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Lev Aleksandrovich Kulidzhanov (19 March 192417 February 2002, also Lev Aleksandri Kulijanyan) was a Soviet and Armenian
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 ...
,
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and professor at the
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography
The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning
''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...
. He was the head of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR (19651986).
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...
(1976). He directed a total of twelve films between 1955 and 1994.
Biography
Born on 19 March 1924 (according to other sources including his tomb, on 19 August 1923
of 1937 and disappeared without a trace. Kulidzhanov's mother Yekaterina Dmitriyevna was either of
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
or of Armenian descent. She was arrested along with her husband and sentenced to five years in the
Akmol
Akmol (, ''Aqmol''), formerly Malīnovka until 2007, is a rural locality ( selo) and the administrative center of Tselinograd District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan, roughly west of Astana. Population: As of 2012, it had a population of 5769 peopl ...
labor camp in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. She returned home only in 1944. All those years Kulidzhanov spent with his grandmother Tamara Nikolaevna.
From 1942 to 1943 he studied at the
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...
. In 1944 he traveled to Moscow and enrolled in the
All-Union State Institute of Cinematography to study film direction under
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 ...
, but left it in just a year because of the poor living conditions and returned to Tbilisi. In 1948 Kulidzhanov became a VGIK student again, with
Sergei Gerasimov and
Tamara Makarova as his teachers. He graduated in 1955 and immediately started working at the
Gorky Film Studio
Gorky Film Studio () is a municipally-owned film studio in Moscow, Russia. By the end of the Soviet Union, Gorky Film Studio had produced more than 1,000 films. Many film classics were filmed at the Gorky Film Studio throughout its history and ...
, releasing his first short film ''Ladies'' co-directed with
Genrikh Oganisyan Genrikh ( cyrl, Генрих) is a masculine Russian given name derived from the Germanic name Heinrich (given name), Heinrich, a variant of Henry (given name), Henry. Notable people with the name include:
*Genrich Altshuller (1926–1998), Soviet ...
.
His first success happened with a movie
''The House I Live In'' co-directed with
Yakov Segel. It became one of the 1957 Soviet box office leaders, reaching the 9th place with 28.9 million viewers. Not only it was the first cinema role of the acclaimed Russian actress
Zhanna Bolotova, but Kulidzhanov himself also played one of the characters. It was his only big screen role in the entire career. His next film ''
A Home for Tanya'' turned to be another success and competed for the
Palme d'Or
The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
at the
1959 Cannes Film Festival.
But his real breakthrough happened with the 1961 drama film ''
When the Trees Were Tall'' that introduced such actors as
Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid Gaidai's comedies, such as ''The Diamond Arm'' and ''Kid ...
,
Inna Gulaya,
Lyudmila Chursina and
Leonid Kuravlyov
Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlyov (; 8 October 1936 – 30 January 2022) was a Soviet and Russian film actor. He became a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1976.
Early life
Kuravlyov was born in Moscow into a working-class family. His father Vyac ...
in their first serious roles. While not as successful with Soviet viewers at the time of release, it turned into a cult classic with years. In 1962 it was also selected for the
1962 Cannes Film Festival
The 15th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 23 May 1962. Japanese writer and diplomat Tetsurō Furukaki served as jury president for the main competition.
The Palme d'Or went to the '' O Pagador de Promessas'' (''Keeper of Promises'') by ...
. In 1969 Kulidzhanov directed the first
Soviet adaptation of the ''
Crime and Punishment
''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866. '' novel with many acclaimed Soviet actors involved. Although it failed at the box office and left some of his colleagues unimpressed (like
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...
who also dreamed of adapting the novel), it was praised by critics and intelligentsia. The movie was officially selected for the
31st Venice International Film Festival, and the filming crew was awarded with the
Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR The Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR was an annual State Prize established by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 unti ...
in 1971.
In 1965 Kulidzhanov was elected as the head of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR, substituting
Ivan Pyryev
Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev (; – 7 February 1968) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, actor and pedagogue remembered as the high priest of Stalinism, Stalinist cinema. He was awarded six USSR State Prize, Stalin Prizes (194 ...
at this post. As the head of the Union he helped to preserve a lot of films, founded the Cinema Museum and saved the archive of
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...
. He held this position for 20 years straight, up till the scandalous 5th Congress of the Soviet Filmmakers in 1986 when a group of activists (presumably encouraged by
Alexander Yakovlev
Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev (; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union throughout the 1980s ...
[Feodor Razzakov (2013). ''Industry of Betrayal, or Cinema That Blew Up the USSR''. Moscow: Algorithm, 416 p. ]) started booing the lecturers, accusing Kulidzhanov and other leading directors of «nepotism» and «political conformism» and demanding a reelection of the whole board. All this led to a split, restructuring and a quick demise of the Soviet cinema.
After Kulidzhanov left the Union, he wasn't able to direct anything up until the 1990s when he made his two final films. Both of them symbolized a return to his earlier days of film making and were written by his wife Natalia Anatolyevna Fokina (born 1927), a professional screenwriter whom he met during the 1940s. They had two sons: Aleksandr (born 1950, died 2018), a cinematographer, and Sergei (born 1957), a historian.
Kulidzhanov died on 17 February 2002 and was buried in Moscow at the
Kuntsevo Cemetery
The Kuntsevo Cemetery () is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation of the Kutuzovsky Prospekt). The local five-domed church was commissioned in 16 ...
.
Filmography
Awards and honors
*
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 ...
(1969)
*
Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR The Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR was an annual State Prize established by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 unti ...
(1971) – for the film ''
Crime and Punishment
''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866. '' (1969)
*
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...
(1974)
*
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...
(1976)
*
Lenin Prize
The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...
(1982)
*
Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...
(1984)
* Two
Orders of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...
, 3rd class (1999) – for an outstanding contribution to cinema and at his 75th birthday
Notes
References
Literature
*Margarita Kvasnetskaya (1968). ''Lev Kulidzhanov''. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 120 pages.
*Natalia Fokina (2004). ''Back Then the Trees Were Tall. Lev Kulidzhanov in his Wife's Memories''. Yekaterinburg: U-Fakrotia, 292 pages.
*Natalia Fokina.
When the Trees were Tall. Dedicated to Lev Kulidzhanov. Part 1'. // The Art of Cinema journal, № 11, 2003 (in Russian)
*Natalia Fokina.
When the Trees were Tall. Dedicated to Lev Kulidzhanov. Part 2'. // The Art of Cinema journal, № 12, 2003 (in Russian)
External links
*
The Observer. 90 years since Kulidzhanov was born talk-show by
Russia-K
Russia-K ( "Russia - Culture") is a Russian nationwide not-for-profit television channel that broadcasts shows regarding arts and culture. It belongs to the state-controlled VGTRK group.
History
The creation of ''Kultura'' channel was authoris ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulidzhanov, Lev
1924 births
2002 deaths
20th-century Russian screenwriters
Film people from Tbilisi
Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni
Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors
Members of the Central Auditing Commission of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Auditing Commission of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Candidates of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Candidates of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Candidates of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Ninth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Tenth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities
Heroes of Socialist Labour
People's Artists of the RSFSR
People's Artists of the USSR
Recipients of the Lenin Prize
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR
Russian male screenwriters
20th-century Russian educators
Russian film directors
Soviet educators
Soviet film directors
Soviet screenwriters
Soviet male screenwriters
Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery