined that the performer would be Pavel Luspekaev and no one else. As a result, the song went viral and acquired the status of a classic.

Another curious story involves an iconic piece of work "From across the island to the shore.". According to the idea, the composition is heard in the scene of Comrade Sukhov's dream: in the image of the Stenki Razina He sails to his wife on a barque, and with him his harem, which he is fed up with. At some point Sukhov throws overboard one of the Oriental beauties... This "unfortunate" turned out to be Svetlana Slivinskaya. The scene was filmed without stuntmen, everything is natural and very effective. However, the censor did not miss this gorgeous episode, and it's a pity.

...And his fate

In the film White Sun of the Desert. Pavel Luspekaev showed incredible courage and acting zeal! Each time he had to overcome severe pain.....

The director liked Luspekaev's candidature very much - and it should be noted that there were indeed many people willing to play the role of Vereshchagin. However, by that time the physical condition of Pavel Borisovich left much to be desired: in recent years, he was tormented by the atherosclerosis of the leg vessels - He underwent a complex operation, as a result of which the actor became dependent on strong painkillers... During the filming he was accompanied by his wife: Inessa carried with her a small folding chair, as Luspekaev could not take more than 20 steps at a time - he constantly needed to rest. The actor died just half a month after the release of the film, not living three days before his 43rd birthday...