Lev Kulidzhanov: biography, filmography, nationality, personal life, photo

In February 2016, fourteen years have passed since the day when People's Artist of the Soviet Union Lev Kulidzhanov died, whose grave is in the Kuntsevo Pogost in the capital of our Motherland.

For more than seventy-seven-year period, this filmmaker managed to leave quite a significant mark in the Soviet and Russian cinematography, as well as in the public and cultural life of the state.

Children and school years

Lev Kulidzhanov, whose nationality is referred to in many reference books and encyclopedias as "Russian," was born, nevertheless, in the family of Armenians in the Georgian capital.

The date of his birth in various publications is indicated in different ways: 19.08.1923 or 19.03.1924.

Father, a famous party member, was arrested in the 37th and his fate is unknown. His mother was repressed at the time, exiled to the camp.

The future director Lev Kulidzhanov was brought up as a grandmother. All his childhood and youth years passed in the capital of Georgia. From his school days, he showed an active interest in theatrical activities. Without him, there was not a single school play, while he participated as a playwright, director, and actor.

Young years

After graduating from high school in 1942, he became a student of the evening department of the Tbilisi State University, while working as a fitter at the plant. The enterprise engaged in the production of weapons during the war.

In the period of rest from study and work Lev Kulidzhanov was engaged in the acting school of the Georgian State Concern. There he became acquainted with the sister of a friend, who studied at the VGIK on a screenwriter. She refused to be evacuated with her classmates to Kazakhstan and stayed with her relatives in Georgia.

Her love of cinematography and fascinating conversations about cinema art led to the fact that Kulidzhanov Leo decided to become a student of the directing faculty of VGIKA.

Dream come true

When in 1943 the institute returned to Moscow, the girl went to study, giving Kulidzhanov a promise to send data about what is necessary for admission to the direction.

By this time, Leo had to leave the plant, since after suffering pneumonia in his body began to develop a focus of tuberculosis. Voyenokamitovskaya medical commission considered it uncomfortable.

With the help of relatives by the summer of 1944, the disease could be stopped, the foci began to scar. By this time Lev Kulidzhanov, having received the promised conditions for admission to the faculty of directing VGIKA, prepared everything necessary (a corresponding package of references, as well as work for a creative contest) and sent it along with the application to the institute admission committee.

Fees in VGIK

N. Fokina once wrote the book "Lev Kulidzhanov: Comprehension of the profession," the hero of which talks about this period.

All the collections took place under the guidance of Tamara Nikolaevna's grandmother, who was the spectator of all the rehearsals of her grandson. For admission, Pushkin's "Queen of Spades" was chosen as the future student, he constantly frightened his grandmother with a Germanic exclamation about the old woman.

Life in wartime was pretty poor. Grandmother on the road were purchased warm trousers, a wool sweater tied. From the blanket and a small mattress was equipped with a bed.

From a non-native grandfather, a serviceman, got a piece of jeans from which the local tailor sewn the pants with the wrong side of the fabric outside, because such a material was a novelty.

Grandmother was invited to bring apples for sale, half a bag. She believed that in this way Leo would be able to get money to start.

However, commercial activity had no success, no one bought fruit, and they eventually deteriorated.

Training in VGIK

Entered Kulidzhanov Leo from the first time, the exams were taken by GM Kozitsin, who recruited a new stream, and the director of the institute, LV Kuleshov .

Having started training, a half-starved student living in a cold dormitory was seriously ill and had to return to Georgia. By this time, my mother returned from the camp.

Lev Kulidzhanov, whose personal life changed, when he met his future wife Natalia Fokine in Tbilisi, nevertheless suffered greatly because of leaving the institute. He constantly doubted his physical abilities, he feared that he could never return there.

However, the year 1948 was marked by the fact that he again managed to start his studies at the VGIK studio, which was headed by Gerasimov SA and Makarov TF. He completed his studies in 1955 year.

Classmates remembered his outstanding acting ability. Gerasimov even invited him to pass additional exams on dancing and singing, so that together with the director's diploma get the second - the actor's.

The graduate refused this proposal, citing the fact that the second diploma is not necessary. The very proposal, of course, says a lot.

The beginning of creative work

Kulidzhanov Lev Alexandrovich began his creative activity with the debut of 1955 in short Chekhov's "Dam." Co-author of the film was Oganesyan G.

Further, Kulidzhanov chose Ya. Szegel's partner, with whom the painting "This began so ..." was filmed the following year, its heroes were the first conquerors of virgin lands.

A year later, the same tape was filmed tape "The house in which I live," about the pre-war and post-war fate of the residents of one of the Moscow courts.

At that time in the cinematic environment in the fashion were directing tandems, it is worth remembering Danelia and Talankin, Mironer and Khutsieva, Saltykov and Mittu, Alova and Naumov.

From the first films by Kulidzhanov, not only questions of the modern world order were raised, but also the interrelation between the public and the personal, the images of an ordinary person with his spiritual anxieties, feelings, hopes were created.

From the screen, the audience was approached by close, understandable people, whose pronounced individuality, regardless of their social status, corresponded to the views of the author.

Kulidzhanov Lev, filmography

Since 1959, since "Father's Home", the films have been removed by Kulidzhanov himself.

In 1961, he shot his best work "When the Trees were Big," where he told about the so-called small people with unusual sincerity, sincerity, lyricism, warmth and humanity.

Even in the Nikulin drunkard - Kuzma Iordanov - the viewer sees a human being that evokes true sympathy and love.

Tape "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoevsky impressed moviegoers with his cinematic expressiveness, an iconic series is shown sharply and even cruelly.

For this picture, Lev Aleksandrovich Kulidzhanov, whose biography contains not only hard, but very bright periods, was marked in 1971 by the Russian State Prize.

Difficulties of the Soviet period

Certain difficulties had to be overcome by the director in the work on the documentary "Star Minute" (1972-75) about Gagarin space flight, when Kulidzhan's expressiveness and paradox in reflecting historical events did not find understanding among the nomenklatura leaders who are in charge of the country's cultural life.

Lev Kulidzhanov, whose filmography simply amazes with its diversity, sought to humanize and give drama to the images of Soviet idols - to VI Lenin (the film "Blue Notebook", 1963) and to Marx (TV series "Karl Marx, Young Years", 1980) . Although the last picture was awarded in 1982 by the Lenin Prize, it is rather difficult to call these two works highly artistic, the author had to press "from above" to idealize these ambiguous politico-historical figures.

The last films of the director were "Do not be dying", filmed in 1991, and "Forget-me-nots" in 1994.

Social activity

Until the end of his days Kulidzhanov Leo led a great deal of public and administrative work.

In 1962 he joined the ranks of the CPSU. In 1963-64 in the Union State Committee directed the main department of artistic cinematography.

1964 - Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Cinematographic Union of the country. The first congress of cinematographers elected the director to the post of first secretary of the board of the Union. He held this post for 23 years.
1986-89 - artistic director of the epic film "20th Century".

Since 1976, Kulidzhanov wore the title People's Artist of the Soviet Union, since 1984 - Hero of Socialist Labor. He was a professor, a corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic, served as a candidate for membership in the Central Committee of the CPSU and a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, headed the Society for Cultural Relations Mexico-USSR.