On a regular day, at the usual hour, we are glad to see you again: cheerful, curious people. Today KVN ( "Club of the Merry and Resourceful") is not just a very old program on domestic TV, still airing, but a real forge of humor and media empire, headed by the leading Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov. You can treat this program as you like, but the fact remains that this is one of the most successful TV projects of centenarians. And if we do not take into account the temporary closure of the program in 1971 with the subsequent “revival” in 1986, then it is truly a miracle that the program is alive and still in demand in society, competing only with the New Year’s “Blue Lights”. But how did KVN appear on Soviet TV back in 1961, who created it and were there similar projects before? Inna Tkachenko tried to answer these questions, shooting a documentary in 2017 called “KVN: Birth Certificate”.
This is not only a story about the “founding fathers” of this program: Sergey Muratov, Albert Axelrod and Mikhail Yakovlev, but also a small excursion into the history of the era when the Soviet Union was euphoric from the “Khrushchev Thaw”. And immersed in the atmosphere of the late 1950s and early 1960s, it becomes clear why KVN turned out to be such a landmark product of its time. A time when young people were not shy (and not afraid) to publicly express their thoughts, competing with each other in the sharpness of their minds. I was especially proud and respected by the three authors of KVN. Neither give nor take - the real creative intelligentsia (Axelrod - resuscitation doctor, Muratov - journalist and screenwriter, Yakovlev - engineer). Personally, I understood why it is impossible to find the very first releases of KVN on the Internet (as well as the predecessor program called “Fun Questions Evening”). This is because the original broadcasts were not recorded on film, but were broadcast live. And only after some time, when the program was interested in “from above”, everything began to be recorded on film and edited in order to pass censorship.
Unfortunately, at the time of the film’s creation, none of the Founding Fathers KVN was no longer alive. But, nevertheless, the widows of Sergei Muratov and Albert Axelrod managed to answer for them, as well as Elena Galperin, editor-in-chief of the Youth Editorial Board of Central Television, which should also be called among the creators of KVN. No less important role in the film was played by Alexander Filippenko (as a student, he began his acting career in KVN), Yulia Rutberg (her father - Ilya Rutberg was a close friend of Albert Axelrod), Andrey Menshikov (captain of KVN MISI in the 1960s, who had a hand in the return of the program in 1986), Arkady Inin (wrote miniatures for the numbers of the team members) and other witnesses of the initial era. At the same time, the film skillfully combines both chronicles and various interviews, finding the same balance that is sometimes lacking in documentary films. The voiceover text performed by Alyona Ivchenko leaves a pleasant impression.
Well, as for Alexander Vasilyevich Maslyakov himself, he also found a place in this picture. Even if he was not the author of the program, it would also be somewhat unfair not to mention him. Yeah, he's not the first host. But still, he was at the origins of the program, joining it in 1964.
In general, it turned out to be a very good solid work with knowledge of the material and respect for both the heroes and the audience.
10 out of 10