''Chapaev'' (russian: link=no, Чапаев, ) is a 1934 Soviet
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
, directed by the
Vasilyev brothers Georgi Vasilyev (russian: Георгий Николаевич Васильев, 1899 – 1946) and Sergei Vasilyev (russian: Серге́й Дмитриевич Васильев, 1900 – 1959), usually credited as Vasilyev brothers (russia ...
for
Lenfilm
Lenfilm (russian: link=no, Ленфильм) is a Russian production 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 shared betwee ...
.
The film is a heavily fictionalised biography of
Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev (1887–1919), a
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
notable commander of the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
. It is based on the novel of the same name by
Dmitri Furmanov
Dmitriy Andreyevich Furmanov (russian: Дми́трий Андре́евич Фу́рманов; 7 November 1891, Sereda – 15 March 1926, Moscow) was a Russian writer, revolutionary and military officer.
Biography
He was born to a peasant f ...
, a Russian writer and
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
commissar who fought together with Chapayev.
Plot
The film centers around a Red Army division commanded by Vasily Chapayev in their fight against White Army troops commanded by Colonel Borodzin. A Commissar named Furmanov is delegated to the division from Moscow, and although he initially does not get along with Chapayev, he proves his worth by resolving a conflict that arises when Chapayev's men steal from local peasants and the two become good friends.
With the help of Chapayev's adjutant Petka and the machine gunner Anka (who develop a love interest over the course of the film), and with intelligence provided by Borodzin's defecting aide Petrovich, the division manages to repel an attack from the White Army troops.
Higher – ups in Moscow re-assign Furmanov to another Red Army division, and the situation soon deteriorates. Under the cover of darkness, Borodzin and his men attack Chapayev's headquarters. Despite their heroic efforts, Petka and Chapayev are killed. Their sacrifices are avenged, however, as Anka alerts the rest of the division and a counterattack is shown to be successful in the final shots of the film.
Cast
*
Boris Babochkin
Boris Andreyevich Babochkin (russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Ба́бочкин; 18 January 1904 – 17 July 1975) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor and director. Boris Babochkin was one of the first internationally r ...
–
Vasily Chapayev
Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev (russian: link=no, Василий Иванович Чапаев; 5 September 1919) was a Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War.
Biography
Chapayev was born into a poor peasan ...
*
Boris Blinov –
Dmitry Furmanov
Dmitriy Andreyevich Furmanov (russian: Дми́трий Андре́евич Фу́рманов; 7 November 1891, Sereda – 15 March 1926, Moscow) was a Russian writer, revolutionary and military officer.
Biography
He was born to a peasant fa ...
*
Varvara Myasnikova – Anka
*
Leonid Kmit
Leonid Aleksandrovich Kmit (born Aleksei Aleksandrovich Kmita; russian: Алексей Александрович Кмита́; 9 March 1908 – 11 March 1982) was a Soviet and Russian actor. In 1931 he graduated from Saint Petersburg State Thea ...
–
Petka
*Illarion Pevtsov – Colonel Sergei Nikolayveitch Borozdin
*Stepan Shkurat – Potapov (Petrovich), Borozdin's
batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
*Vyacheslav Volkov – Elan Brigade Commander
*
Nikolay Simonov
Nikolay Konstantionovich Simonov (russian: Николай Константинович Симонов; December 4, 1901 – April 20, 1973) was a Soviet film and stage actor.Театральная энциклопедия. Гл. ред. С. С. М ...
– platoon commander Zhiharev
*Elena Volintseva – farmer
*
Boris Chirkov
Boris Petrovich Chirkov (russian: Борис Петрович Чирков; 13 August 1901, Brianka – 28 May 1982, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian actor and Pedagogy, pedagogue. He appeared in 50 films between 1928 and 1975. He was awarde ...
– farmer
*
Sergei Vasilyev
Sergei Dmitrievich Vasilyev (russian: Серге́й Дми́триевич Васи́льев; 4 November 1900, Moscow – 16 December 1959, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter and actor. From 1928 to 1943 togethe ...
– Lieutenant
*
Georgiy Zhzhonov
Georgiy Stepanovich Zhzhonov (russian: Гео́ргий Степа́нович Жжёнов, ; 22 March 1915 – 8 December 2005), was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor and writer. He is known for playing the spy Mikhail Tulyev in the "R ...
– Teryosha's, Furmanov's orderly
*
Mikhail Rostovtsev
Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff, or Rostovtsev (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Росто́вцев; – October 20, 1952), was a Russians, Russian historian whose career straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and who produced importa ...
– Veterinarian
*Andrei Apsolon – Red Army soldier
*Stepan Krylov – Red Army soldier
*
Georgi Vasilyev
Georgi Nikolayevich Vasilyev (russian: Гео́ргий Никола́евич Васи́льев) (25 November 1899 – 18 June 1946) was a Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter and actor. From 1928 to 1943, together with Serge ...
– officer with a cigarette
*Victor Yablonsky – Cossack Plastun (uncredited)
*Emil Gal – vetfeldsher (uncredited)
*Konstantin Nazarenko – trouble-making partisan (uncredited)
*Pavel Leshkov – Borozdin's interlocutor (uncredited)
Style
Chapayev follows the
socialist realist
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ...
style, the dominant form of art in the Soviet Union during the time period. To maintain a "realistic" depiction of the world, the camera work is predictable and repetitive, almost mechanical.
The relationship between Chapayev and Furmanov, which is central to the plot of the film, is typical for a Soviet socialist realist film. Both men are supremely competent in their respective roles as commander and commissar. Chapayev is a heroic figure who represents the common Russian man; he is uneducated, he swears, and he acts disorderly. In contrast, Furmanov, who represents the Party and Communist ideology, is more orderly and domineering; in scenes where the two interact, Furmanov is positioned higher in the frame to indicate his superior status.
Reception
''Chapaev'' premiered on 6 November 1934, in the
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
cinema "Titan"; it quickly became one of the most popular films in the Soviet Union. Within the first year it was watched by 30 million people in the USSR alone. Such was the popularity of the film that an editorial in Pravda on 21 November proclaimed, "The whole country is watching Chapaev".
It was awarded "Best Foreign Film" by the
US National Board of Review in 1935 and the Grand-Prix of the
Paris World Fair in 1937.
In a 1978 poll of cinema critics, the film was considered one of the best 100 films in history.
Influence
After the release of the film, Chapayev and his assistants Petka and Anka became Russian folklore characters. These three, together with their political commissar Furmanov, are present in a large number of
Russian jokes
Russian jokes (russian: link=no, анекдоты, anekdoty, anecdotes) are short fictional stories or dialogs with a punch line, which commonly appear in Russian humor. Russian joke culture includes a series of categories with fixed settings and ...
.
The real Chapayev was already a war hero, but the film increased his heroic status further. When boys would play Reds vs. Whites, they would often imagine themselves to be Chapayev or his heroic adjutant Petka.
Bibliography
*
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Soviet black-and-white films
1930s war drama films
Lenfilm films
Soviet war drama films
Russian Civil War films
Films set in Russia
Films directed by Sergei Vasilyev
1934 drama films
1934 films