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 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

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

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'' (Block B EP), 2017 ...

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

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 ...

, but whereas Eisenstein utilized montage to glorify the power of the masses, 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 ( 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 ...

in 1948.

Biography

Vsevolod Pudovkin was born in Penza into a Russian family, the third of six children. His father Illarion Yepifanovich Pudovkin came from peasants of the Penza Governorate, the village of Shuksha and worked in several companies as a manager and a door-to-door salesman. Vsevolod's mother Yelizaveta Aleksandrovna Pudovkina (née Shilkina) was a housewife. A student of engineering at

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

, Pudovkin saw active duty during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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. 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'' (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 world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanc ...

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: ''

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

'', 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'' (russian: Конец Санкт-Петербурга, Konets Sankt-Peterburga) is a 1927 silent film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and produced by Mezhrabpom. Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of th ...

'' (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 motion picture with 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, but decades passed before ...

, Pudovkin,

and Grigori Aleksandrov signed the Manifest of Sound, 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'' (1932) and '' The Deserter'' (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. After an interruption caused by health concerns, Pudovkin returned to movie making, this time with a number of historical epics: '' Victory'' (1938); '' Minin and Pozharsky'' (1939) and ''

Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Râmnicu Sărat, Rymnik, C ...

'' (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 he was evacuated to Kazakhstan where he directed several patriotic war movies. He also played a small part in the ''

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

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

(since 1944) and a member of the Soviet Peace Committee. 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 fi ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

after a heart attack. He was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) 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 ...

. 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
Islands. Vsevolof Pudovkin
documentary by Russia-K, 2005 (in Russian)
Vsevolod Pudovkin. Imprisoned by Time
documentary by Russia-K, 2008 (in Russian)
Legends of World Cinema
documentary by Russia-K, 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