Igor Fyodorovich Maslennikov (; 26 October 1931 – 17 September 2022)
was a Soviet and Russian film director.

Biography

Maslennikov was born in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

. In 1954 he completed his education in the department of journalism of the

Leningrad University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public university, public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the uni ...

and worked as an editor, script writer, and cameraman on

Leningrad 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 ...

television. In 1965 he entered the Higher Directors' Courses of

Lenfilm Lenfilm (, acronym of Leningrad Films) is a Russian production and distribution company with its own film studio located in Saint Petersburg (the city was called Leningrad from 1924 to 1991, thus the name). It is a corporation with its stakes s ...

(

Grigori Kozintsev Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev (11 May 1973, born Grigori Moiseyevich Kozintsov) was a Soviet theatre and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1964. In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the ...

's workshop), at end of which he became the director of this motion picture studio. In the cinema, Maslennikov made his debut at the end of the 1960s with a film about a senior pupil: the ''Personal Life of Kuzyaev Valentin''. He directed children's films (''Tomorrow'' and ''3 April''), movies about sports (''Racers''), historical costume-dramas (''Yaroslavna, the Queen of France''). He worked on the joint Soviet-Norwegian picture '' Under a Stone Sky'', which narrates the sad events which occurred in one of the Norwegian towns during the Nazi occupation. He filmed

Vera Panova Vera Fyodorovna Panova (; – March 3, 1973) was a Soviet and Russian writer, novelist and playwright. She was a recipient of the Stalin Prize in 1947, 1948, and 1950. Early life Vera was born into the family of an impoverished merchant (later ...

's autobiographical ''Sentimental novel''. Enormous success came to Maslennikov when he directed a cycle of films about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. The successful selection of the actors, among whom there were

Vasily Livanov Vasily Borisovich Livanov (; born 19 July 1935), MBE, is a Soviet and Russian film actor, animation and film director, screenwriter and writer most famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes in the Soviet TV series. He was named People's Artist of ...

Vitaly Solomin Vitaly Mefodievich Solomin (; 12 December 194127 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter, best remembered for playing Dr. Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations for Soviet television. He was the younger b ...

Boryslav Brondukov Boryslav Mykolayovych Brondukov (; ; 1 March 1938 – 10 March 2004) was a Ukrainian film character actor, People's Artist of Ukraine.

, Rina Zelyonaya,

Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (; born 21 October 1945) is a Russian filmmaker and actor. He made his directorial debut with the Red Western film ''At Home Among Strangers'' (1974) after appearing in a series of films, including the romantic com ...

and the outstanding talent of the director ensured audience's love of the film. In 1985 Maslennikov presented the melodrama ''

Winter Cherry ''Winter Cherry'' () is a 1985 romantic comedy directed by Igor Maslennikov. Plot The main character of the film is Olga ( Yelena Safonova), a beautiful intelligent 30-year-old woman, resident of Soviet Leningrad who is a scientific research ...

''. The movie became one of the greatest blockbusters of the decade and gained Yelena Safonova a wide reputation. The special feature of this everyday melodrama was that for the first time the spectator saw on the screen a strong but misunderstood woman played by Safonova. The popularity of this film inspired Maslennikov to create

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s in 1990 and 1995 and the same-name TV-series in 1997. In 1989 Maslennikov filmed the television adventure picture ''Philipp Traum'', based on the unfinished

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

novel ''

The Mysterious Stranger ''The Mysterious Stranger'' is a novella by the American author Mark Twain. He worked on it intermittently from 1897 through 1908. Twain wrote multiple versions of the story; each involves a supernatural character called "Satan" or "No. 44", enc ...

''. The cinema version was named ''Chronicle of Satan Jr.''. He made a co-production with French partners, filming the story of

Leonid Andreyev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian literature. He is regarded as one of the most talented and prolific ...

(''The Dark''), where the main roles were played by

Oleg Yankovsky Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he became, together with , the last person to be nam ...

and Kseniya Kachalina. Maslennikov became

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, actors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achiev ...

in 1988. In 2001 he received the

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

. The year 2000 saw the release of the 10 series of ''Chto skazal pokoynik (What Has the Deceased Said)'' (2000) after the popular Polish writer Ioanna Khmelevskaya, and start of the filming of Vospominaniya o Sherloke Kholmse (''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes''), which united all the five famous Sherlock Holmes films with a single plotline. In 2001 he was a member of the jury at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival. By his 75th birthday in 2006 Igor Maslennikov finished his book of memoirs under the title ''The Baker Street in Petrogradskaya''.

Filmography

* ''Timur and His Commando'', 2004 * ''Letters to Elsa'', 2002: the Golden Peacock of the India International Film Festival * ''Memories of Sherlock Holmes'' (TV series), 2000 * ''What the Dead Man Said'' (TV series), 1999 * ''Chekhonte Theater'', 1996 * ''Winter Cherry'' (TV series), 1995 * ''Winter Cherry 3'', 1995 * ''Darkness'', 1991 * ''Winter Cherry 2'', 1990 * ''Philip Traum'' (TV movie), 1989 * ''Genus Extension'', 1988 * '' Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches'' (''Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона. Двадцатый век начинается'', 1986) * ''

'', 1985 * '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Treasures of Agra'' (''Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона. Сокровища Агры''), 1983 * '' The Queen of Spades'' (''Пиковая дама'', 1982) * '' Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles'' (''Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона. Собака Баскервилей'', 1981 * ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson'' () is a series of Soviet television films portraying Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional English detective, starting in 1979. They were directed by Igor Maslennikov. Overview Between 1979 and 198 ...

'' (''Приключения Шерлока Холмса и доктора Ватсона''), 1980 * '' Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson'' (''Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон''), 1979 * ''Yaroslavna, Queen of France'', 1978 * '' Sentimentalnyy roman'', 1976 * ''Under the Stone Sky'', 1974 * ''Racers'', 1972 * ''Summer in Berezhki'', 1970 * '' Tomorrow, on April 3rd...'' (''Завтра, третьего апреля''), 1969 * '' Private Life of Kuzyayev Valentin'' (''Личная жизнь Кузяева Валентина''), 1967

References

External links

Biography
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maslennikov, Igor 1931 births 2022 deaths Soviet film directors Academicians of the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Russia Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Russian film directors People from Nizhny Novgorod Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) People's Artists of Russia People's Artists of the RSFSR