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* CreatorCameo Ryazanov himself appears in a small role of a pastry chef.
** While Ryazanov did have a habit of playing small parts in his own movies (not all of them, but a significant part), he, according to his autobiography, did not indend to appear in this one. But the actor who was supposed to play this part came in very drunk, barely able to stand upright. Ryazanov decided to save the day by playing it himself.
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* WickedCultured: Merzlyayev. He is very polite, has a good taste in music, quotes poetry, at the same time ruining lives with his manipulations.
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* WickedCultured: Merzlyayev. He is very polite, has a good taste in music, quotes poetry, at the same time ruining lives with his manipulations.manipulations.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/say_a_word_for_a_poor_hussar.jpg]]
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"Say a word for poor hussar" is a Soviet movie from 1980. It was directed by Eldar Ryazanov and featured an all-star cast, including Evgeniy Leonov, Oleg Basilashvili, Valentin Gaft, Georgiy Burkov, and many others.
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"Say a word for poor hussar" premiered on Soviet TV on January 1, 1981, and wasn't shown again for several years due to Soviet censorship understanding it correctly.
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!!Tropes in 'Say a word for poor hussar':
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!!Tropes in 'Say ''Say a word Word for poor hussar':
the Poor Hussar'':
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: InUniverse. At a certain point, closer to the end of the movie, Bubentsov muses that if it wasn't for a small misstep he made in the beginning, all the craziness won't happen. He is [[FridgeLogic wrong]]: there is a very high chance that he would still get in prison and all the events would play out pretty much as they did, with the exception that some other hussar would take Pletnyov's place. But Pletnyov isn't much different from other hussars, so, it won't be a big difference.
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"Say a word for poor hussar" is a Soviet movie from 1981. It was directed by Eldar Ryazanov and featured an all-star cast, including Evgeniy Leonov, Oleg Basilashvili, Valentin Gaft, Georgiy Burkov, and many others.
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"Say a word for poor hussar" is a Soviet movie from 1981.1980. It was directed by Eldar Ryazanov and featured an all-star cast, including Evgeniy Leonov, Oleg Basilashvili, Valentin Gaft, Georgiy Burkov, and many others.
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"Say a word for poor hussar" premiered on Soviet TV on January 1, 1982, and wasn't shown again for several years due to Soviet censorship understanding it correctly.
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"Say a word for poor hussar" premiered on Soviet TV on January 1, 1982, 1981, and wasn't shown again for several years due to Soviet censorship understanding it correctly.
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* Bookends: In the beginning of the movie, save for a short prologue, a hussar regiment enters the town. In the end, the same regiment is leaving the town.
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* Bookends: {{Bookends}}: In the beginning of the movie, save for a short prologue, a hussar regiment enters the town. In the end, the same regiment is leaving the town.
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"Say a word for poor hussar" is a Soviet movie from 1981. It was directed by Eldar Ryazanov and featured an all-star cast, including Evgeniy Leonov, Oleg Basilashvili, Valentin Gaft, Georgiy Burkov, and many others.
Set in the middle of XIX century, the movie starts with an investigator of a very high rank arriving in a small town, following a report that a few hussars from the regiment currently stationed there were badmouthing the king. He invents a perfect — as he thinks — test that would show their true allegiance. However, the commander of that regiment, despite being only aware of certain parts of this plan, considers it a great dishonor for his men and devises a plan of his own. Things get complicated as neither plan works exactly as intended.
Caught in a crossfire are two actors from the local theater, a father and a daughter.
"Say a word for poor hussar" premiered on Soviet TV on January 1, 1982, and wasn't shown again for several years due to Soviet censorship understanding it correctly.
----
!!Tropes in 'Say a word for poor hussar':
* AgentProvocateur: Merzlyayev originally plans to turn Artyuhov [[spoiler:and, later, Bubentsov]] into one, more or less. He resorts to a version on [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn]] when that fails.
* BandOfBrothers: Hussars, Pletnyov and four of his friends in particular. On of the main things that motivate Pletnyov to [[spoiler:commit treason]] is that it would save his friends from dishonor.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: An edge case. [[spoiler:Bubentsov has no desire to die, but doesn't want hussars to be forced to be his executioners, and shoots himself because of that]].
* BittersweetEnding: Protagonists manage to thwart Merzlyayev's evil plans, but at a great cost: [[spoiler:one of them is dead, the other is demoted and sent into exile]].
* Bookends: In the beginning of the movie, save for a short prologue, a hussar regiment enters the town. In the end, the same regiment is leaving the town.
** In the beginning, one of the hussars rides his horse into a house and emerges with a girl. In the end he rides into the same house with a girl, and comes back alone.
** Both times a [[spoiler:black cat crosses the hussars' path. First time the colonel decides to proceed, ignoring a bad omen; second time, however, he turns to a different route]].
* BreakingTheFourthWall: At the end, all main characters [[spoiler:except for the one who is dead]] take turns looking directly at the camera and explaining what happens with them later. Several even describe their deaths.
* ChivalrousPervert: Pletnyov. He has troubles understanding why some ladies might not want him, and won't stop pursuing them just because of that, but he would always wait for an explicit "yes".
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: When colonel Pokrovsky mentions that his hussars do not read books or newspapers and don't have any "ideas", both him and count Merzlyayev consider this a good thing.
* DuelToTheDeath: Pletnyov challenges Merzlyayev to one. The latter treats this like a baby tantrum.
* AFatherToHisMen: Colonel Pokrovsky. His whole world revolves around the hussars in his regiment. He goes as far as [[spoiler:committing treason]] for their sake.
** The hussars, in their turn, have a lot of respect to him, and he is well aware of that. Near the end of the movie, gendarmes are going to use force on him; he calmly remarks that they would fail, and is immediately proven to be correct, as his men move to defend him even without his order.
* FalseConfession: [[spoiler:Bubentsov]] makes one, for a variety of reasons: he wants to keep [[spoiler:Pletnyov]]'s respect, he doesn't want Merzlyayev to win, and it's difficult for him to break his act.
* FauxActionGirl: InUniverse. Nastya briefly pretends to be one, attempting to shift the blame from Pletnyov and her father to herself. Merzlyayev sees right through it.
* GambitPileup: The whole plot. First count Merzlyayev invents a seemingly perfect plan. Colonel Pokrovsky tries to counteract with a plan of his own. Neither plan works; Bubentsov, caught in crossfire, tries a couple of plans of his own, also not quite successfully. At some point, Merzlyayev asks "Can somebody explain how we got here?"
* GenderReveal: A rather humorous example. When gendarmes interrupt a dress rehearsal, they are very confused by a female actress playing Cicero and a male actor playing an unnamed woman.
* HeroicSacrifice: Twice by the same guy, in rapid succession, both times [[spoiler:failing. But then he dies anyway]].
* HiddenDepths: Bubentsov and Pletnyov. Both start as careless guys, happily oblivious to evils of the world they live in. Both make right choices at a great personal cost.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Zhuzhu aka Zina. She helps Nastya wake up very drunk Pletnyov; later, she visits him in a hospital and brings him some treats.
* LadykillerInLove: Pletnyov eventually does develop deep feelings for Nastya.
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Inadvertently inverted. Most of times when there is music in the movie, it's either something the charaters do not hear at all, or something with a very clear source — for example, when Pletnyov is playing a guitar. However, there is one scene near the very end, where we clearly see a drum-major directing an regiment's orchestra, but there is no music.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Pletnyov gets [[spoiler:mauled by a bear]]. He enjoys some rest in a hospital, but seems to be doing fine, not even losing his appetite.
* MilitarySalute: Hussar regiment [[spoiler: salutes Pletnyov at the end of the movie, clearly recognizing his demotion as unfair. Pletnyov returns the salute with a tear in his eye]].
* MoodWhiplash: Second part of the movie is much darker than the first. What started as a lighthearted comedy, ends with [[spoiler:one of the hero's death]].
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Averted, despite the movie being set in Russia. Hussars in general and Pletnyov in particular are not badasses because of harsh Russian conditions; they are army elite.
* OneManArmy: Guys in the regiment say one Pletnyov is worth ten ordinary soldiers. It's probably true.
* PollyWantsAMicrophone: One of the subplots involves a bird seller, who, by mistake, bought a parrot, who kept screaming "King is a fool!" Before long, all his parrots were repeating the same thing, and one even took it further, screaming things like "Down with the king!" Authorities are not pleased.
* RoboticTortureDevice: A humorous example. At some point the TortureTechnician suggests using a certain "English machine" on a prisoner. First, it turns out the device doesn't work, probably because he never read the instruction manual (as it doesn't have a Russian version). Later he succeeds in making it work... on himself.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Pokrovsky's counterplan is very illegal and can get him and Pletnyov in big trouble. Neither of them cares much, especially since this plan, successful or not, should save other hussars from dishonor, which all of them consider as FateWorseThanDeath.
* StagedShooting: Merzlyayev's original plan.
* TitleDrop: The name of a movie is also a line in a song Pletnyov sings near the middle of the movie. This song, however, is not directly related to the events of the movie.
* VodkaDrunkenski: Artyuhov isn't shown as drunk, but is implied to be a heavy drinker. His BreakingTheFourthWall segment at the end reveals that drinking caused him to freeze to death.
* WickedCultured: Merzlyayev. He is very polite, has a good taste in music, quotes poetry, at the same time ruining lives with his manipulations.
Set in the middle of XIX century, the movie starts with an investigator of a very high rank arriving in a small town, following a report that a few hussars from the regiment currently stationed there were badmouthing the king. He invents a perfect — as he thinks — test that would show their true allegiance. However, the commander of that regiment, despite being only aware of certain parts of this plan, considers it a great dishonor for his men and devises a plan of his own. Things get complicated as neither plan works exactly as intended.
Caught in a crossfire are two actors from the local theater, a father and a daughter.
"Say a word for poor hussar" premiered on Soviet TV on January 1, 1982, and wasn't shown again for several years due to Soviet censorship understanding it correctly.
----
!!Tropes in 'Say a word for poor hussar':
* AgentProvocateur: Merzlyayev originally plans to turn Artyuhov [[spoiler:and, later, Bubentsov]] into one, more or less. He resorts to a version on [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn]] when that fails.
* BandOfBrothers: Hussars, Pletnyov and four of his friends in particular. On of the main things that motivate Pletnyov to [[spoiler:commit treason]] is that it would save his friends from dishonor.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: An edge case. [[spoiler:Bubentsov has no desire to die, but doesn't want hussars to be forced to be his executioners, and shoots himself because of that]].
* BittersweetEnding: Protagonists manage to thwart Merzlyayev's evil plans, but at a great cost: [[spoiler:one of them is dead, the other is demoted and sent into exile]].
* Bookends: In the beginning of the movie, save for a short prologue, a hussar regiment enters the town. In the end, the same regiment is leaving the town.
** In the beginning, one of the hussars rides his horse into a house and emerges with a girl. In the end he rides into the same house with a girl, and comes back alone.
** Both times a [[spoiler:black cat crosses the hussars' path. First time the colonel decides to proceed, ignoring a bad omen; second time, however, he turns to a different route]].
* BreakingTheFourthWall: At the end, all main characters [[spoiler:except for the one who is dead]] take turns looking directly at the camera and explaining what happens with them later. Several even describe their deaths.
* ChivalrousPervert: Pletnyov. He has troubles understanding why some ladies might not want him, and won't stop pursuing them just because of that, but he would always wait for an explicit "yes".
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: When colonel Pokrovsky mentions that his hussars do not read books or newspapers and don't have any "ideas", both him and count Merzlyayev consider this a good thing.
* DuelToTheDeath: Pletnyov challenges Merzlyayev to one. The latter treats this like a baby tantrum.
* AFatherToHisMen: Colonel Pokrovsky. His whole world revolves around the hussars in his regiment. He goes as far as [[spoiler:committing treason]] for their sake.
** The hussars, in their turn, have a lot of respect to him, and he is well aware of that. Near the end of the movie, gendarmes are going to use force on him; he calmly remarks that they would fail, and is immediately proven to be correct, as his men move to defend him even without his order.
* FalseConfession: [[spoiler:Bubentsov]] makes one, for a variety of reasons: he wants to keep [[spoiler:Pletnyov]]'s respect, he doesn't want Merzlyayev to win, and it's difficult for him to break his act.
* FauxActionGirl: InUniverse. Nastya briefly pretends to be one, attempting to shift the blame from Pletnyov and her father to herself. Merzlyayev sees right through it.
* GambitPileup: The whole plot. First count Merzlyayev invents a seemingly perfect plan. Colonel Pokrovsky tries to counteract with a plan of his own. Neither plan works; Bubentsov, caught in crossfire, tries a couple of plans of his own, also not quite successfully. At some point, Merzlyayev asks "Can somebody explain how we got here?"
* GenderReveal: A rather humorous example. When gendarmes interrupt a dress rehearsal, they are very confused by a female actress playing Cicero and a male actor playing an unnamed woman.
* HeroicSacrifice: Twice by the same guy, in rapid succession, both times [[spoiler:failing. But then he dies anyway]].
* HiddenDepths: Bubentsov and Pletnyov. Both start as careless guys, happily oblivious to evils of the world they live in. Both make right choices at a great personal cost.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Zhuzhu aka Zina. She helps Nastya wake up very drunk Pletnyov; later, she visits him in a hospital and brings him some treats.
* LadykillerInLove: Pletnyov eventually does develop deep feelings for Nastya.
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Inadvertently inverted. Most of times when there is music in the movie, it's either something the charaters do not hear at all, or something with a very clear source — for example, when Pletnyov is playing a guitar. However, there is one scene near the very end, where we clearly see a drum-major directing an regiment's orchestra, but there is no music.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Pletnyov gets [[spoiler:mauled by a bear]]. He enjoys some rest in a hospital, but seems to be doing fine, not even losing his appetite.
* MilitarySalute: Hussar regiment [[spoiler: salutes Pletnyov at the end of the movie, clearly recognizing his demotion as unfair. Pletnyov returns the salute with a tear in his eye]].
* MoodWhiplash: Second part of the movie is much darker than the first. What started as a lighthearted comedy, ends with [[spoiler:one of the hero's death]].
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Averted, despite the movie being set in Russia. Hussars in general and Pletnyov in particular are not badasses because of harsh Russian conditions; they are army elite.
* OneManArmy: Guys in the regiment say one Pletnyov is worth ten ordinary soldiers. It's probably true.
* PollyWantsAMicrophone: One of the subplots involves a bird seller, who, by mistake, bought a parrot, who kept screaming "King is a fool!" Before long, all his parrots were repeating the same thing, and one even took it further, screaming things like "Down with the king!" Authorities are not pleased.
* RoboticTortureDevice: A humorous example. At some point the TortureTechnician suggests using a certain "English machine" on a prisoner. First, it turns out the device doesn't work, probably because he never read the instruction manual (as it doesn't have a Russian version). Later he succeeds in making it work... on himself.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Pokrovsky's counterplan is very illegal and can get him and Pletnyov in big trouble. Neither of them cares much, especially since this plan, successful or not, should save other hussars from dishonor, which all of them consider as FateWorseThanDeath.
* StagedShooting: Merzlyayev's original plan.
* TitleDrop: The name of a movie is also a line in a song Pletnyov sings near the middle of the movie. This song, however, is not directly related to the events of the movie.
* VodkaDrunkenski: Artyuhov isn't shown as drunk, but is implied to be a heavy drinker. His BreakingTheFourthWall segment at the end reveals that drinking caused him to freeze to death.
* WickedCultured: Merzlyayev. He is very polite, has a good taste in music, quotes poetry, at the same time ruining lives with his manipulations.
