Maxim Monguzhukovich Munzuk ( tyv, Максим Монгужук-оглу Мунзук; (2 May 1910 – 28 July 1999 in Kyzyl, Tyva, Russia) was a

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

n actor, one of the founders of the

Republic of Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

's regional theatre. He is best known for playing the title role in

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's film ''

Dersu Uzala Dersu Uzala (russian: Дерсу Узала; 1849–1908) was a Nanai trapper and hunter. He worked as a guide for Vladimir Arsenyev who immortalized him in his 1923 book '' Dersu Uzala''. The book was adapted into two feature films, with the ve ...

''. The versatile and creative Munzuk was an actor, director, singer, collector of musical folklore, composer, and teacher. Originally a musician in the military, Munzuk served as the commander of Tyva’s Artillery Regiment orchestra. He founded the Tuvan musical-drama theatre in the 1930s and played a huge number of roles of the most varied characters.

picked Munzuk as the lead in his Soviet-financed epic ''

'' (1975), along with Yuri Solomin as writer-explorer

Vladimir Arsenyev Vladimir Klavdiyevich Arsenyev, (russian: Влади́мир Кла́вдиевич Арсе́ньев; 10 September 1872 – 4 September 1930) was a Russian explorer of the Far East who recounted his travels in a series of books — "По ...

on whose 1923 book the film was based. Munzuk's impressive acting owed greatly to the film’s international success — the picture won the 1975 Academy Award as Best Foreign Picture. He was awarded the titles of

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 ...

and of the Tuvan ASSR, and was also awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Tuva. In 2004, the government of Tuva funded a prize for Best Actor named after Munzuk, awarded annually at a national competition; the same year, the Dersu Uzala Foundation was inaugurated, also named in Munzuk’s memory and intended to support Tuvinian artists.

Filmography

# ''Loss of the Witness'' (''Пропажа свидетеля'') (1971, Detective) as Tykhe # ''

'' (''Дерсу Узала'') (1975, Adventures) as Dersu Uzala # ''Preliminary Investigation'' (''Предварительное расследование'') (1978) # ''

Siberiade ''Siberiade'' (russian: Сибириада, translit. ''Sibiriada'') is a 1979 Soviet historical drama film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky and produced by Mosfilm. The four-part epic spans much of the 20th century. Themes The film comb ...

'' (1979) as Fedyka # ''A Walk Worthy of Men'' (''Прогулка, достойная мужчин'') (1979, Film-story) # ''On the Lord's Track'' (''По следу властелина'') (1979, Adventures) # ''Last Hunting'' (''Последняя охота'') (1980, Drama history) # ''Valentine'' (''Валентина'') (1981, Melodrama) as Ilya Eremeyev - an Evenk-hunter # ''Revenge'' (''Месть'') (1989, Historical / Biographic) # ''Pod severnym siyaniyem'' (1990) as Old Niyako (final film role)

References

External links

*
Charity Foundation "Dersu Uzala" named Maxim Munzuk

Dersu Uzala Info
1910 births 1999 deaths People from Tuva Tuvan people Russian male film actors People's Artists of Russia 20th-century Russian male actors Soviet male actors {{tuva-stub