Not a surprise. the novel remains a classic of Soviet literature.
After seeing Andrei Mironov i Zakharov's "12 stulyev" (1977), it hard to imagine a better actor for the part of Ostap. In general, this Gaidai's film is weak.
As a big fan of Ilf and Petrov's masterpieces I couldn't watch this version. It contains quite simple Gaidai's humor but not sharp and intelligent humor of authors.
The tag line suggests this movie was made because the Soviet Union "couldn't stand the unauthentic version." They should have quit while they were ahead.
This videofilm is not only the comedy. This film depicts many various aspects of the human life not only in the USSR but also on the whole planet Earth.
Director Leonid Gaidai had a talent for comedy like no one else. His adaptation of the great humorous book is also great and gives a lot of good laughs.
The best comedy I have seen. The script is based on exceptionally observant novel by Ilf and Petrov and is translated to screen flawlessly.
