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Alexander Osipovich Drankov (; 1879–1949) was a Russian and Soviet
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...
,
cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...
,
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
, and film producer. He is considered a pioneer of Russian pre-revolutionary
cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...
.


Biography

Drankov was born Abram Iosifovich Drankov (Абрам Иосифович Дранков). Despite having no formal education, Alexander Drankov and his brother Lev founded a photography studio in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Alexander worked as a foreign photography correspondent for the
Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
and
L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' (; 1843–1944) was a French language, French illustrated weekly newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in ...
and was an official photographer for the
Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...
and
Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
. Drankov also filmed title cards for French movies in Russian. His studio was on the cutting edge of technology, owning a Pathé camera and electric lighting.


1907-1908

In the Fall of 1907, Drankov advertised that he would open a movie studio called a "cinematographic atelier." His announcement encouraged
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
to create their first Russian documentary, ''Донские казаки в Москве'' (''Cossacks of the Don in Moscow''), which was extremely successful. Drankov read rumors that a foreign company planned to film a theatrical production of
Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...
in Moscow. Although no such plans existed, he decided to preempt the rumored film by creating his own and found another theater which was performing the same play. The production was troubled; the theater was open-air, forcing Drankov to move and reassemble the set as the light changed, and he clashed with the actors over his proposed cuts to the script, which would omit roughly 80% of the play. Eventually, the lead actor refused to participate, leaving the film without its title character. Drankov would eventually screen his recorded footage under the names ''Scenes From Boyar Life'' and ''The False Dmitri''. Drankov's studio released 17 short documentaries in 1908, one of which captured footage of an active fire. Drankov screened his films to
Pyotr Stolypin Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin ( rus, Пётр Аркадьевич Столыпин, p=pʲɵtr ɐrˈkadʲjɪvʲɪtɕ stɐˈlɨpʲɪn; – ) was a Russian statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Russia, prime minister and the Ministry ...
, Maria Feodorovna, and a film exposition in Hamburg, making them the first Russian film exports. In August 1908, he filmed Leo Tolstoy's 80th birthday. On October 15, 1908, Drankov released ''
Stenka Razin Stepan Timofeyevich Razin (, ; c. 1630 – ), known as Stenka Razin ( ), was a Don Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 1670–1671. Early life Razin's father, Timofey Ra ...
''. Its production had begun over the summer when
Vasily Goncharov Vasily Mikhailovich Goncharov () (1861 – 23 August 1915) was a Russian film director and screenwriter, one of the pioneers of the film industry in the Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Euras ...
hired Drankov to capture footage for an experimental play about the Cossack leader. The play would start and end with pre-recorded projected film, while the middle would be performed live. Drankov convinced Goncharov to let him film additional scenes, covering material intended for the live performance. Without Goncharov's permission and crediting him, Drankov released his footage as a stand-alone film a day before the play's premiere. Drankov promoted his version of ''
Stenka Razin Stepan Timofeyevich Razin (, ; c. 1630 – ), known as Stenka Razin ( ), was a Don Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 1670–1671. Early life Razin's father, Timofey Ra ...
'' as Russia's first feature film, ignoring his incomplete ''Boris Godunov''. The film was an immediate success and helped establish the Russian film industry. Drankov followed this success with two comedies, including '' The Zealous Batman'', the first Russian comedy film - which failed commercially, and another filmed play: '' The Marriage of Krechinsky''.


1909-1916

In 1909, Drankov made a documentary about the assassination and funeral of Mikhail Herzenstein, which was censored in most of Russia. In 1909 and 1910, Drankov filmed additional footage of Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy encouraged Drankov to record the lives of peasants and helped organize a wedding for that purpose. Two months after Tolstoy's death, Drankov released the footage as ''A Peasant Wedding'' and claimed that Tolstoy personally wrote and directed it. Drankov developed a rivalry with fellow Russian director Alexander Khanzhonkov and would infamously create "disruptions" of Khanzhonkov's upcoming films: competing films with the same title, on the same subject, or based on the same source material, to be released first. In general, Khanzhonkov responded by marketing his versions as higher quality. However, on at least one occasion, Khanzhonkov beat Drankov to release. On another occasion, after Drankov launched a public screenplay writing contest with a 1,000 ruble award, Khanzhonkov launched his own for 1,500 rubles. In 1913, Khanzhonkov announced a four-reel film about the Romanovs, celebrating 300 years of the dynasty's rule. In response, Drankov made a competing seven-reel film, receiving Nicholas II's approval and access to authentic historical costumes from a museum. Drankov hired
Yevgeni Bauer Yevgeni Franzevich Bauer () (1865 – ) was a Russian film director of silent films, a theatre artist and a screenwriter. His work had a great influence on the aesthetics of Russian cinematography at the beginning of the 20th century. Bauer ...
as a set decorator, which marked Bauer's entry into the film industry. The two films were released simultaneously, but Khanzhonkov's was better received. Between 1914 and 1915, Drankov created a serial about Sofia Blyuvshtein. The series became an unprecedented success, simultaneously playing in 11 theaters in Moscow alone. Drankov followed this success with ''The Robber Vaska Churkin'' and other lurid serials, such as ''The Bloody Fortnight'' and ''The Seventh Commandment''. In May 1915, he capitalized on anti-German riots with '' Mary Vetsera, The Secret of the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
Court''. In 1916, when his film ''Washed in Blood'' was banned for glorifying revolutionaries, he re-released it under the title ''A Drama from the Life of
Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II, the last Emperor of all the Russias, Emperor of Russia, th ...
''.


1917-1949

In 1917, the
Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...
recruited filmmakers, including Drankov, to make anti-Bolshevik films. That same year, Drankov also created a film glorifying
Catherine Breshkovsky Yekaterina Konstantinovna Breshko-Breshkovskaya (; born  – 12 September 1934), also known in English sources as Catherine Breshkovsky, was a major figure in the Russian socialist movement, a Narodnik, and later one of the founders of the ...
. Later that year, as film supplies ran low, Drankov took a break from filmmaking and managed
Yekaterina Geltzer Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (November 2, 1876 – December 12, 1962) was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. She was the daughter of the famous Russian dancer Vasily Geltzer. She worked with Marius ...
on tour. In 1918, Drankov left Moscow for
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
alongside
Vlas Doroshevich Vlas Mikhailovich Doroshevich (, April 17, 1864 – February 22, 1922), was one of Russia's most popular and widely read journalists, and a novelist, essayist, drama critic, and short story writer. Early life Doroshevich was born in Moscow, wher ...
under the pretense of adapting one of his novels into a film. He then fled to
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
and
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, where he briefly resumed making films with fellow refugees. In 1920, he left for
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, where he started a gambling business on cockroach racing until the police shut it down. In 1923, when
Mustafa Kemal Mustafa () is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Moustafa * Moustafa A ...
expelled Russian refugees from Turkey, Drankov left for the United States, living first in New York and then in Los Angeles. In 1927, Drankov attempted to start his own Hollywood studio to produce films on Russian themes but was unsuccessful. Drankov died of a heart attack on 3 January 1949. He is buried in the Jewish Eternal Home cemetery in
Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 U ...
.


Reception and legacy

Despite his prolific output and popular success, Drankov's films were considered inartistic. They did not play at prestigious movie theaters, and Drankov was unable to recruit serious theater directors to his studio. His films were criticized for their sensationalism and for making light of crime. Despite his important role in Russian cinema, Drankov's reputation is largely negative. He developed a reputation for being ruthless and aggressive, and has been characterized as a "gangster."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drankov, Alexander Cinematographers from the Russian Empire Film producers from the Russian Empire 19th-century photographers from the Russian Empire Soviet photographers 1886 births 1949 deaths Jews from the Russian Empire Soviet Jews Articles containing video clips