Old Khottabych

Old Khottabych
Modern DVD cover of the film
Directed by	Gennadiy Kazansky L. Mahtin
Written by	Lazar Lagin
Starring	Nikolai Volkov Alexey Litvinov Gennady Khudyakov
Music by	Nadya Simonyan
Cinematography	M. Shurukov
Distributed by	Lenfilm
Release date(s)	1956
Running time	86 min.
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

Old Khottabych (Russian: Старик Хоттабыч, Starik Khottabych) is a fantasy comedy film produced in the USSR by Lenfilm in 1956 based on a children's book of the same name by Lazar Lagin. In the USA, the book was published under the title The Flying Carpet.

The film is also known as Starik Khottabych (Soviet original title) and Old Man Khottabych.

Plot summary

Volka, a 12-year old Soviet Young Pioneer, discovers an ancient vessel at the bottom of a river. When he opens it, a genie emerges. He calls himself Hassan Abdul-rahman ibn Khattab, but Volka renames him Khottabych. The grateful Khottabych is ready to fulfill any of Volka's wishes, but it becomes clear that Volka should use the powers of the genie carefully, for they can have some unforeseen undesirable results.

History

The novel is obviously influenced by the tale of Aladdin and his magical lamp, and it was quite popular with Soviet kids.

There were two major versions of the novel - the original was published in 1938, and a revised version followed in 1955. This later version was the basis of the 1956 film. Revisions to the novel were made by Lagin himself in order to incorporate the changes taking place in the USSR and the rest of the world into the narrative. The newer version also includes some ideological anti-capitalistic elements. The original edition has been republished in the Post-Soviet era.

In 2006, a modern film remake was made. It was called Khottabych. This remake has nothing in common with the first film, except for the central plot point of finding a genie in a clay vessel.

Awards

• 1958 Moscow International Film Festival award
• 1958 Vancouver International Film Festival award

Trivia

• The name Khottabych is derived from the Arabic Khattab with the Russian patronymic suffix -ych, yielding a Russian equivalent of ibn-Khattab (son of Khattab).
• Volka (Willie) is a diminutive form of the name Volya which also was a diminutive name of Vladimir^[1][2].
• Khottabych later claim to be 3,732 years and 5 months old.

Screenshots from the film

• 

  Khottabych, Volka, and Alesha on the Flying Carpet

• 

  Khottabych presents a marble telephone booth to Volka. Volka explains that it's of no use to him.

• 

  Khottabych gives every football player his own ball.

• 

  Khottabych presents a Central Asian-styled Palace to Volka. Volka shows a strong intention to decline it.

• 

  Khottabych finally finds his place in the Soviet circus.

External links

• Old Khottabych at AllRovi
• Old Khottabych at the Internet Movie Database
• Lazar Lagin. The Old Genie Hottabych (english translation) at Maksim Moshkow's Library
• Old Khottabych (Movie for kids with English subtitles)

References

1. ^ (Russian) Flibusta.net—«Старик Хоттабыч», глава II
2. ^ "Yesterday, a pioneer named Vladimir Kostylkov came to his district militia station and handed the officer on duty a treasure consisting of antique gold objects which he found on the bottom of the river, in a very deep place. The treasure has been handed over to the Historical Museum. According to reliable sources, Vladimir Kostylkov is an excellent diver." [1]