Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad

The film, created on the basis of documents and chronicles from the film archives of the USSR and the GDR , consists of 7 episodes: "On the steppe boundaries", "August 23", "Days and Nights", "Operation Uranus", "The rout of Manstein", "The Ring is compressed" , "Victory". Outstanding military leaders Marshals of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov , A. M. Vasilevsky , K. K. Rokossovsky , A. I. Eremenko , Marshal of Artillery V. I. Kazakov , Army General P I. Batov , Colonel General M. S. Shumilov , former Secretary of the Stalingrad Regional Committee of the CPSU A. S. Chuyanov and others. The appearance of George Konstantinovich Zhukov on the screen was one of the first after his long disgrace. ^[3]

The film was created for the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad , at the Volgograd television studio ^[4] when scriptwriter V.P. Ershov ^[5] was chairman of the ^[6] regional committee on broadcasting and television . The director ^{[7] of the} film - Viktor Kadievich Magatayev ^[8] (born September 12, 1930 ^[9] ) came to Volgograd ^{[4] [10]} , during the making up of the Volgograd television studio ^[11] .

Simultaneously with the work on the film “Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad ” ^[12] V.K. Magatayev ^[13] together with the announcer Yuri Borisovich Levitan , sculptor Yevgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich ^{[14] [15]} and the sound producer Alexander Ivanovich Geraskin ^[13] worked on the creation of sound compositions accompanying the visitors of the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, also Yu. B. Levitan recited several reports of the Stalingrad direction for the film. These records were kept on the Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting in Volgograd as of 1985. ^[one]

The list of films by V.K. Magatayev ^[16] at the State TV and Radio Foundation ^{[17] [18]} indicated that with him the director of the film “Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad ” was D. Osokin. ( Probably a typo and should be read correctly - Anastasia Ivanovna Osokina ^[19] . A. Osokina is indicated in the credits to the 7th series. ) The film’s release date is 1968 ^[20] , not 1967 ^[12] . It is clear that the work on the film could take a long period of time, and therefore the discrepancy in years is quite real. ^[21]

A. I. Osokina , the spouse of ^[19] V.K. Magatayeva, helped her husband, the director and scriptwriter Vsevolod Petrovich Ershov, to work on all the film's series. ^[22] Over time, Anastasia Ivanovna Osokina became the chief director ^{[23] of the} Volgograd television studio ^[11] .

The editor of the film was M. Krasikhin.

During the shooting of the film, director Viktor Kadievich Magatayev noted organizational difficulties. In 1966, the regulation on the filming of documentaries was not streamlined; there was no order 418 on the State TV and Radio Company, according to which it was possible to record expenses on film and on film. Most of all, V.K. Magataev was worried about the state of health of the military leaders participating in the film, since some of them were already sick people and could not be under illumination for a long time. Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky, V.K. Magatayev, with cameraman V. Krasutsky, were decided to be removed under natural light, and Marshal Nikolai Nikolaevich Voronov was barred from doctors. Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky, after he went to the reserve, for the first time gave his consent to the shooting of this historical film. The film was shot without duplicates. The cameraman had no margin for error. Vladimir Krasutsky and Valery Kontaryov coped with the task.

While working on the script, V. P. Ershov and V. K. Magatayev came to the conclusion that two characters would lead the story of the battle - a simple soldier and a representative of the command. This technique could not be carried out through the entire narrative due to time constraints and the difficulty of writing the text for the soldier, and not from the author. Marshal G.Zhukov’s first meeting with script writer V.P. Ershov and film director V.K. Magatayev was intense. Georgy Konstantinovich thoroughly figured out how thoroughly prepared the author of the script and director was to solve the Stalingrad theme. It was a kind of exam. Marshal Zhukov undertook to advise the film and made the authors submit to him the scripts of all 7 episodes at once.

Directed by Viktor Kadievich Magatayev before the shooting set himself a condition: do not take film from the archives, not related to the Stalingrad direction, although there was more advantageous material. In the film there are no shots of the meetings or the work of our Supreme Command Headquarters or the State Defense Committee. There was a ban to shoot representatives of our rate, especially on the fronts. ^[one]

After the film went on the air, V. P. Ershov had fundamental disagreements with members of the Volgograd Regional Committee of the CPSU due to Vsevolod Petrovich Ershov’s categorical refusal to include in the film persons who had no relation to the filming and / or fighting during the Battle of Stalingrad . V.P. Ershov was relieved of his post as chairman of the Volgograd Regional Committee on Radio and Television. ^[24]

G. K. Zhukov spoke warmly about the authors of the film and thanked for its creation, appreciating the collective work. ^[21] Georgiy Konstantinovich liked the films. As director of the film Viktor Kadievich Magatayev writes, “... He appreciated our work, shook hands and strictly, according to Zhukovsky, without further ado, asked to convey thanks to the author Vsevolod Petrovich Ershov. And on the next day, Georgii Konstantinovich sent us, through a commissioner, his own, just published book “Memories and reflections”. The books were signed by the author and were intended for Yershov and me ... " ^[1]

The film is widely used shooting front-line cameramen, both Soviet and German. The authors of the Soviet military newsreels used in the film are listed in the credits of the first series ^[25] :

• G. Bendel
• A. Geraskin
• A. Grigoriev - performed work during synchronous shooting.
• Y. Fedorov

The first film was shown in the viewing room of the Volgograd television studio ^[29] and became the beginning of the cinematic history of Volgograd ^[30] . In the 60s of the 20th century, these films about the Battle of Stalingrad were replicated in all television studios of the USSR , shown on Central Television and abroad ^[31] . The audience of viewers was several million people ^{[32] [33] [5] [6] [34]} .

The show of the finished work also took place at the dacha of Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. Two of seven films were shown, in which G. K. Zhukov starred. This viewing took place in the summer of 1969, after Georgy Konstantinovich had a stroke, but was on his feet and leaned on a cane. When seven films were going on the first central television program, G. K. Zhukov could not watch them due to illness. The individual viewing was attended by the wife of Marshal G. K. Zhukova - Galina Aleksandrovna, the director of the film Victor Kadievich Magatayev, the charge officer of the Marshal - Major Predukhin Ivan Aleksandrovich and the mother of the wife Klavdiya Semenov. They showed the films “On the steppe boundaries” and “Operation Uranus.” While watching movies, when the episode about the birth of the idea of ​​surrounding the enemy grouping in the Stalingrad area passed, a tear flashed on Marshal’s cheek. ^[1]

In Kaliningrad on Russia-1, in 2015, the film continued to be broadcast. ^[35]

“In the sixties of the last century, several million people saw these shots. The pages of the Battle of Stalingrad, a film by Volgograd director Viktor Magatayev and screenwriter Vsevolod Yershov, instantly became a bestseller in the Soviet Union and even beyond. The seven episodes of the tape from the beginning to the end show the history of the most grandiose battle in the history of mankind. It is symbolic that the work on the film coincided with the completion of the construction of the memorial on Mamayev Kurgan. ” NEWS 03/30/2015 19:23“ EVENTS OF THE WEEK ”with Valery EKEL on March 29, 2015.

• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 1. On the steppe boundaries.
• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 2. August 23.
• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 3. Days and nights.
• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 4. Operation "Uranus".
• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 5. The rout of Manstein.
• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 6. The ring is compressed.
• Pages of the Battle of Stalingrad. 7. Victory.