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Lev Aleksandrovich Kulidzhanov (russian: Лев Александрович Кулиджанов; 19 March 1924 – 17 February 2002) was a Soviet and Russian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

,

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and professor at the

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

. He was the head of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR (1965—1986).

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

(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) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

or of Armenian descent. She was arrested along with her husband and sentenced to five years in the

Akmol Akmol ( kk, Ақмол, ''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 ...

labor camp in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. 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 ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

. In 1944 he traveled to Moscow and enrolled in the

All-Union State Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

to study film direction under

Grigori Kozintsev Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev (russian: link=no, Григорий Михайлович Козинцев; 11 May 1973) was a Soviet theatre and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1964. In 1965 ...

, 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 Tamara Fyodorovna Makarova (russian: Тама́ра Фёдоровна Мака́рова; 13 August 1907 – 19 January 1997) was a Soviet and Russian film actress and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1950) and Hero of Socialist Labo ...

as his teachers. He graduated in 1955 and immediately started working at the

Gorky Film Studio Gorky Film Studio (russian: Киностудия имени Горького) is a film studio in Moscow, Russian Federation. By the end of the Soviet Union, Gorky Film Studio had produced more than 1,000 films. Many film classics were filmed at ...

, 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, a variant of Henry. Notable people with the name include: *Genrich Altshuller (1926–1998), Soviet engineer, inventor and scientist, journalis ...

. His first success happened with a movie ''The House I Live In'' co-directed with

Yakov Segel Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov. Notable people People ...

. 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 Zhanna Andreyevna Bolotova (russian: Жанна Андреевна Болотова; October 10, 1941, Novosibirsk Oblast, USSR) is a Soviet film actress who was popular in the 1970s and the early 1980s. In 1977 she became a USSR State Prize laurea ...

, 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 Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

1959 Cannes Film Festival The 12th Cannes Film Festival was held from 30 April to 15 May 1959. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Orfeu Negro'' by Marcel Camus. The festival opened with '' Les Quatre Cents Coups'', directed by François Truffaut and closed with ''The Diary of An ...

. 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 (russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 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 ...

,

Inna Gulaya Inna Iosifovna Gulaya (russian: И́нна Ио́сифовна Гула́я; 9 May 1940, Kharkov – 28 May 1990, Moscow) was a Soviet theatre and cinema actress. She was named a Meritorious Artist of the RSFSR in 1976. Early life Gulaya was bor ...

,

Lyudmila Chursina Lyudmila Alexeyevna Chursina (Russian: Людми́ла Алексе́евна Чурсина́; born 20 July 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1962. In 1981 she was a m ...

and

Leonid Kuravlyov Leonid Vyacheslavovich Kuravlyov (russian: Леонид Вячеславович Куравлёв; 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 w ...

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 was held from 7 to 23 May 1962. The Palme d'Or went to the ''O Pagador de Promessas'' by Anselmo Duarte. The festival opened with '' Les Amants de Teruel'', directed by Raymond Rouleau. During the Cannes Film Festiv ...

. In 1969 Kulidzhanov directed the first Soviet adaptation of the ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

'' 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 ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

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 The 31st annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 19 August to 1 September 1970. There was no jury because from 1969 to 1979 the festival was not competitive. Official Selections * ''Wanda'' by Barbara Loden (United States) * '' ...

, 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 in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 until 1990 for cinematographic works of all kinds ( ...

in 1971. In 1965 Kulidzhanov was elected as the head of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR, substituting

Ivan Pyryev Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev (russian: Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Пы́рьев; – 7 February 1968) was a Soviet-Russian film director and screenwriter remembered as the high priest of Stalinist cinema. He was awarded six Stali ...

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 (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...

. 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 (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Я́ковлев; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secretar ...

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 (russian: Ку́нцевское кла́дбище, kúntsevkoye kládbishche) 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 o ...

.

Filmography

Awards and honors

*

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

(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 in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 until 1990 for cinematographic works of all kinds ( ...

(1971) – for the film ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

'' (1969) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1974) *

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

(1976) * Lenin Prize (1982) *

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

(1984) * Two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

*

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...

, 3rd class (1999) – for an outstanding contribution to cinema and at his 75th birthday

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 (russian: Россия Культура, translit=Rossiya Kul'tura "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 ...

{{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 Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union candidate members 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 Lenin Prize winners 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 Male screenwriters Russian educators Russian film directors Russian screenwriters Soviet educators Soviet film directors Soviet screenwriters Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery