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Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov ( ka, მიხეილ კალატოზიშვილი, ; 28 December 1903 – 26 March 1973), born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a Soviet film director of Georgian origin who contributed to both Georgian and Russian cinema. He is known for his films '' The Cranes Are Flying'' and ''

I Am Cuba ''I Am Cuba'' (; , ''Ya – Kuba'') is a 1964 film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm. An international co-production between the Soviet Union and Cuba, it is an anthology film mixing political drama and propaganda. The film was almost ...

'', winning the for the former at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.

website In 1969, Kalatozov was named a

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 ...

Biography

Kalatozishvili (his surname at birth) was born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. His family belonged to a noble Amirejibi house that traces its history back to the 13th century. One of Mikhail's uncles served as a General in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, another one was among the founders of the Tbilisi State University. Kalatozov studied economics and changed many professions before starting his film career as an actor and later — as a cinematographer. He directed several documentary films, including ''Their Kingdom'' (with Nutsa Gogoberidze, the first Georgian female film director) and '' Salt for Svanetia'' (1930). In 1933 he enrolled to the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. In 1936 he headed the Kartuli Pilmi film studio, then he was suggested a place at the

State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...

. In 1939 he moved to

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 ...

to work at the Lenfilm studio as a film director. During World War II he directed several propaganda films and worked as a cultural attaché at the Soviet embassy in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. During the 1950s he directed several other films. His four final features, '' The Cranes Are Flying'' (1957), '' Letter Never Sent'' (1959), ''

'' (1964), and '' The Red Tent'' (1969), are among his most famous works. The first three movies are often praised for the masterful camerawork by the Russian cinematographer Sergey Urusevsky. ''The Cranes Are Flying'' became one of the leaders of the 1957 Soviet box office (10th place with 28.3 million viewers) and won several international awards, including at the 1958

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. ''The Red Tent'' was a joint Soviet-Italian effort and featured an international team of actors, including Peter Finch,

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

, Claudia Cardinale, Hardy Krüger, Nikita Mikhalkov and others. It was nominated for the 1971 Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film. During the 1990s, ''I Am Cuba'' was discovered by American film professionals and showed to

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

and

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

, who became so impressed with the production that they advocated the restoration and distribution of the movie that was conducted by Milestone Films. In 1995 it was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film. Kalatozov was married to Zhanna Valachi, daughter of the Italian consul. They met in

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

during vacation. In 1929 Zhanna gave a birth to their son Georgy and became a naturalized citizen of the Soviet Union. Georgy followed his father's steps and worked as a cinematographer and film director at the Kartuli Pilmi studio, and so did his grandson — Mikheil Kalatozishvili who also became a successful Russian film director and producer. Mikhail Kalatozov died in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on March 26, 1973 after his seventh heart attack and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Mikheil Kalatozishvili founded a non-commercial Mikhail Kalatozov Fund named after his grandfather to help with film preservation and with funding of new movies.Mikhail Kalatozishvili
interview at Echo of Moscow (in Russian)

Filmography

*1930 '' Salt for Svanetia''; documentary *1931 '' Nail in the Boot'' *1939 ''

Courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

'' *1941 '' Valery Chkalov'' *1950 '' Conspiracy of the Doomed'' *1953 '' Hostile Whirlwinds'' *1954 '' True Friends'' *1955 '' The First Echelon'' *1957 '' The Cranes Are Flying'' *1959 '' Letter Never Sent'' *1964 ''

'' *1969 '' The Red Tent''

References

Literature

* Anna Kalatozishvili, Zaza Japaridze (2012). — ''Mikhail Kalatozov''. — Tbilisi, 270 pages. — (biography) * German Kremlev (1964). — ''Mikhail Kalatozov''. — Moscow: Iskusstvo, 244 pages. (biography) * ''Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (1987) / Ed.: Sergei Yutkevich. — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 640 pages.

External links

*
Kalatozov Mikhail Konstantinovich
biography at To Be Remembered (in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalatozov, Mikhail 1903 births 1973 deaths Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Cultural attachés Directors of Palme d'Or winners Film people from Tbilisi People from Tiflis Governorate People's Artists of Georgia People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Stalin Prize Russian State Institute of Performing Arts alumni Silent film directors Soviet cinematographers Soviet expatriates in the United States Soviet film directors Soviet male screenwriters Soviet screenwriters