Leonid Gaidai: The Diamond Arm (1968)
Description: Diamond Arm was a classic Soviet comedy that managed to spoof both James Bond thrillers and Soviet life at the same time. Like the James Bond classic From Russia with Love, it took place in Istanbul. In this scene Gennady (Gena), a member of the smuggling band, played by Andrei Mironov, tries to separate himself from his roommate on the cruise ship. He gets lost in the old city, while his unwitting roommate stumbles onto the rendevous point, uttering the password ‘Damn it!’ (Chert poberi) by accident, and is quickly loaded up with contraband diamonds. A series of zany adventures ensues, which endeared the film to Soviet viewers and makes it a favorite until today.
Kira Muratova: Brief Encounters (1967)
Description: Muratova pushed beyond the limits of sexual honesty in this film, starring Vysotsky as Maksim, a geologist who has abandoned his city life and wife for the freedom of the expedition. He has traded his comforts and lovely wife for the freedom of the mosquito-ridden (and politics-ridden) open field. His wife Valentina (played by Muratova herself), is a model Soviet woman who is imprisoned in her successes and conventionalities. She cannot free herself from her love for the charming rogue Maksim, who comes and goes and he pleases, whose young girlfriend even insinuates herself into Valentina’s home, but who introduces a whiff of freedom into her life of falsehood. Vysotsky sang fragments of several of his songs for the movie.