Moscow Film Locations: '12 Chairs' Intersection and 'Pokrovsky Gates' Garden
The streets, courtyards, and parks of Moscow have repeatedly served as filming locations for cult films. These include both Soviet and modern movies—comedies, dramas, musicals. Many titles are familiar from childhood, and it«s often interesting to find out how the places where favorite films were shot look today.
MSK1.RU continues its series on such locations: we tried to photograph them from the same angles as seen in the films.
«Pokrovsky Gates»
In the previous issue, we talked about a scene from Balabanov«s film »Brother 2«, which was filmed on Yauzsky Boulevard in Moscow. In the frame, the famous Golosovsky House with sculptures and an arch flashes by.
In «Pokrovsky Gates», the building can be seen up close. At the end of the film, Khobotov and Lyudochka on Savransky«s motorcycle rush past the building. The couple in the frame is the Soyevs portrayed by Yevgeny Morgunov (who himself lived in the house opposite the filming location) and Natalya Krachkovskaya.
The building is located at: Podkolokolny Lane, 16/2. It is called the Golosovsky House, or the House with Sculptures—this is a cultural heritage site, built in the 1930s according to the design of architect Ilya Golosov in the post-constructivist style. On the sides of the arch, statues of a worker and a collective farm woman are placed, which gave the house its second name.
The building can also be seen in other films. For example, in «The Prank» with young Dmitry Kharatyan. And in the frame from «Cold Summer...», which can be seen below, the roadway of Yauzsky Boulevard with tram tracks
Another place in Moscow associated with the film «Pokrovsky Gates» is the park of the Usachyov-Naydenov estate near Kurskaya metro station. Here, the hospital was filmed where the editor of poetic translations from Romance languages, Lev Khobotov (Anatoly Ravikovich), escaped to.
The estate is one of the outstanding monuments of Moscow classicism. The main buildings of the estate date back to 1829–1831. In the ancient park adjacent to the main house, service buildings and pavilions have been preserved.
Now the territory of the estate is fenced and belongs to the S.I. Spasokukotsky Hospital. But anyone can stroll in the garden; it is enough to pass through the security post located on the eastern side. Entry is free during the garden«s opening hours. Here, you can see ancient sculptures and a grotto.
«12 Chairs»
Not far from the estate park is an inconspicuous at first glance intersection that can be seen in the frame of the famous comedy «12 Chairs» (1973).
In this scene, Bender carries one of the chairs down the street and is hit by a horse. In the novel, the action takes place on Sverdlov Square. But in the film—at the intersection of Vorontsovo Pole Street and Podsosensky Lane. The streets have cobblestone paving, and for the atmosphere, the film«s set designers installed agitational installations in the style of Mayakovsky and Rodchenko. Among other decorations, a sign for the »Mossellprom« store, advertising banners, and a kiosk selling cigarettes are visible.
After the accident in the film, Bender gets up and checks the contents of the chair«s upholstery, finding it empty. A journalist approaches him and asks to explain what happened. Bender dictates: »Hit by a horse, write...«
If you are interested in the history and architecture of Moscow, read our series of articles on the capital«s unusual houses. We also told about the past and present of Stalinist skyscrapers and published guides to Moscow estates.
