Ivan Pyryev
Encyclopedia
Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev ' href="/topics/Kamen-na-Obi">Kamen-na-Obi
– February 7, 1968, Moscow
) was a Soviet-Russian film director
and screenwriter
remembered as the high priest of Stalinist cinema. He was awarded six Stalin Prizes (1941, 1942, 1946, 1946, 1948, 1951), served as Director of the Mosfilm
studios (1954–57) and was, for a time, the most influential man in the Soviet motion picture industry.
Pyryev was born in Kamen-na-Obi
, now Altai Krai
, Russia
. His early career included acting on stage directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold
in The Forest («Лес») and by Sergei Eisenstein
in the Proletcult Theatre
production The Mexican. Pyryev also acted in Eisenstein's first short film Glumov's Diary. Pyryev's early career included production jobs behind the camera, such as work for director Yuri Tarich. He débuted as a director in the age of silent film, with Strange Woman (Посторонняя женщина, 1929).
During the 1930s and 1940s Pyryev rivaled Grigori Aleksandrov
as the country's most successful director of musical comedies, all of which starred his then-wife, Marina Ladynina. Even during wartime, when the Soviet film industry had been evacuated to Alma-Ata, Pyryev made popular and light-hearted features. In Six O'Clock after the War is Over the Romantic characters (played by Ladynina and Yevgeny Samoilov), when separated by war, arrange a date at 6 PM on the Victory Day
, and the victory celebrations are shown towards the end of the film (which was released in November 1944).
Such films as The Swine Girl and the Shepherd (1941), Ballad of Siberia
(1947) and Cossacks of the Kuban
(1949) became staples of Soviet television and proved effective in showcasing the idealized Soviet way of life. The former, shown in the US as They Met in Moscow, was the last film made in the Soviet Union
before the German invasion. The protagonists, a Russian swineherd and a Chechen shepherd (played by Ladynina and Vladimir Zeldin
) meet at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition
and fall in love with each other. The movie is noted for a memorable score by Isaak Dunaevsky and Tikhon Khrennikov
. Cossacks of the Kuban, which launched the star of Klara Luchko
, presents a highly glamorized picture of life in a southern kolkhoz
.
Following Stalin's death, Pyryev divorced Ladynina and turned his attention to a more serious brand of cinema. He produced two acclaimed adaptations of Dostoevsky's novels, The Idiot
(1958, starring Yuri Yakovlev) and The Brothers Karamazov
(1969), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
. Pyryev died at the age of 66 in Moscow
. Since The Brothers Karamazov was unfinished at the time, the film stars Kirill Lavrov
and Mikhail Ulyanov
are usually credited with having brought the project to a conclusion. His widow Lionella Pyryeva, who took the part of Grushenka in The Brothers Karamazov, went on to marry Oleg Strizhenov
.
Kamen-na-Obi
Kamen-na-Obi , known until 1933 as Kamen , is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Ob River northwest of Barnaul. Population: 36,000 ....
– February 7, 1968, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet-Russian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
remembered as the high priest of Stalinist cinema. He was awarded six Stalin Prizes (1941, 1942, 1946, 1946, 1948, 1951), served as Director of the Mosfilm
Mosfilm
Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
studios (1954–57) and was, for a time, the most influential man in the Soviet motion picture industry.
Pyryev was born in Kamen-na-Obi
Kamen-na-Obi
Kamen-na-Obi , known until 1933 as Kamen , is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Ob River northwest of Barnaul. Population: 36,000 ....
, now Altai Krai
Altai Krai
Altai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. His early career included acting on stage directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Emilevich Meyerhold was a great Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting made him one of the seminal forces in modern international theatre.-Early...
in The Forest («Лес») and by Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
in the Proletcult Theatre
Proletcult Theatre
Proletcult Theatre was the theatrical branch of the Soviet cultural movement Proletcult. It was concerned with the powerful expression of ideological content as political propaganda in the years following the revolution of 1917...
production The Mexican. Pyryev also acted in Eisenstein's first short film Glumov's Diary. Pyryev's early career included production jobs behind the camera, such as work for director Yuri Tarich. He débuted as a director in the age of silent film, with Strange Woman (Посторонняя женщина, 1929).
During the 1930s and 1940s Pyryev rivaled Grigori Aleksandrov
Grigori Aleksandrov
Grigori Vasilyevich Aleksandrov or Alexandrov was a prominent Soviet film director who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1947 and a Hero of Socialist Labor in 1973...
as the country's most successful director of musical comedies, all of which starred his then-wife, Marina Ladynina. Even during wartime, when the Soviet film industry had been evacuated to Alma-Ata, Pyryev made popular and light-hearted features. In Six O'Clock after the War is Over the Romantic characters (played by Ladynina and Yevgeny Samoilov), when separated by war, arrange a date at 6 PM on the Victory Day
Victory Day
Victory Day is a common name of many different public holidays in various countries to commemorate victories in important battles or wars in the countries' history.- April 30 in Vietnam :...
, and the victory celebrations are shown towards the end of the film (which was released in November 1944).
Such films as The Swine Girl and the Shepherd (1941), Ballad of Siberia
Ballad of Siberia
The Ballad of Siberia from Mosfilm is Soviet Union's second color film , directed by Ivan Pyryev, starring Vladimir Druzhnikov and Marina Ladynina....
(1947) and Cossacks of the Kuban
Cossacks of the Kuban
The Cossack of the Kuban from Mosfilm is a color film, glorifying the life of the farmers in the kolkhoz of the Soviet Union's Kuban region, directed by Ivan Pyryev and starring Marina Ladynina, his wife at that time.-Cast:* Marina Ladynina, as Galina...
(1949) became staples of Soviet television and proved effective in showcasing the idealized Soviet way of life. The former, shown in the US as They Met in Moscow, was the last film made in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
before the German invasion. The protagonists, a Russian swineherd and a Chechen shepherd (played by Ladynina and Vladimir Zeldin
Vladimir Zeldin
Vladimir Mikhailovich Zeldin is a Russian theatre and cinema actor.Zeldin was born in the town of Kozlov . In 1935 he graduated from the theatre college at the Mossovet Theatre and became its actor. For over 60 years he has been working in the Russian Army Theatre, Moscow.Zeldin became an...
) meet at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition
All-Russia Exhibition Centre
All-Russia Exhibition Centre is a permanent general-purpose trade show in Moscow, Russia....
and fall in love with each other. The movie is noted for a memorable score by Isaak Dunaevsky and Tikhon Khrennikov
Tikhon Khrennikov
Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, leader of the Union of Soviet Composers, who was also known for his political activities...
. Cossacks of the Kuban, which launched the star of Klara Luchko
Klara Luchko
Klara Stepanivna Luchko was a Soviet, Russian and Ukrainian actress known for her roles in the Soviet cinema.She received the title of People's Artist of the USSR, the highest honour that could be bestowed to a cinema artist, awarded to her in 1978....
, presents a highly glamorized picture of life in a southern kolkhoz
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
.
Following Stalin's death, Pyryev divorced Ladynina and turned his attention to a more serious brand of cinema. He produced two acclaimed adaptations of Dostoevsky's novels, The Idiot
The Idiot (1958 film)
The Idiot , is a 1958 Soviet film directed by Ivan Pyryev. It is based on the eponymous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.-Cast:*Yuri Yakovlev - Prince Myshkin*Yuliya Borisova - Nastasia Philippovna*Nikita Podgornyj - Ganya Ivolgin...
(1958, starring Yuri Yakovlev) and The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov (1969 film)
The Brothers Karamazov is a 1969 Soviet film directed by Kirill Lavrov, Ivan Pyryev and Mikhail Ulyanov. It is based on the eponymous novel by the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky...
(1969), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. Pyryev died at the age of 66 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Since The Brothers Karamazov was unfinished at the time, the film stars Kirill Lavrov
Kirill Lavrov
Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was a well-known Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor and director.-Childhood:Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was born on September 15, 1925, in Leningrad, USSR . He was baptized by the Russian Orthodox Church of St. John the Divine in Lavrushinskoe Podvorie Monastery in...
and Mikhail Ulyanov
Mikhail Ulyanov
Mikhail Alexandrovich Ulyanov was a Soviet and Russian actor who was one of the most recognizable persons of the post-World War II Soviet theatre and cinema. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1969 and received a special prize from the Venice Film Festival in 1982.Mikhail Alexandrovich...
are usually credited with having brought the project to a conclusion. His widow Lionella Pyryeva, who took the part of Grushenka in The Brothers Karamazov, went on to marry Oleg Strizhenov
Oleg Strizhenov
Oleg Aleksandrovich Strizhenov was a Soviet and Russian film actor and a People's Artist of the Soviet Union.-Filmography:...
.
Filmography
- Postoronnyaya zhenshchina (Посторонняя женщина) / The Foreign Woman (1929)
- Gosudarstvennyy chinovnik (Государственный чиновник) / The Civil Servant (1930)
- Konveer smerti (Конвейер смерти) / The Conveyor of Death (1933)
- Partiynyy bilet (Партийный билет) / Anna (1936)
- Bogataya nevesta (Богатая невеста) / The Country Bride (1938)
- Traktoristy (Трактористы) / Tractor-Drivers (1939)
- Lyubimaya devushka (Любимая девушка) / The Beloved (1940)
- Svinarka i pastukh (Свинарка и пастух) / They Met in Moscow (1941)
- Sekretar raykoma (Секретарь райкома) / We Will Come Back (1942)
- V shest chasov vechera posle voyny (В шесть часов вечера после войны) / Six O'Clock in the Evening After the War (1944)
- Skazanie o zemle sibirskoy (Сказание о земле Сибирской) / Symphony of Life (1947)
- Kubanskie kazaki (Кубанские казаки) / Cossacks of the Kuban (1949)
- Ispytanie vernosti (Испытание верности) / Devotion (1954)
- Idiot (Идиот) / The Idiot (1958)
- Belye nochi (Белые ночи) / White Nights (1959)
- Nash obshchiy drug (Наш общий друг) / Our Common Friend (1961)
- Svet dalyokoy zvezdy (Свет далекой звезды) / The Light of a Distant Star (1965)
- Bratya Karamazovy (Братья Карамазовы) / The Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers Karamazov (1969 film)The Brothers Karamazov is a 1969 Soviet film directed by Kirill Lavrov, Ivan Pyryev and Mikhail Ulyanov. It is based on the eponymous novel by the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky...
(1969)