The 1975 film “Miniatures” and the fates of Zhvanetsky, Kartsev and Ilchenko

The first film made from a script by Zhvanetsky is the 1975 Miniatures with Roman Kartsev and Viktor Ilchenko. It turns out that all three are now dead: Ilchenko was the first to go, at 55, having been tipped for great success on the variety stage. Kartsev died 2 years ago, aged 79. Zhvanetsky held out until 86.

This film largely shaped the later perception of Mikhail Mikhailovich in modern culture, although he wrote more than a dozen books, some of them quite serious, and if one thinks about it, as a writer he is of greater consequence than as a mere humorist or satirist.

At the link is a good episode of XX Century on the Kultura channel, which covers this film among other things.

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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Frederic Leighton

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The 1975 film “Miniatures” and the fates of Zhvanetsky, Kartsev and Ilchenko

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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