Petr Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively to VK
Hundreds of Israelis gathered on December 26 at the Palace of Culture of the Israeli city of Afula at the premiere viewing of the color-restored version of the film "Arshin Mal Alan".
It is no secret that in the Internet era many cinemas are empty - people prefer watching movies at home. But this time all the tickets to watch the film were sold, and people sought to get standing room and complimentary tickets. And among the audience were not only natives of Azerbaijan – many people wanted to see the revived version of the legendary film. According to the director of the Azerbaijan-Israel Association (AZIZ), Lev Spivak, Israel became the second country in the world after Azerbaijan in which the demonstration of the updated version of "Arshin Mal Alan" took place, and the success of this premiere was tremendous .
The author of these lines connects his personal sentiments with this great movie. "Arshin Mal Alan" was a favorite movie in our family. At one time, my mother began to acquaint my father, who grew up in Belarus, with Azerbaijani culture from this film. From time to time, when the film was shown on Azerbaijani or all-Union television, everything was postponed, and our family seated itself down before the screen. Being a preschooler, I saw this film for the first time and largely amused adults by singing "Is there any money? Yes, there is! Is there a lot of money? Enough for two!" " and "Ah, thank you, Suleiman - you helped me with your advice!".
Many arias and expressions of this immortal operetta by Gadzhibekov were in use at home, in many families in Baku and all over Azerbaijan. For example, when it comes to the need to solve a problem without further problems, people say: "One mullah, two lumps of sugar - and here's the end!"
Later, when "Arshin..." was included in retro viewings of film classics in Baku cinemas, or once again demonstrated on TV, I was able to truly appreciate the greatness of this film. In 1945 Azerbaijani filmmakers managed to create a real miracle - to create a musical that can compete with the world's best examples of this genre, observe all its conventions and, simultaneously, give each character a unique personality that makes it amazingly alive.
"Azerbaijanfilm" filmed two versions of "Arshin Mal Alan" - in 1945 and in 1965. And, as with the two versions of "12 Chairs", when the film critics continue to argue which Bender – Gomiashvili or Mironov – is better, there are lots of disputes around the two versions. In fact, they are both good in their own ways. And yet, the version of 1945 , undoubtedly, from the historical and artistic point of view is more significant - because it was the first one and, of course, because it is sounded by the great unique voice of R. Beybutov , and the great acting of Dzhavanshirova, Abudullaev, Kalantarly cannot be forgotten!
Certainly, in the history of Azerbaijani cinema many outstanding, world-famous movies were filmed, and yet its kind of "calling card" is precisely "Arshin Mal Alan" .
Therefore, on behalf of those who feel a connection with Azerbaijani culture, on behalf of all cinema lovers, I would like to express my gratitude to all who participated in the "upgrade", in a kind of "second birth" of the film "Arshin Mal Alan" and, of course, to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, without the support of which it would have been impossible. In essence, a real miracle happened - we saw "Arshin Mal Alan" as it would be if it was filmed today, using modern technology, while we hear the same voices and watch the same acting of great bygone artists of the past .
The author is not alone in his assessment: this was confirmed by the CEO of the Association AZIZ, Lev Spivak. According to him, the audience left the hall dazed, many simply did not have enough words to express their admiration. "At least half of the audience knew the movie by heart and sang along with the actors. When the film was over, people got up from their seats and gave it a standing ovation. It was awesome!" Lev Spivak enthused. It seems that this movie will be shown in other cinemas of Israel more than once with the same success, as well as, of course, in hundreds and thousands of cinemas around the world: this film deserves it.
