Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪl(ː)ərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 28 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Soviet

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

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who developed influential theories of

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (EP), a 2017 EP by ...

. Pudovkin's masterpieces are often contrasted with those of his contemporary

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 ...

; Eisenstein utilized montage to glorify the power of the masses, while Pudovkin preferred to concentrate on the courage and resilience of individuals. He was granted the title of

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 ...

in 1948.

Biography

Vsevolod Pudovkin was born in

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

into a

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 ...

family, the third of six children. His father Illarion Yepifanovich Pudovkin came from peasants of the

Penza Governorate Penza Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, located in the Volga Region. It existed from 1780 to 1797 and again from 1801 to 1928 ...

, the village of Shuksha and worked in several companies as a manager and a

door-to-door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a pr ...

salesman. Vsevolod's mother Yelizaveta Aleksandrovna Pudovkina (née Shilkina) was a housewife. A student of engineering at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, Pudovkin saw active duty during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, being captured by the Germans. During this time he studied foreign languages and did book illustrations. After the war, he abandoned his professional activity and joined the world of cinema, first as a screenwriter, actor and art director, and then as an assistant director to

Lev Kuleshov Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov (; – 29 March 1970) was a Russian and Soviet filmmaker and Film theory, film theorist, one of the founders of the world's first film school, the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Moscow Film School. He was g ...

. In 1924, he married Anna Zemtsova. Pudovkin asserted that his wife encouraged him for pursuing a career as a filmmaker. His first notable work was a comedy short ''

Chess Fever ''Chess Fever'' () is a 1925 Soviet silent comedy film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and . ''Chess Fever'' is a comedy about the Moscow 1925 chess tournament, made by Pudovkin during the pause in the filming of '' Mechanics of the Brain''. The f ...

'' (1925) co-directed with

Nikolai Shpikovsky Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was the third World Chess Championship, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional Chess ...

played a small part in it, with a number of other cameos presented. In 1926 he directed what would become one of the masterpieces of

silent movies A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

: ''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'', where he developed several montage theories that would make him famous. Both movies featured Pudovkin's wife Anna Zemtsova in supporting female parts (she left cinema shortly after). His first feature was followed by ''

The End of St. Petersburg ''The End of St. Petersburg'' () is a 1927 silent drama film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and produced by Mezhrabpom. Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, ''The End of St Petersburg'' was to be one of P ...

'' (1927), and '' Storm over Asia'' (also known as ''The Heir of Genghis Khan'', 1928), titles which compose a trilogy at the service of the bolshevik revolutionary policy. In 1928, with the advent of

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

, Pudovkin,

and

Grigori Aleksandrov Grigori Vasilyevich Aleksandrov (23 January 1903 – 16 December 1983, known by artist name Mormonenko) was a Soviet film director who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1947 and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1973. He was awarded the S ...

signed the

Manifest of Sound Manifest may refer to: Computing * Manifest file, a metadata file that enumerates files in a program or package * Manifest (CLI), a metadata text file for CLI assemblies Events * Manifest (convention), a defunct anime festival in Melbourne, Aus ...

, in which the possibilities of sound are debated, and always understood as being in a state of tension and nonsynchronization with the image. This idea would be brought to bear in his next pictures: ''

A Simple Case ''A Simple Case'' (; ') is a 1932 Soviet film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪl(ː)ərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 28 ...

'' (1932) and ''

The Deserter The Deserter or Deserter(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Deserter'' (1912 film), a silent film by Thomas H. Ince * ''The Deserter'' (1933 film), a film by Vsevolod Pudovkin * ''The Deserter'' (1970 film), a film by Burt Kennedy * ...

'' (1933), works that do not match the quality of earlier work. The Heir to Genghis Khan (or Storm over Asia; 1928). Pudovkin was publicly charged with formalism for his experimental sound film ''A Simple Case'', which he was forced to release without its sound track. In 1935 he was awarded the

Order 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 ...

. After an interruption caused by health concerns, Pudovkin returned to movie making, this time with a number of historical epics: ''

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

'' (1938); '' Minin and Pozharsky'' (1939) and ''

Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

'' (1941). The last two were often praised as some of the best movies based on Russian history, along with the works of Sergei Eisenstein. Pudovkin was awarded a Stalin Prize for both of them in 1941. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was evacuated to

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 ...

where he directed several patriotic war movies. He also played a small part in the ''

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

'' movie (as God's fool). With the end of war he returned to Moscow and continued his work at the

Mosfilm Mosfilm (, ''Mosfil’m'' , initialism and portmanteau of Moscow Films) is a film studio in Moscow which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's fi ...

studio, making biographical and war movies. In 1947 he was awarded another Stalin Prize for his work on '' Admiral Nakhimov'', and in 1950 — his second

and a third Stalin Prize for '' Zhukovsky''. His last work was '' The Return of Vasili Bortnikov'' (1953). Apart from directing, screenwriting and acting, Pudovkin was also an educator and a journalist, author of several books on film theory, professor at

VGIK 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, ...

, president of the cinema section at

VOKS VOKS (an acronym for the Russian ''Vsesoiuznoe Obshchestvo Kul'turnoi Sviazi s zagranitsei'' — Всесоюзное общество культурной связи с заграницей, All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign C ...

(since 1944) and a member of the

Soviet Peace Committee The Soviet Peace Committee (SPC, also known as Soviet Committee for the Defense of Peace, SCDP, ) was a state-sponsored organization responsible for coordinating peace movements active in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1949 and existed until t ...

. Vsevolod Pudovkin died on 30 June 1953 in

Dubulti Dubulti is the administrative center and the oldest part of Jūrmala, Latvia. History The settlement derives its name from the Lett Dubults, who had an inn there in the 15th century. Dubulti however is first mentioned in the 18th century. A fis ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

after a heart attack. He was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

. One of the streets in Moscow is named after Pudovkin (see Pudovkin street).

Filmography

Published works

Film Technique and Film Acting
Grove Press. 1958.

References

External links

* *

Jonathan Jones on the work of Vsevolod Pudovkin, at

Guardian Unlimited ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Islands. Vsevolof Pudovkin
documentary 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 ...

, 2005 (in Russian)
Vsevolod Pudovkin. Imprisoned by Time
documentary by

, 2008 (in Russian)
Legends of World Cinema
documentary by

, 2014 (in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pudovkin, Vsevolod 1893 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian screenwriters People from Penza People from Penzensky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Moscow State University alumni People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Film theorists Silent film directors Russian film directors Russian male film actors Russian male screenwriters Russian male silent film actors Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet film directors Soviet male film actors Soviet male silent film actors Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery