Noin seitsemän veljestä
Noin seitsemän veljestä (Nigh Seven Brothers; also stylised as "Noin 7 Veljestä") is a 1968 comedy directed by Jukka Virtanen and which was written and produced by Spede Pasanen. The film is a loose parody of the Robin Hood story. The name of the film is a take on Seitsemän veljestä (Seven Brothers) the ground-breaking novel by Finnish author Aleksis Kivi.
| Noin seitsemän veljestä About Seven Brothers | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Jukka Virtanen |
| Produced by | Spede Pasanen |
| Starring | Juhani Kumpulainen Spede Pasanen |
| Narrated by | Martti Silvennoinen (uncredited) Ilkka Lipsanen |
| Music by | Jaakko Salo |
| Cinematography | Kari Sohlberg |
| Edited by | Ossi Skurnik |
| Distributed by | Finnkino Oy |
Release date | 23 August 1968 |
Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | Finnish |
Cast
- Spede Pasanen as Sir Wilhem/Robin Hood
- Juhani Kumpulainen as Lord of the Castle Von Wurtzburg
- Simo Salminen as Mauno Munalukko
- Leo Jokela as Inventor Leonardo
- Ere Kokkonen as Pitkä-Jussi (Long John)
- Jukka Virtanen as Friar Tuck
- Pirkko Kankaanpää as Venla, Von Wurtzburg's wife-to-be
- Kaisu Vuoristo as Helena, Von Wurtzburg's daughter
- Helge Herala as Rautahanska (Iron Glove)
- Veikko Sinisalo as Takku
Pop-artist Ilkka Lipsanen, credited by his stage-name Danny, appears as a singing bard in-between major scenes to narrate the story in song-form. Vesa-Matti Loiri appears in a supporting role as one of Von Wurtzburg's guards. Model Seija Tyni who performed in the official advertisements for the gas-station chain Esso appears in a scene parodying the commercials.
Production
Filming occurred mostly around Suomenlinna with Olavinlinna used for many wide-shots as a stand-in for the castle. The film's cast is composed of Pasanen's stock actors including Simo Salminen, Juhani Kumpulainen, Jukka Virtanen, Ere Kokkonen and Leo Jokela. It also featured the first major performance by Vesa-Matti Loiri in Spede's movies. Loiri previously acted as a child and had just graduated from acting college. Loiri and Spede would later go on to create the popular character Uuno Turhapuro
Director Virtanen was also involved in a life-threatening accident during filming when he fell out of the hot-air balloon seen during the finale.[1] Finnish pop-singer Danny and director Jukka Virtanen wrote the song Seitsemän kertaa seitsemän (Seven times Seven) to serve as the narrative of the movie, performed by Danny. Danny later released a stand-alone version with different lyrics which went on to become one of his most enduring hits.
References
- Jukka Virtanen, audio commentary for Noin Seitsemän Veljestä, 2003