White Sun of the Desert

White sun of the desert (Russian: Белое солнце пустыни; Beloye solntse pustyni) (1969), a classic 'Eastern' or Ostern film of the Soviet Union. White Sun of the Desert is one of the most popular Russian films of all time. Its blend of action, comedy, music and drama has made it wildly successful and it has since achieved the status of a cult film in Soviet and Russian culture. The film has contributed many sayings to the Russian language (see bel... more

White sun of the desert (Russian: Белое солнце пустыни; Beloye solntse pustyni) (1969), a classic 'Eastern' or Ostern film of the Soviet Union. White Sun of the Desert is one of the most popular Russian films of all time. Its blend of action, comedy, music and drama has made it wildly successful and it has since achieved the status of a cult film in Soviet and Russian culture. The film has contributed many sayings to the Russian language (see below). Its main theme song, "Your Excellency Lady Luck" (Ваше благородие, госпожа Удача, music: Isaak Schwarz, lyrics: Bulat Okudzhava) became a huge hit. The film is ritually watched by cosmonauts before many space launches . The director, Vladimir Motyl, said such films as Stagecoach and High Noon influenced him and he has described the film as being a "cocktail" of both an adventurous Russian folktale and a western. Initially several directors, including Andrei Tarkovsky and Andrei Konchalovsky, were offered the film but they turned it down,... less