By the mid-1960s, the popularity of "Blue Lights" in the USSR was so great that to show as many pop stars and heroes as possible, it was necessary to significantly increase the timing of the transmission. Actually, therefore, the New Year specials had to be done in 2 parts - before and after the New Year. So in the new year, 1966, 2 special issues were prepared (and each had its own name): first the New Year Calendar was released, and after the chimes battle "In the first hour ..."
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By and large, both specials did not stand out much from what they had done before on Mosfilm: the same telecafe, the same smiling faces of satisfied and happy people who are entertained by artists, circus workers, dancers (+ celebrities make toasts in between rooms). However, at the same time you can see the attempt of the creators to do something different from the usual already other “Blue lights”. And primarily because of the script. For example, according to the concept of the New Year calendar, the heroes (they are also co-hosts of the evening) were presented under a month, calling an association for the viewer, whether it is May (Victory Day), March (flight of cosmonauts Leonov and Belyaev, who made a spacewalk), June (success of Soviet artists in Paris), etc. But in the special issue "In the first hour ..." creative was shown: according to the story, the presenters decide to release television workers to celebrate the New Year, and take all their work on the shoulders of artists and stars. I have to admit, it seemed naive, but funny. For example, during the performance of the song "The stars are waiting for us" Larisa Mondrus behind the camera were heroes-cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin, Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov. Also temporarily in the operators “retrained” clown Leonid Engibarov.
If you try to compare this release with those that were, you can see how the repertoire has changed. For example, the number of dance numbers and circus performances has decreased in favor of songs by modern pop artists, be it songs of the song genre (vocal quartet “Accord”, Tatiana Shmyga, Larisa Mondrus, Joseph Kobzon, Muslim Magomayev, Eduard Gil), then humorous (Arkady Raikin, Pavel Rudakov and Stanislav Lavrov). And I'm not saying it's bad. Rather, I agree with such a decision, thanks to which it is not necessary to look at the screen during the performance of songs when you meet the New Year with family and friends. The music of the 1960s is a cultural phenomenon. And the voices of artists are so good that modern singers and singers are still far from them (not all, but in the vast majority).
In general, a good issue, shot in the best traditions of “Blue Light”. Watching it today is unlikely to occur to anyone. But in order to feel the atmosphere of those years, perhaps it is worth paying attention to this “slip of history”, no matter what rudiment it may seem today.
7 out of 10