Sergei Bondarchuk
Encyclopedia
Sergei Fedorovich Bondarchuk (sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈfʲodʌrəvʲitʂ bəndʌrˈtʂuk, Серге́й Фё́дорович Бондарчу́к; Ukrainian
: Сергі́й Фе́дорович Бондарчу́к, Serhiy Fedorovych Bondarchuk; September 25, 1920October 20, 1994) was a Soviet
film director, screenwriter, and actor.
, Sergei Bondarchuk spent his childhood in the cities of Yeysk
and Taganrog
, graduating from the Taganrog School Number 4 in 1938. His first performance as an actor was onstage of the Taganrog Theatre
in 1937. He continued studies in the Rostov-on-Don
theater school (1938–1942). After his studies, he was conscripted into the Red Army
against Nazi Germany
and was discharged in 1946.
At the age of 32, he became the youngest Soviet actor ever to receive the top dignity of People's Artist of the USSR
. In 1955, he starred with future wife Irina Skobtseva
in Othello
and after four years, they married. He was previously married to Inna Makarova
, mother to his elder daughter
. In 1959 he made his directorial debut with Destiny of a Man
, based on the Mikhail Sholokhov short story.
Bondarchuk's western fame lies with his epic production of Tolstoy's
War and Peace, which on original release totaled more than ten hours of cinema, took seven years to complete and won Bondarchuk, who both directed and acted the role of Pierre Bezukhov
, the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
in 1968. The year after his victory, in 1969, he starred as Ivan Martik with Yul Brynner
and Orson Welles
in the Yugoslav epic Battle of Neretva, directed by Veljko Bulajic.
His first English language
film was 1970's Waterloo, produced by Dino De Laurentiis
. This was remarkable for the epic
battle scenes. However, it failed at the box office. To prevent running into hurdles with the Soviet government, he joined the Communist Party
in 1970. A year later, he was appointed President of the Union of Cinematographers, while he continued his directing career, steering toward political films, directing Boris Godunov
before being dismissed from the semi-government post in 1986.
In 1975 he directed They Fought for Their Country
, which was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival
. In 1982 came Red Bells, based on John Reed
's Ten Days that Shook the World
(which serves as the film's alternative title). His 1986 film, Boris Godunov, was also screened at Cannes
.
Bondarchuk's last feature film, and his second in English
was an epic TV version of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don
, starring Rupert Everett
. It was filmed in 1992-93 but premiered on Channel One
only in November 2006, as there were disputes concerning the Italian studio that was co-producing over unfavourable clauses in his contract, which left the tapes locked in a bank vault, even after his death aged 74 of a heart attack
.
Sergei Bondarchuk is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery
, Moscow
. His daughter Natalya Bondarchuk
is remembered as a star of Andrei Tarkovsky
's Solaris
, while his son Fyodor Bondarchuk
(who starred with him in Boris Godunov) is a popular Russian film actor and director best known for his box-office champion The 9th Company (2005). In June 2007, his ex-wife Inna Makarova
unveiled a bronze statue of Sergei Bondarchuk in his native Yeysk
.
Director
Writer
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
: Сергі́й Фе́дорович Бондарчу́к, Serhiy Fedorovych Bondarchuk; September 25, 1920October 20, 1994) was a Soviet
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....
film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Biography
Born in Belozerka, in the Kherson GovernorateKherson Governorate
The Kherson Governorate or Government of Kherson was a guberniya, or administrative territorial unit, in the Southern Ukrainian region, between the Dnieper and Dniester Rivers, of the Russian Empire. It was one of three governorates created in 1802 when the Novorossiya guberniya was abolished...
, Sergei Bondarchuk spent his childhood in the cities of Yeysk
Yeysk
-External links:* *...
and Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
, graduating from the Taganrog School Number 4 in 1938. His first performance as an actor was onstage of the Taganrog Theatre
Taganrog Theatre
The Taganrog Drama Theater named after Anton Chekhov and decorated with Order of Honor was established in 1827 by governor Alexander Dunaev. The theater was subsidized by the Taganrog's City Council since 1828, and its first director was Alexander Gor...
in 1937. He continued studies in the Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
theater school (1938–1942). After his studies, he was conscripted into the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
against Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and was discharged in 1946.
At the age of 32, he became the youngest Soviet actor ever to receive the top dignity of People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
. In 1955, he starred with future wife Irina Skobtseva
Irina Skobtseva
Irina Konstantinova Skobtseva is a Russian/Soviet actress, wife of Sergei Bondarchuk, and mother of Elena and Fyodor Bondarchuk.She first met Sergei shooting Othello in 1955, and became his second wife in 1959. She starred as Pierre Bezukhov's wife Elena Kuragina Bezukhova in the juggernaut War...
in Othello
Othello (1955 film)
Othello is a 1955 Soviet drama film directed by Sergei Yutkevich, based on the play Othello by William Shakespeare. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sergei Bondarchuk - Othello* Irina Skobtseva - Desdemona...
and after four years, they married. He was previously married to Inna Makarova
Inna Makarova
Inna Vladimirovna Makarova is a Soviet Russian actress. She grew up in Novosibirsk. In 1948 she graduated from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow and began to work as an actress at the State Film Actor Theater . In 1949, she was awarded the Stalin Prize for her role as Lyubov...
, mother to his elder daughter
Natalya Bondarchuk
Natalya Sergeyevna Bondarchuk is a Soviet and Russian actress and film director, best known for her appearance in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris as "Hari". She is the daughter of the Ukrainian actor Sergei Bondarchuk and the Russian actress Inna Makarova...
. In 1959 he made his directorial debut with Destiny of a Man
Destiny of a Man
Destiny of a Man Is a 1959 Soviet film adaptation of the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, and also the directorial debut of Sergei Bondarchuk...
, based on the Mikhail Sholokhov short story.
Bondarchuk's western fame lies with his epic production of Tolstoy's
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
War and Peace, which on original release totaled more than ten hours of cinema, took seven years to complete and won Bondarchuk, who both directed and acted the role of Pierre Bezukhov
Pierre Bezukhov
Count Pyotr "Pierre" Kirillovich Bezukhov is a central fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. He is the favourite of several illegitimate sons of the wealthy nobleman Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov.-Description:...
, 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...
in 1968. The year after his victory, in 1969, he starred as Ivan Martik with Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
in the Yugoslav epic Battle of Neretva, directed by Veljko Bulajic.
His first English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
film was 1970's Waterloo, produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
. This was remarkable for the epic
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
battle scenes. However, it failed at the box office. To prevent running into hurdles with the Soviet government, he joined the Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in 1970. A year later, he was appointed President of the Union of Cinematographers, while he continued his directing career, steering toward political films, directing Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (1986 film)
Boris Godunov is a 1986 Soviet drama film directed by and starring Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sergei Bondarchuk - Boris Godunov* Alyona Bondarchuk - Tsarevna Kseniya...
before being dismissed from the semi-government post in 1986.
In 1975 he directed They Fought for Their Country
They Fought for Their Country
They Fought for Their Country is a 1975 Soviet war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The film is the story of a Soviet platoon fighting a rearguard action during the German drive on Stalingrad.-Cast:...
, which was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival
1975 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Jeanne Moreau, President, actress*André Delvaux, director*Anthony Burgess, writer*Fernando Rey, actor*George Roy Hill, director*Gérard Ducaux-Rupp, producer*Léa Massari, actress*Pierre Mazars, journalist*Pierre Salinger, writer...
. In 1982 came Red Bells, based on John Reed
John Reed
-Arts, letters, and entertainment:* John Reed , New York novelist and author* John Reed , actor and singer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company* John Reed , Australian critic and art patron...
's Ten Days that Shook the World
Ten Days that Shook the World
Ten Days that Shook the World is a book by American journalist and socialist John Reed about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 which Reed experienced firsthand. Reed followed many of the prominent Bolshevik leaders, especially Grigory Zinoviev and Karl Radek, closely during his time in Russia...
(which serves as the film's alternative title). His 1986 film, Boris Godunov, was also screened at Cannes
1986 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Sydney Pollack*Alexandre Mnouchkine*Alexandre Trauner*Charles Aznavour*Danièle Thompson*István Szabó*Lino Brocka*Philip French*Sonia Braga*Tonino Delli Colli-Feature film competition:* After Hours by Martin Scorsese...
.
Bondarchuk's last feature film, and his second in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was an epic TV version of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don
And Quiet Flows the Don
And Quiet Flows the Don or Quietly Flows the Don is the first part of the great Don epic Tikhiy Don , written by Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov. It originally appeared in serialized form between 1928 and 1940...
, starring Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
. It was filmed in 1992-93 but premiered on Channel One
Channel One (Russia)
Channel One is the first television channel to broadcast in the Soviet Union. The channel was renamed Ostankino Channel 1 in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up and the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation. According to a recent government publication, the Russian government controls 51%...
only in November 2006, as there were disputes concerning the Italian studio that was co-producing over unfavourable clauses in his contract, which left the tapes locked in a bank vault, even after his death aged 74 of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Sergei Bondarchuk is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
, 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...
. His daughter Natalya Bondarchuk
Natalya Bondarchuk
Natalya Sergeyevna Bondarchuk is a Soviet and Russian actress and film director, best known for her appearance in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris as "Hari". She is the daughter of the Ukrainian actor Sergei Bondarchuk and the Russian actress Inna Makarova...
is remembered as a star of Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
's Solaris
Solaris (1972 film)
Solaris is a 1972 film adaptation of the novel Solaris , directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is a meditative psychological drama occurring mostly aboard a space station orbiting the fictional planet Solaris. The scientific mission has stalled, because the scientist crew have fallen to...
, while his son Fyodor Bondarchuk
Fyodor Bondarchuk
Fyodor Sergeyevich Bondarchuk is a Russian film director and actor. He is the director of the acclaimed film The 9th Company, and producer of the 2006 film Heat, where he starred as himself with his mother Irina Skobtseva....
(who starred with him in Boris Godunov) is a popular Russian film actor and director best known for his box-office champion The 9th Company (2005). In June 2007, his ex-wife Inna Makarova
Inna Makarova
Inna Vladimirovna Makarova is a Soviet Russian actress. She grew up in Novosibirsk. In 1948 she graduated from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow and began to work as an actress at the State Film Actor Theater . In 1949, she was awarded the Stalin Prize for her role as Lyubov...
unveiled a bronze statue of Sergei Bondarchuk in his native Yeysk
Yeysk
-External links:* *...
.
Selected filmography
Actor- The Young GuardThe Young Guard (film)The Young Guard is a two-part 1948 Soviet film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by Alexander Fadeyev. In 1949 a Stalin Prize for this film was awarded to Gerasimov, cinematographer Vladimir Rapoport, and the group of leading actors.The Film was also the highest...
(1948) - MichurinMichurin (film)Michurin is a 1948 Soviet film directed by Alexander Dovzhenko about the life of Russian practitioner of selection Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin...
(1948) - Dream of a CossackDream of a CossackDream of a Cossack is a 1951 Soviet drama film directed by Yuli Raizman. It was entered into the 1951 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:Sergei Tutarinov a veteran of the Great Patriotic war returns to his native village to take an active part in its restoration. His initiatives are strongly supported by...
(1950) - Taras Shevchenko (1952) (Won Bondarchuk People's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
) - Admiral Ushakov (1953)
- The Ships Storm Bastions (1953)
- Not ended story (1955)
- OthelloOthello (1955 film)Othello is a 1955 Soviet drama film directed by Sergei Yutkevich, based on the play Othello by William Shakespeare. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sergei Bondarchuk - Othello* Irina Skobtseva - Desdemona...
(1955) - Destiny of a ManDestiny of a ManDestiny of a Man Is a 1959 Soviet film adaptation of the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, and also the directorial debut of Sergei Bondarchuk...
(1959) (Won Bondarchuk Grand Prix at the first Moscow International Film FestivalMoscow International Film FestivalMoscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
) - War and Peace (1961–1968)
- Battle of Neretva (1969)
- They Fought for Their CountryThey Fought for Their CountryThey Fought for Their Country is a 1975 Soviet war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The film is the story of a Soviet platoon fighting a rearguard action during the German drive on Stalingrad.-Cast:...
(1975) - The Stepp (1977)
- Boris GodunovBoris Godunov (1986 film)Boris Godunov is a 1986 Soviet drama film directed by and starring Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sergei Bondarchuk - Boris Godunov* Alyona Bondarchuk - Tsarevna Kseniya...
(1986)
Director
- Destiny of a ManDestiny of a ManDestiny of a Man Is a 1959 Soviet film adaptation of the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, and also the directorial debut of Sergei Bondarchuk...
(1959) - War and Peace (1965–1968)
- Waterloo (1970)
- They Fought for Their CountryThey Fought for Their CountryThey Fought for Their Country is a 1975 Soviet war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The film is the story of a Soviet platoon fighting a rearguard action during the German drive on Stalingrad.-Cast:...
(1975) - The Stepp (1977)
- Red Bells (1983)
- Boris GodunovBoris Godunov (1986 film)Boris Godunov is a 1986 Soviet drama film directed by and starring Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sergei Bondarchuk - Boris Godunov* Alyona Bondarchuk - Tsarevna Kseniya...
(1986) - Quiet Flows the Don (2006 film and TV Series) (2006)
Writer
- SutjeskaSutjeskaSutjeska can refer to:* Sutjeska , a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Sutjeska National Park, a national park in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Sutjeska , a village in Serbia* Battle of Sutjeska, a second world war battle in Yugoslavia...
(1973)