The Night Before Christmas, also known as Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka (Russian: Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки, romanized: Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki), is a 1961 Soviet fantasy film directed by Aleksandr Rou, based on a "Christmas Eve", first story in the second volume of the 1832 collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka by Nikolai Gogol.
| The Night Before Christmas | |
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| Directed by | Aleksandr Rou |
| Written by | Aleksandr Rou |
| Based on | "Christmas Eve" by Nikolai Gogol |
| Starring | Alexander Khvylya Lyudmila Myznikova Yuri Tavrov Lyudmila Khityaeva Sergey Martinson Anatoly Kubatsky Georgy Millyar |
| Cinematography | Dmitri Surensky |
| Edited by | Kseniya Blinova |
| Music by | Arkadi Filippenko |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Plot
This eccentric and fantastical fairy tale takes place near the village of Dikanka on the night before Christmas. Amid carol singing, drunken revelry, and amorous hijinks, the blacksmith Vakula persuades the Devil to fly him to Saint Petersburg, where he hopes to obtain a pair of the Empress's heels which might win him Oksana's love.
Cast
- Aleksandr Khvylya as Chub
- Lyudmyla Myznikova as Oksana
- Yuri Tavrov as Vakula
- Lyudmila Khityaeva as Solokha
- Sergei Martinson as Osip, the Sacristan
- Anatoly Kubatsky as Panas
- Vera Altayskaya as Wife of Panas
- Dmitri Kapka as Shanuvalenko
- Mykola Yakovchenko as Patsyuk
- Maryna Sidorchuk as Odarka
- Aleksandr Radunsky as The Head
- Georgi Millyar as The Devil
- Aleksei Smirnov
- Mikhail Troyanovsky
- Aleksandr Demyanenko
Soundtrack
External links
- The Night Before Christmas at IMDb
- Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka (1961) on YouTube (English subtitles)
- Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
