Cherry Town by Shostakovich

[innopac]

I just noticed on Amazon this DVD of Shostakovich's Cheryomushki (Cherry Town) (1963). Am posting this in case anyone else is also interested.

[bart]

Thanks, innopac. I had never heard of this film. I checked out some of the comments on Amazon; the following made me think, "Hey, this is NOT what I would have expected from either the Soviet Union in the early 60s or Shostakovich ever." I obviously have something to learn.

It's a musical comedy, closest in style and appeal to the Bing Crosby stuff of the 50s, or to "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Oklahoma". It's wonderfully innocent and romantic, and OPTIMISTIC! IDEALISTIC! ??? In Russia? Yes, in Russia. But it's not a white-wash of soviet society. In fact, it's sharply satirical of bureaucratic corruption, of inefficiency, and of the new-man culture of newly urbanizing Russia. Watch it with an open mind. Can you remember any comparably pointed social commentary in any American musical comedy of the same era?

Can anyone tell us more about this project?

[Mel Johnson]

I hadn't known that the entire show was filmed, but I've seen the "apartment hunting" sequence, which is fall-down funny.

[innopac]

There is a very comprehensive review on Amazon UK by Richard Bowden "The Film Flaneur" and if you search yutube with the term Cheryomushki it looks like the whole film is there but I haven't had time to watch it yet.

[dirac]

Thanks for the heads up, innopac.