The great Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk was born on September 25, 1920 in the Odessa region, in a village called Belozyorka.
The father of a young man, Fyodor Petrovich, called forhis get a specialty of an engineer, but Sergei insisted on his own and chose the profession of an artist. Therefore, in 1937 Bondarchuk enters the studio at the Rostov Theater, but the war begins and the novice artist does not have time to finish his studies. In 1941-42 he worked as an actor in the theater of the Red Army in the city of Grozny, and after demobilization in 1946 continues his studies at VGIK.
A young talent forthe leadership of Sergei Gerasimov, his thesis work becomes participation in the film of his mentor "Young Guard" (1948). At the same time, the director meets his first wife, Inna Makarova, with whom she is married for 10 years, they have a daughter, Natalia.
Bondarchuk successfully withdrew to the cinema. After working in the film "Taras Shevchenko" he deserves praise of Stalin, Sergei is awarded the title of People's Artist.
In 1955, the director meets his future wifeIrina Skobtsev, the first meeting with a student at the Moscow Art Theater School-Studio, took place on the opening day of Vasily Efanov. He starred in the picture of S. Yu. Yutkevich "Othello", where he plays the main role, after which, in 1959, he marries Irina, with whom the soul has been living for 35 years.
For his directorial debut, the author choosesmilitary, epic genre. Bondarchuk shoots the film "The Fate of Man", dedicated to the Great Patriotic War (according to the story of Mikhail Sholokhov). Critics noted the talented work of the director and director, who, using the most uncomplicated techniques, told the viewer the story of an ordinary person who falls into captivity, loses a family in war, but retains human dignity and kindness. Bondarchuk himself performs the main role, and subsequently receives the Lenin Prize and the prize at the Moscow International Film Festival.
His main film, "War and Peace", Sergei shootsalmost three years (1965-1967). He shows spectacular scenes of military battles and intrigues of the peaceful rear, inviting to shooting such coryphaeuses of Russian cinema as Lanovoy, Tikhonov, Vertinskaya, Tabakov, Efremov. "War and Peace" brought him fame almost a genius - he received an "Oscar" and became famous abroad.
Further directing career of Bondarchukwas developing as well as possible. The film "Waterloo" (1970), "They fought for their Motherland" (1975 - became one of the cult films about the war), "Steppe" (1978, Chekhov's story), "The Rebellious Mexico" and "10 Days That Shook the World" (according to the books of John Reed), "Red Bells" and many others showed the general public a competent, professional and at the same time very sensitive and hardworking director, capable of making films that remain in the memory of the viewer for dozens of years.
The last work of Sergey was the adaptation of the tragedy of A.S. Pushkin "Boris
Godunov ", where the author himself plays the main role.Before his death, he concludes a contract with the Italian distributors on the screen version of the "Quiet Don", but the Italians are deceiving the director. Bondarchuk does not manage to rehabilitate himself, because shortly before the press conference in October 1994, the director suddenly dies.
