Actors: Aleksandr Yakovlev, Aleksandr Demyanenko, Leonid Kuravlev, Natalia Selezneva, Vladimir Etush
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Occupation
An inventor in Moscow, Russia (Aleksandr Demyanenko) has built a time machine. As he is getting ready to test it at his home, it removes the wall between his apartment and that of the guy next door. There happens to be a robber there (Leonid Kuravlev) who immediately assumes a confident look and pretends to be the neighbor's friend. Another person stops by, Bunsha (Yury Yakovlev), a nosy community worker; he wants to have a word with the inventor about his strange machine and its safety. The robber is also interested in the machine, although for a different reason: having just observed how it has removed a wall, he sees its potential usefulness for his “profession.” He pushes the inventor to get it going again and show the community worker that it is perfectly safe. The inventor, eager to test the machine, agrees.
He starts the machine and penetrates time, going back to the time of King Ivan IV, also known as the Terrible. As the passage to the past opens, the trio sees the king (who looks amazingly like Bunsha and is also played by Yury Yakovlev), sitting in his palace and dictating something to a scribe. The king notices them as well and panics. In the commotion he ends up in the inventors apartment, and Bunsha and the robber on the other side of the passage, in the king's palace. That's when the machine breaks, and the passage closes.
Now the inventor has to deal with the runaway Ivan the Terrible, and the two time-travelers must somehow survive in the 16th century Russia. The robber, who noticed Bunsha's resemblance to the king, forces him to put on some royal garments he finds and pose as Ivan. The trick works for a while, but the guards and the servants soon begin to wonder about the king's suddenly changed personality.
--Laura Southcombe, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Occupation
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Kind of comedy
- imposter story
How much humor v. drama
- Nearly all humor
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- wild
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Russian
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Russian
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Eastern Europe
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- castle
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- full of laughter
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- Russian
Subtitles?
- Yes
Any profanity?
- None
