Assa

Name: Assa
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Music
Released: 1987-11-01
Duration: 2 h 30 min
Rating: 7.9
Cast: Sergei Bugayev, Tatyana Drubich, Stanislav Govorukhin, Aleksandr Bashirov, Alexandr Domogarov

Асса (1987)

Timing: 2:30 (150 min)

—
no scores

6.9/10
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7.6/10
3500

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All about film

Video 2

Photo 14

Actors and characters

Watch film Assa — "Перемен!" (фрагмент из к/ф)

6:49

Photo 14

Release date

1987-11-01

Country

Soviet Union

Production

Mosfilm, Krug

Genre

Crime, Drama, Romance, Music

Budget

Revenue

$67 169

Website

Director

Sergey Solovyov

Actors

Sergei Bugayev, Tatyana Drubich, Stanislav Govorukhin, Aleksandr Bashirov, Alexandr Domogarov, Kirill Kozakov, Viktor Tsoi, Aleksandr Sporykhin, Georgi Guryanov, Yuriy Shumilo
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Sergey Livnev, Sergey Solovyov

Producer

Operator

Pavel Lebeshev

Composer

Boris Grebenshchikov

Artist

Marksen Gaukhman-Sverdlov

Audition

Editing

Vera Kruglova
All team (8)

Short description

A young musician falls for a mobster's young mistress.

What's left behind the scenes

Playing the part of a foreign artist, Vitya hums "Beyond the Sea" and Sting's "Moon over Bourbon Street" in the hotel lobby (although the album "The Dream of the Blue Turtles," featuring this song, was not released until 1985, which is after the events depicted in the film). Additionally, a photograph of Nick Cave from the album "The Firstborn Is Dead," also released in 1985, hangs in Bananana's room.
The main character is named Alika – this is how the screenwriter Sergei Livnev decided to immortalize the name of his beloved, the actress Alika Smekhova, who later became his wife.
The portrait of Brezhnev, past which the film's characters walk, was made specifically for the filming by a local artist. The appearance of the portrait on the embankment several years after the General Secretary's death caused the most incredible speculation among the local population.
In the cinema, Alik and Bananan are watching the film 'Quiet Street' starring Charlie Chaplin.
At the beginning of the cable car ride, it is clearly visible that the main characters boarded a red cabin. But at the end, Bananan is sitting in a blue one.
Banana's phrase 'A futurist Vladimir Mayakovsky, not born for money' refers to a little-known and lost film with Mayakovsky called 'Not Born for Money'.
The 'Major's' monologue about Gagarin was a pure improvisation by actor Aleksandr Bashirov.
The vinyl record with songs from the film, released by 'Melodya' in 1987, became one of the first official Soviet publications of domestic rock music.
Artists from the midget theater perform excerpts from Emmerich Kálmán's operetta "Silva."
The refusal of the administration of the "Oreanda" hotel to allow filming was resolved only after a telegram, sent in desperation by Sergei Solovyov to the address of General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, reached its destination by chance. The telegram, reaching the addressee directly, infuriated him so much that the issue was immediately resolved.
The idea to place a palm tree on a rotating record player in Banana's scene was taken by the film's authors after they attended a show-concert by the "Cabinet" group, the first group in the USSR to play in the ska style in the mid-1980s.
The songs 'I Address You Informally,' 'Mochalkin Blues,' and 'Old Man Kozlodoyev,' sung by Sergei Ryzhenko in the film, are performed in their original versions by Boris Grebenshchikov on the record.
The scene of Krymov and Bananan swimming in winter was actually filmed in the summer. The ice on the water and the snow on the shore are artificial.
Krymov and Bananan are traveling from Yalta to the Simferopol hippodrome. The events of the film take place in 1980, whereas the hippodrome in Simferopol ceased to exist in the early 1970s. The episode was filmed at the Moscow hippodrome.
The film's working title was "Hello, Boy Bananan!" Screen tests were conducted under this name. The name of the main character, "Bananan," came from a character in the song "Hello, Boy Bananan" (which featured in the film), written and performed by Yuri Chernavsky on his rock album "Banana Islands," recorded in February 1983.
The working title of the film was 'Hello, Boy Bananan!' Auditions were held under this title. The name of the main character in the film 'Bananan' came from a character in the song 'Hello, Boy Bananan' (featured in the film), written and performed by Yuri Chernavsky on his rock album 'Banana Islands,' which was recorded in February 1983.
The episode of Krymov and Bananan winter swimming was actually filmed in the summer. The ice on the water and the snow on the shore are artificial.
Bananan's phrase "Vladimir Mayakovsky, the futurist not born for money" is a reference to an obscure and lost film featuring Mayakovsky titled "Not Born for Money".
The refusal of the Oreanda Hotel administration to allow filming was only resolved after Sergey Solovyov, in desperation, sent a telegram to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. By chance, the telegram reached the addressee directly, inciting such fury in him that the matter was settled immediately.
The slogan 'Assa' during Rock Wednesday was introduced by artist Oleg Kotelnikov; this slogan was widely used within the community associated with 'Kamchatka'.
The title of the film was suggested by Sergey Bugayev, who played the role of Bananan.
The songs 'Idu na ty', 'Mochalkin Blues', and 'Starik Kozlodoyev', performed in the film by Sergey Ryzhenko, appear on the record in the original performance of Boris Grebenshchikov.
Vitya, a Black man, portraying a foreign artist, hums songs "Beyond the Sea" and Sting's "Moon over Bourbon Street" in the hotel lobby (although the album "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" featuring this song was released only in 1985, that is, after the events described in the film). Also, a photograph of Nick Cave from the album "The Firstborn Is Dead," released only in 1985, hangs in Banana's room.
The film's title was suggested by Sergei Bugayev, who played the role of Bananan.
The actors of the Lilliputian Theater perform excerpts from Imre Kalman's operetta "Silva".
The monologue about Gagarin by 'Major' is a pure improvisation by actor Alexander Bashirov.
Krymov quotes Pushkin.
Principal photography for the film took place on location in Crimea, specifically in Yalta, with some parts filmed in Moscow.
This was the first Soviet film whose premiere was accompanied by a grand theatrical presentation held at the MELZ Palace of Culture in Moscow.
The episode featuring the performance of the song 'I Want Changes' was filmed in the Green Theatre of the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure in Moscow. Instead of paying extras, the film crew organized a free 'Kino' concert, during which the episode was filmed. Due to filming specifics, the song was performed to a backing track. The rest of the concert was played live. The audience who came to the free concert was so outraged by the long preparation for filming the scene that they overturned a fire truck that was on standby for safety reasons.
Alik and Bananan are watching the film 'The Quiet Street' featuring Charlie Chaplin in the cinema.
The vinyl record featuring songs from the film, released by the Melodiya label in 1987, became one of the first official Soviet releases of domestic rock music.
Historical scenes were filmed at the Mikhailovsky Castle in Leningrad.
The main filming took place on location in Crimea, in Yalta, with some scenes shot in Moscow.
The main female character is named Alika; the screenwriter, Sergey Livnev, who was in a relationship with actress Alika Smekhova at the time, decided to immortalize the name of his beloved, who later became his wife.