Soviet film Director, veteran of the great Patriotic war. Gregory wins and went to the front at the age of 19. He was wounded three times, fought in Stalingrad, he was awarded orders and medals, including “For defense of Stalingrad”. But the main movie of his life, he never took off. Fought for years of productions feature films about the battle of Stalingrad, which took place from the first to the last day. And it was entrusted to another Director.
“ballad of a soldier”, which Chukhrai filmed in 1959 and received a special prize at the Cannes film festival, hundreds of awards worldwide, among the ten best films of in the United States and Japan. And at home the Director wanted to exclude from the party. At a party meeting “Mosfilm” was accused of slandering the Soviet people. Hero of “the Ballad about the soldier” Alyosha Skvortsov – 19 years. The same was the Same as when he went to the front. Two destroyed tanks Alyosha gave short vacation, and he went home, but along the way, like a fairytale hero, was constantly met by obstacles, someone saved. In the end the mother only managed to hold actually said goodbye to her, never to return. The main role was played by the students of the Institute of Cinematography Vladimir Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko. Both, having tasted the world of fame, died in obscurity. Ivashov, unable to act, worked in construction, painfully dying. Prokhorenko moved under Pskov in the village of Wilderness, there grew cucumbers and roses. March 11, 2020 she would have turned 80 years old.
Another military painting Chukhrai “clear sky”, released in 1961, the first time someone scared the allusions to Stalinist repression. But colleagues of the Director reproached him that he is not rigidly denounced Stalin. The main role of the pilot – played Eugene Urbanski. His character was captured, presumed dead, and then was expelled from the party and started drinking. Of course, another question!
Another military work of the Director – “Quagmire”, filmed in 1977 with Nonna Mordyukova in the title role, the head of the Main political Directorate of the army Epishev wrote to the CPSU Central Committee letter. He demanded to ban the film, damaging the Home. Created the Commission. Started to figure out how the man made the appearance of the film is about a mother, sheltering in the attic of the son of the deserter. All the time Grigory Chukhrai had to protect the truth about the war.
He wanted to make a big play about Stalingrad. But there came a time when, according to him, the Stalingrad was not in fashion, and we had to sing the feat Brezhnev at the little earth. Students studied the book “little land”, written by the head of state. Me when I was in school, the impact of labor on the fields of Krasnodar region together with other students, sent from different cities of the country to harvest, was awarded a trip to Novorossiysk in the places where he fought Leonid Brezhnev. Theatres – ODI�� for others – staged thin book of General Secretary. The Secretariat of the Union of cinematographers of the USSR, headed by film Director Sergey Gerasimov took in June 1978, a resolution on the ideological and artistic challenges of filmmakers in connection with the release of books Brezhnev “little land” and “Rebirth”. There passionately discussed the literary merits of these works, their huge importance in the Communist education of the new man and the development of spiritual culture of the Soviet society.
When the Secretary General did not care showed cinematic bosses. And to fight for the right setting Grigori Chukhrai could not: he suffered a heart attack, then a second, after the famous V Congress of cinematographers. And while he was in power, was preparing to filming, met with Zhukov and Rokossovsky, the German command – Lieutenant-General Schmidt, Colonel, field survey by Joachim Wieder. In his memoirs, the Director spoke about the idea: I wanted to understand why for us Stalingrad was not only a military but also a moral victory, and Nazi soldiers – moral defeat and collapse. Here in the course of many years of work on the newsreels, with numerous interviews that his group was shooting and originated the idea of the documentary film “Memory”. In the end, this 80-minute picture was the only man for the same work about Stalingrad.
it took 25 years after the war, when the authors of the “Memory” took to the streets of London, Paris, other European cities and asked passers-by about Stalingrad, asked the question, why after the battle of Stalingrad named the area of the French capital. No one could answer. Even old people. A pensioner from the UK told the frame that has the ability to travel the world, wondered whether such afford the Russian people. In Germany at the time knew and remembered everything. Grigori Chukhrai met with former Nazis, the mothers of the dead German soldiers. During a conversation with a young woman on the streets of Berlin, it turned out that she was the daughter of Stalingrad a German soldier. – Over the original text to “Memory” reads Yefim Kopelyan. Calmly and carefully. Wins wanted to avoid exposing pathos, believing that Germans were the victims of a terrible deception.
Study at VGIK Mikhail Romm, author of “Ordinary fascism”, certainly played a role in how Chukhrai worked on “Memory”. Her script is written each Director Naum Korzhavin, a distinguished poet, the last of Stalin’s camps, expelled in the 1970s from the USSR. What “Memory”, filmed in 1969-m to year, was intentionally forgotten the pattern and had no rolling fate, probably, is connected with the name korzhavina. When the film was ready, We called the assistant Brezhnev congratulated and said that Leonid Ilyich liked the painting and he thought long and hard about it, walking in the garden. And then the Director was summoned to the Central Committee, demanded to remove several episodes. Wins and refused. Against a film made by General Epishev. As explained wins, it was built on Kholuy considerations about the war. “The controversy was unequal, and ended with the words Episheva: “I have troops to shoot do not give.” Thus, decided the issue with a great gaming picture about Stalingrad. It was actually delivered. And then We got a call from the counterpart, Yuri Ozerov, who was assigned to make a movie about Stalingrad. “It was a picture on demand of his Majesty’s man in the street” – will write later wins. Mad at Ozerova, he did not hold, but I understood that now about the battle of Stalingrad the film is not removed.
wins found in the many archives of the chronicle of those years. Part of it was used in “Memory”. Interestingly, stored in the Gosfilmofond of the Russian Federation German newsreels 1942-1943-th, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of propaganda under the leadership of Goebbels, so not a lot of material related with Stalingrad. Probably something is lost and can be consciously destroyed. A lot of staged scenes, as in Soviet newsreels about what was told by our front-line operators. Accompanied by a unique German material text in the language of the country in which it was intended, is and in Russian. By November 1942 includes footage of the blazing Stalingrad, soldiers of Germany, spreading butter on bread, razlivki sandwiches with sausage in between fights. On the enormous losses – nothing. It’s like a completely different life in those days are ice speech in the Berlin sports Palace, skating athletes jump over barrels. In December the Prague of 1942 in the chess tournament the world champion Alekhine, and in Copenhagen there is no release in the Studio of tattoo. In the newsreels 1943 – Russian workers in German camps to live safely in the barracks, poured in front of the flowers. Women sing songs. A holiday at the camp handing out boots and portraits of Hitler. At the same time, German soldiers in Norway wash dogs, wash the shirt, and on mount Athos talk with the monks. Romanian wounded in the presence of Marshal Antonescu compete in swimming. German operators said not only about the “valour” of the German army, but also about cultural events around the world, including in the occupied territories. And all this against the backdrop of the bloody battle in Stalingrad that provides invaluable material for researchers. The materials, taken by Grigory Chukhrai for and not created the movie about Stalingrad and partially used “Memory,” a tremendous contribution to the film chronicle of the era. He could be a unique hero of the documentary film, and something was shot on it. It is a pity that did not carry out their intentions Rolan Bykov, gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Victory to make a documentary film about veterans of the great Patriotic war, where one of the main character was supposed to become a filmmaker with a unique destiny Grigori Chukhrai.
see also: Published a unique photo archive of the great Patriotic
