Eldar Ryazanov's New Year film "The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!" has long since been broken down into quotes and analyzed second by second. One of the most controversial questions turned out to be the aviation part. The question of which aircraft Zhenya Lukashin flew to Leningrad on has long gone beyond an everyday argument, since the film shows several different types of airliners at once. "Pervyi Tekhnicheskii" tried to untangle the knot of inconsistencies.
What the script says
In the airport scene, the announcer clearly announces boarding for flight No. 392 Moscow — Leningrad; the flight is scheduled on a Tu-134.
Published versions of the script mentioned boarding a Tu-104. But even for the mid-1970s it already looked like a dinosaur. By that time, the Tu-104 was already being actively withdrawn from service, especially on regular passenger flights between the two capitals.
What is shown during takeoff
Before takeoff, viewers see a Tu-134. This aircraft fully matches the era and the route. It was the Tu-134 that flew en masse between Moscow and Leningrad in the 1970s and was considered the main airliner on the route.
The cabin interior
The scenes inside the plane, where Lukashin is sleeping and a character played by Eldar Ryazanov is sitting nearby, were filmed in the cabin of a Tu-154. By the time of filming, this airliner was already in service and had a more convenient interior for studio work.
What it comes down to
The film combined three different aircraft. In the text — Tu-104, during takeoff — Tu-134, in the cabin — Tu-154.
From the standpoint of reality, the only correct option for the Moscow — Leningrad route remains the Tu-134, and everything else is the result of editing decisions, film production, and budget.
By the way, the airport scenes were filmed at Moscow's Domodedovo, not at Vnukovo or Sheremetyevo, as one might expect for flights to Leningrad in those years. But that can hardly be counted as a movie mistake.
Read more materials on the topic:
- A Legend Ahead of Its Time: 70 Years Since the First Flight of the Jet Tu-104
- Barely Missing Rooftops: A Tu-160 Missile Carrier Spotted in the Sky Over Kazan
- Tu-104: How a New Aircraft Lifted the Soviet Union into the Sky of the Jet Age
