LW - Soviet comedy film recommendations by Nina Rimsky

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I'm a big fan of the Soviet comedy directors
Eldar Ryazanov,
Leonid Gaidai, and
Georgiy Daneliya. Almost anything by them is worth watching, but here are my favorites (filtered for things that have a free YouTube version with good English subtitles, bold are the highest-recommended):
Ryazanov
1966
Beware of the Car (Берегись автомобиля)
[YouTube]
Comedy about a benevolent car thief who steals to donate to charity
1975
The Irony of Fate (Ирония судьбы или с легким паром!)
[YouTube]
A New Year's classic premised on the uniformity of Soviet apartment buildings - a guy gets drunk on NYE and ends up in a different city but finds an identical building that his key can access
1977
Office Romance (Служебный роман)
[YouTube]
Romantic comedy and satirical portrayal of Soviet office life
1979
The Garage (Гараж)
[YouTube]
Comedy set in a single room where people argue about who should lose their garage after the government decides to build a road through the plot they were collectively building garages on
1987
Forgotten Melody for a Flute (Забытая мелодия для флейты)
[YouTube]
Satirical romantic comedy about Soviet bureaucracy and its decline in power in the late 80s, great opening song (translate the lyrics)
1991
The Promised Heaven (Небеса обетованные)
Sadly couldn't find an English-subtitled YT link for this but I like it too much to miss off[1]
Tragic comedy about the lives of people made recently homeless during the Perestroika period, very sad and of its time
Gaidai
1966
Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика)
[YouTube]
One of the most famous Soviet comedies - a naive visitor to the Caucasus is convinced to assist in the "bride kidnapping" tradition
1969
The Diamond Arm (Бриллиантовая рука)
[YouTube]
Another one of the most famous Soviet comedies - diamonds end up being smuggled in the wrong guy's cast because he happens to injure himself and say the "codeword" in front of the smugglers' hideout
1971
The Twelve Chairs (12 стульев)
[YouTube]
Film adaptation of the satirical novel by Soviet authors
Ilf and Petrov set in post-revolutionary Russia
Daneliya
1977
Mimino (Мимино)
[YouTube]
Romantic comedy about a Georgian bush pilot
1986
Kin-dza-dza! (Кин-Дза-Дза!)
[YouTube]
Funny low-budget sci-fi
Bonus recommendations
1973
Seventeen Moments of Spring (Семнадцать мгновений весны)
[YouTube]
Extremely popular Soviet spy thriller set during WW2
Source of "Stierlitz jokes"
1975
Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане)
[YouTube]
Classic short (10mins) animated children's film, great atmosphere
1. ^
$10 bounty to anyone who finds a link to a free version of this with high-quality English subtitles
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