Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Alov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович А́лов) (September 26, 1923 – June 12, 1983) 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, pr ...

and

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. ...

, he was granted the honorary 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 significa ...

in 1983 (together with

Vladimir Naumov Vladimir Naumovich Naumov (russian: Влади́мир Нау́мович Нау́мов; 6 December 1927 – 29 November 2021) was a Russian film director and writer. Naumov was named People’s Artist of the USSR in 1983. He was a schoolmate o ...

). His 1981 film ''

Teheran 43 ''Teheran 43'' (Russian: ''Тегеран-43''; French: ''Téhéran 43, Nid d'espions'') is a 1981 Soviet-French-Swiss political thriller film made by Mosfilm, ''Mediterraneo Cine'' and ''Pro Dis Film'', directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir ...

'' won the Golden Prize at the

12th Moscow International Film Festival The 12th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1981. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Brazilian film '' O Homem que Virou Suco'' directed by João Batista de Andrade, the Vietnamese film '' The Abandoned Field: Free ...

. After military service in the Great Patriotic War, Alov studied with

Igor Savchenko Igor Andreyevich Savchenko (russian: Игорь Андреевич Са́вченко) or Ihor Andriyovych Savchenko ( uk, І́гор Андрі́йович Са́вченко; 11 October 1906 – 14 December 1950) was a screenwriter and film di ...

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

, graduating in 1951. He worked as an assistant to Savchenko on the war epic ''

The Third Blow ''The Third Blow'' (russian: Третий удар, Tretiy udar) is a Soviet 1948 biographical drama film directed by Igor Savchenko. Plot In April 1944, Joseph Stalin orders the Red Army to liberate the Crimea from the German occupiers. The We ...

'' (1948). After his teacher’s untimely death, he and fellow student Vladimir Naumov were entrusted with the completion of Savchenko’s last picture, the biopic ''

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukrainian poet, wr ...

'' (1949). Following the success of that debut, Alov and Naumov began to make films at the

Kiev film studio The Dovzhenko Film Studios ( uk, Національна кіностудія художніх фільмів імені О. Довженка, translit. ''Natsional'na kinostudiya khudozhnikh filmiv imeni O. Dovzhenka'') is a former Soviet film ...

as a team under the label “Alov and Naumov”. ''Restless Youth'' (1954), their first film, is about Ukrainian Komsomol members who successfully defeat an incompetent administrator. '' Pavel Korchagin'' (1956), adapted from Nikolai Ostrovsky’s novel

How the Steel Was Tempered ''How the Steel Was Tempered'' (russian: Как закалялась сталь, ''Kak zakalyalas' stal) or ''The Making of a Hero'', is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904–1936). With 36.4 million copies sold, it is ...

(1932), is about a soldier who is injured in the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. The third installment of this loose trilogy about Soviet youth, '' The Wind'' (1958), was made after Alov and Naumov’s 1957 move to Mosfilm Studio. It tells the story of four friends’ sojourn to the first Komsomol Congress in Moscow. The film which would end up being the most popular work by Alov and Naumov was '' The Flight'' (1970), adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s tragedy about the 1918–1921 Civil War and subsequent mass emigration.

Filmography

:''Note: all films are co-directed with

'' * ''

'' (1951) * ''Restless Youth'' (1954) * '' Pavel Korchagin (Павел Корчагин)'' (1957) * '' The Wind'' (1959) * ''

Peace to Him Who Enters ''Peace to Him Who Enters'' (russian: Мир входящему, Mir vkhodyashchemu) is a 1961 Soviet drama film written and directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov. Set in World War II, it tells the story of three Soviet soldiers who try ...

'' (1961) * ''The Coin'' (1965) * ''

The Ugly Story ''The Ugly Story'' (russian: Скверный анекдот, Skvernyy anekdot) is a 1966 Soviet comedy film directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov. Plot The actual state adviser Ivan Ilyich Pralinsky had the idea that if he is humane, t ...

'' (1966) * '' The Flight'' (1970) * ''Legend About Thiel'' (1976) * ''

'' (1981) * '' The Shore'' (1984)

References

External links

* 1923 births 1983 deaths Film people from Kharkiv Soviet film directors Soviet screenwriters Male screenwriters 20th-century screenwriters Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Academic staff of the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography Soviet military personnel of World War II People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the USSR State Prize Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery {{USSR-film-director-stub