Chasing Two Hares (found original Ukrainian version of Soviet comedy musical film; 1961)
Theatrical poster for Russian-language version of the film.
Status: Found
Date found: 2013
Found by: Dovzhenko Centre
Chasing Two Hares (Russian: За двумя зайцами, Ukrainian: За двома зайцями) is a 1961 Soviet comedy musical film that was written & directed by Viktor Ivanov and produced by Dovzhenko Film Studio. Based on the same name play by Mykhailo Starytsky. The film was originally released on December 21st, 1961 at "Darnytsya" in Kyiv[1].
Plot
The film tells story about frivolous barber named Svyryd Holokhvosty, which used to be a barbershop worker in Kyiv. It was in a bad state, and the owner, Svyryd, spent most of his time drinking and playing cards. After losing a lot of money, Svyryd decided to fix his problems by getting married.
Main Information
The film was shot in Ukrainian language at the Dovzhenko Film Studio, as it was planned to be shown only on the territory of the Soviet Ukraine. Later, when the film gained enormous popularity, it was partially re-dubbed by the same actors into Russian language and was released into the All-Union distribution.
Availability
For decades, the original Ukrainian version of the film was considered lost; only the Russian dub of the film has been broadcast on Ukrainian TV. However, in 2013 the original version was found in the Mariupol Film Fund and completely restored by the Dovzhenko Centre[2]. The Ukrainian version was premiered on July 13th, 2013 on "Enter-фільм" TV channel[3]. The theatrical release of rediscovered Ukrainian original was took place on October 27th, 2013 at Kyiv movie theatre "Ukrayina"[4]. The film was subsequently uploaded to YouTube.