Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

While many major films shoot on a closed sound stage, sometimes productions venture out into the real world to create movie magic.

Azerbaijan has always attracted the attention of many filmmakers with its wonderful atmosphere.

The Land of Fire is still a popular filming location, hosting high-profile shoots.

Here are 14 movies, filmed at different times in Azerbaijan.

1. "By the Bluest of Seas" (1936) is a Soviet romantic comedy film by Russian director Boris Barnet. This was the first sound film in Azerbaijan. Two cultures are well interwoven here - Azerbaijani and Russian, which gives the film a special flavor. The film featured outstanding Soviet actors such as Nikolai Kryuchkov and Lev Sverdlin

2. The Cloth Peddler/Arşın Mal Alan is a film adaptation of the comic and romantic operetta of the same name, which was composed by the founder of Azerbaijani opera and classical music Uzeyir Hajibeyli and premiered in Azerbaijan in 1913, thus becoming the first operetta in the entire Muslim world.

Shot in 1945, it remains an important cultural touchstone across Eurasia and beyond having been distributed in 86 languages and shown in 136 countries. The film is about pure love, women’s rights, and a young couple’s dreams for a modern way of life free of restricting customs.

3. "Amphibian Man" is a Soviet film, staged at the Lenfilm studio in 1961. The film is based on science fiction romance by the Soviet Russian writer Alexander Belyaev. The movie was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1962. The shootings took place on the South Coast of the Crimea and Baku.The historical core of Baku-Old City turned into Buenos Aires.

4. "Aybolit-66" (1966), beloved by all Soviet children was directed by Rolan Bykov. It is based on a story by Kornei Chukovsky. The film features Oleg Yefremov as Aybolit and Rolan Bykov as Barmalei.

The Azerbaijani capital became the haven of the evil Barmalei. The film was shot in an unusual manner: the directors decided not to hide the presence of the film crew.

5. "The Diamond Arm" comedy film was made by Mosfilm and first released in 1969. The film was directed by director Leonid Gaidai and starred several famous Soviet actors, including Yuri Nikulin, Andrei Mironov, Anatoli Papanov, Nonna Mordyukova and Svetlana Svetlichnaya. The movie has turned into a Russian cult film.

The plot of the film was based on a real-life news item about Swiss smugglers who tried to transport jewels in an orthopedic cast.The main scenes of the movie were filmed in Baku.

Within two weeks, Baku became the Turkish city Istanbul. The scene of the fall of Yuri Nikulin was filmed near the house 8/1. The search of the house, as well as a commemorative photo shoot on the background is one of the favourite activities of many tourists.

6. "That Sweet Word: Liberty!" drama was directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius. The basis for the plot is a real story: the escape from San-Carlos prison in Venezuela of three political prisoners - Guillermo García Ponce, Pompeyo Márquez and Teodoro Petkoff.

The film's shooting took place in Sumgayit. The drama got many prestigious awards at international film festivals.

7. "Headless Horseman" is one of the most popular Soviet films. The film was shot in 1973 based on the novel of the same name by Main Reed. Scenes from the film were shot in various parts of the world. The mountains and prairies that delighted all viewers were shot in Azerbaijan.

8. "Do not be afraid, I'm with you" , a two-series adventure film, directed in 1981 by Yulia Gusman, captain of the Baku KVN. The movie was shot at the Azerbaijani film studio named after Jafar Jabbarli. Filming took place in Old City, Ilisu village of Gakh region.

9. "Tehran 43" is a 1981 USSR-France-Switzerland drama film made by Mosfilm. It is based on events around Operation Long Jump, the 1943 attempt by Nazi Germany to assassinate Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Tehran Conference.

A detective with Natalia Belokhvostikova and Alena Delon appeared on screens in 1980 and made a sensation. Some parts of the film were shot in Baku, the ancient buildings of which are externally similar to the houses in Tehran.

10. "The World Is Not Enough"(1999) is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond series. This time a spy has lurking around in Baku. Britain's famous Agent 007, James Bond paid a visit to the Land of Fire.

The scene where James Bond first appears in Azerbaijan (riding his BMW Z8 in the area of oil rigs), was shot in the village of Bibi-Heybat.

11. "Bremen Town Musicians" was filmed in 2000 by Alexander Abdulov based on the work of the Brothers Grimm. Abdulov was very fond of Baku, so maybe he decided to move the shooting process to Azerbaijan.The film became a cult hit in the Soviet Union because of its memorable musical soundtrack.

12. "Drongo" was filmed in 2002 by the Russian director Zinovy ​​Roizman. Drongo is the name of the secret agent, the main character of the books of Chingiz Abdullayev. Screen image of a lonely hero with extraordinary detective abilities was created by Ivar Kalnins.

The shootings took place in various cities, inclusion Baku, Moscow, Batumi, Tbilisi, New York, Paris and London.

13. "Mahmud and Maryam" is an Azerbaijani-Turkish film project, which was filmed in 2013. The director of the film is Mehmet Ada Oztekin. The movie was filmed in Sheki, Gakh, Gabala and Baku. Before the shooting, the actors spent three months training for battle scenes.

14 "Ali and Nino" is a 2016 British Drama Romance War film based on Kurban Said's novel of the same name. The film is written by Christopher Hampton and directed by Asif Kapadia. The head of the project and executive producer of the film Leyla Aliyeva.

Most of the film was shot in Turkey and Azerbaijan. The shootings started in February 2015, and continued until June in Baku, the historic part of the Icherisheher (Old City) and other parts of the capital, also in Gobustan, Khinalig and other regions.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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