The Old New Year (1980)

Старый Новый год

On the night of the Old New Year, two families in a new Moscow building celebrate very differently, and both fall apart.

⚠ NO OFFICIAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES — MACHINE TRANSLATION ONLY

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Year
1980
Director
Naum Ardashnikov, Oleg Yefremov
Starring
Alexander Kalyagin, Yevgeny Yevstigneyev, Georgy Burkov, Vyacheslav Nevinny, Anastasia Nemolyaeva
Genre
Comedy
Running time
2 h 13 min · 2 parts
Based on
The play by Mikhail Roshchin
Language
Russian · no official English subtitles (YouTube machine translation only)
Studio
Mosfilm

About the film

Russians celebrate New Year twice: on 1 January and again on 14 January, the 'Old New Year' of the old calendar. In a new apartment block in 1970s Moscow, two neighbours are having parties.

One family, simple and noisy, has just got new furniture and a new flat. The other, intellectual and refined, is sick of possessions. In both homes the husbands suddenly rebel against the life they have built.

A sharp, funny satire based on a hit play of the Moscow Art Theatre, with many of its stars.

Did you know?

  • The Old New Year falls on 13–14 January, New Year by the old Julian calendar.
  • It is based on a play by Mikhail Roshchin staged at the Moscow Art Theatre.
  • Co-director Oleg Yefremov was the head of the Moscow Art Theatre.

If you liked The Old New Year