Where was Blind Man's Bluff filmed
Жмурки
Year: 2005
Country: Russia
<p>In the fall of 2004, the center of Nizhny Novgorod was temporarily transformed: all cars manufactured after 1995 disappeared from some streets. Rumors immediately spread in the city about a large-scale operation of tax officials. The situation heated up when short-cropped men in leather jackets and sports pants with stripes began to appear on the streets, and even gunshots were heard somewhere. However, there was no reason to panic - it was director Alexei Balabanov filming the movie “Zhmurki”, immersing the city in the atmosphere of the dashing 90s. The picture later gained cult status. It starred stars of Russian cinema of different generations - from Dmitry Dyuzhev and Alexei Panin to Victor Sukhorukov and Nikita Mikhalkov. They all played the roles of gangsters, crime bosses and corrupt policemen. Balabanov had close ties to Nizhny Novgorod - as a young man he studied translation at the Gorky Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. One of the first scenes in the movie was an episode in the morgue, where the character nicknamed the Executioner is going to torture the victim, but instead of interrogation, everything ends in a bloody shootout. The scene in the morgue was filmed not in a real pathology department, but in the historic building of Kovalikhinskie baths - a monument of architecture of the XIX century in Nizhny Novgorod. The director decided not to use a real morgue in order not to traumatize his crew psychologically.</p>
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Locations
A cop's house
In movie
Scene where Sergei and Simon visit a cop to find out who robbed them. They meet him on the street when he is coming from the store and offer to talk to him in his apartment. When they go upstairs, they arrange an interrogation with torture and find out that it was he who set the robbers on them.
Real
Scene was shot at the house on Fedorovsky Embankment, judging by the high-rise building in the background, the Ment is coming from the house on Krutoy Lane, and they enter the 6th entrance. Now it looks a little different - they have completed a small entrance group. The house was chosen as a fairly simple but decent one, where a policeman of low rank could really live.
Corona House
In movie
Scene where Cormorant stays in the apartment waiting for Bala and Koron, who went to the store to buy cigarettes and drinks. At the moment of their absence, Seryoga and Simon arrive at the apartment in search of "goods". They get no answer from Baklazhan about the goods and decide to torture him so that he returns the goods and gives up his accomplices.
Real
Scene was shot in a two-story wooden house from pre-revolutionary times on Proviantskaya Street. This house was chosen also because of the terrible condition of the exterior, the entrance and the apartment inside the house. At the time of filming, no one had lived in the premises for more than a year because of the emergency condition. But the house has a rich history, it used to be a hotel for rich guests, in the courtyard even preserved part of the fountain, which now plays the role of a bollard.
McDonald's parking lot
In movie
Scene where Sergei and Simon arrive at McDonald's and while Simon is ordering Sergei meets an old acquaintance - Kaban. The Boar tells him that it is no longer a good idea to engage in racketeering, work for Sergei Mikhailovich and live in Nizhny Novgorod, and that it is time to move to the capital and do real business.
Real
Scene was shot at a real McDonald's restaurant near the Gorkovskaya metro station. Only the signage had to be changed to the old style, as the design had changed by the time of filming. Now there is still a restaurant in this house called Vkusno i Dot.
Morgue
In movie
Scene where A pathologist nicknamed the Executioner holds his victim in the morgue, a cold room with tiled walls, metal tables and pale dead bodies. The man is bound and sits unable to move, his eyes full of terror. The executioner stands nearby, in a perfectly clean white robe, as if preparing for a routine job rather than torture. He speaks calmly, almost monotonously, detailing how he will slowly and painfully kill his victim.
Real
Scene was shot in the premises of the Kovalikhinsky Baths. This is one of the oldest bathhouses in the city, which for decades served as an important part of the everyday life of the citizens. It was decided not to shoot in a real morgue in order not to traumatize the crew. Instead, they chose bathhouses - their interior with tiled tiles and stone beds turned out to be remarkably similar to the morgue. The actors who portrayed corpses were laid out on the beds.
Sergei's office in Moscow
In movie
Scene where Sergei and Simon are sitting in a respectable Moscow office overlooking the Kremlin. Sergei has become a member of the State Duma, and Simon is his personal assistant. Together they own a securities trading company. The office is entered by a secretary, Katya, who used to be a waitress in a bar they used to frequent.
Real
Scene was shot in one of the rooms of the Rossiya Hotel, the windows of which overlooked the Kremlin, providing the very view we see in the frame. The hotel was chosen solely because of its location, as the director wanted to emphasize how close the former bandits were to the Kremlin. The hotel has now been demolished, and in its place is the Zaryadye Park.
Stadium
In movie
Scene where three unlucky bandits - Koron, Bala and Eggplant - are sitting in the stadium smoking. The place for such an activity is, to put it mildly, not the most usual. One of them gladly remarks how pleasant it is to smoke a cigarette after a workout. The eggplant immediately corrects him, reminding him that smoking after sport is harmful, but despite this, he takes a drag along with the others.
Real
Scene was shot at the Vodnik stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, which was opened back in 1950 and has since become one of the oldest sports arenas in the city. The stadium was built during the Soviet era and was originally used for sports and local competitions. Over time, the stadium has become somewhat outdated and has not received any major upgrades, which has added to its characteristic "Soviet" authenticity.
The doctor's house
In movie
Scene where Seryoga and Simon leave the doctor's house, they came to him on the assignment of Sergei Mikhailovich, so that the doctor began to pay for the roof. But during an accidental shootout the Doctor is killed and they take all the goods and go to their car, where a bandit tries to rob them.
Real
Scene was shot In a courtyard on the big Pecherskaya Street. "The Doctor's House" is now restored, but during the filming of the movie it was in a suitable condition for the 90s. About the filming of the movie reminds of the graffiti that was painted on the brick wall, where the heroes of the movie are represented with the heads of Chip and Dale from the Disney cartoon.
The street by the lawyer's office
In movie
Scene where Seryoga and Simon arrive at the lawyer's house, where they exchange the "goods" for a suitcase with money, but leaving the building they come across an armed gang of Koron, Bala and Baklazhan. They take the suitcase with money and leave by car. Sergei and Simon shoot at the car, but it drives away quickly.
Real
Scene was shot on Ilyinskaya Street, it is interesting because it is located on top of a hill, and the road goes down creating an interesting and unusual view. The building where the lawyer's office was located is now the Volga District Medical Center.
Water column
In movie
Scene where young gangsters Sergei and Simon (passport - Semyon) are driving through the city. Simon has had a stormy night, and he tells his comrade that he is very thirsty. Sergei stops at a stand, gets out of the car and scoops up the cool water with the palm of his hand. Simon, still in the car, refuses to drink from this "bucket".
Real
Scene was shot on Maxim Gorky Street by an old drinking water stand. Local residents often stopped here to quench their thirst. However, over time, the stand was removed and the buildings next to it were demolished. Now, almost the entire neighborhood has been built up with new high-rise buildings, and what was once a familiar element of city life has now become a part of history.
Water dispenser
In movie
Scene where Simon, who refuses to drink at the water fountain, drives up to the machine and buys himself a sparkling water with syrup. Showing his impertinent temper, he does not put the glass back, as is customary, but throws it on the road after drinking the drink.
Real
Scene was shot at 61 Bolshaya Pecherskaya Street, at that time there was still a soda machine there, but then it, as well as the structure in which it was installed, was demolished. Now there is a bus stop there. For a while there was a sign on the water dispenser that read "I was filmed in Zhmurki".