Petrov, Vladimir Mikhailovich (director)

Vladimir Petrov was born on July 10 (22), 1896 in St. Petersburg .

He studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and, at the same time, at the Drama Courses of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater School (now the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts ) (student of Yu. M. Yuryev ).

During the First World War he graduated from the Odessa school of ensigns and served in the army. Member of the Civil War ^[1] .

He began his creative activity as a dramatic actor, since 1917 he played in the Forest Winter Theater in Petrograd . Since 1918 - an actor and director in the troupe of the famous theater director G. Craig in England . He returned to Russia in 1920 .

There are other versions of his life in these years. According to the writer B. L. Vasiliev , rumors circulated in the creative environment that V. Petrov was a white officer, a participant in the First Kuban campaign , who was captured but released at the personal request of K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko .

According to another version, he served as the head of counterintelligence with the commander of the Volunteer Army A.I. Denikin , but voluntarily sided with the Bolsheviks . He was also called a reconnaissance officer in the rear of the army of General K.K. Mamontov and an English spy who surrendered agents, for which he was pardoned ^[2] .

In 1924 he studied at the film courses directed by V.K. Viskovsky , in 1925 he graduated from film courses of N. Morozov in Leningrad and began working as an assistant director at the Sevzapkino film studio (now the Lenfilm film studio). He worked with V.K. Viskovsky, S.A. Timoshenko , G.M. Kozintsev and L.Z. Trauberg .

In 1928, his first directorial work took place - together with N. Ya. Beresnev, he directed the children's film Golden Honey, which tells about the re-education of street children in a children's labor commune. This film was several years ahead of another well-known film about homeless children - “A Trip to Life ” (1931). His subsequent paintings were also intended for children and youth - “Joy and Druzhok” ( 1928 , with M. Khukhunashvili), “Address of Lenin” ( 1929 ), “Fritz Bauer” ( 1930 ).

Among the leading Soviet filmmakers came after the film adaptation of the play by A. N. Ostrovsky “The Storm” ( 1934 ), in which the acting ensemble was composed as part of A. K. Tarasova , V. O. Massalitinova , M. M. Tarhanova , M. I Tsareva , M. I. Zharova .

The famous film director’s work was the large-scale historical film “Peter the First” ( 1937 - 1939 ) according to a script written by him together with A. N. Tolstoy . The title role in it was played by N.K. Simonov , and this work became the largest acting achievement of Soviet cinema of the 1930s.

Since 1943 - director of the Mosfilm film studio. In 1944 he shot the film “Kutuzov” , in which A. D. Wild played the main role. In 1945, the director transferred to the screen the play by A. N. Ostrovsky “Guilty Without Guilt,” awarded the Venice Film Festival prize, and in 1948 - 1949 put on the film “Battle of Stalingrad” .

The screen versions of Russian literary classics remained at the center of the filmmaker’s creativity and in the 1950s - “The Inspector” (according to N.V. Gogol , 1952 ), “The Duel” (according to A. I. Kuprin , 1957 ) and “The Eve” (according to I. . S. Turgenev , 1959 ). The last work was the painting "Russian Forest" , set by him in 1964 based on the novel by L. M. Leonov .

He was the author of the scripts for most of his films.

Vladimir Petrov died on January 7, 1966 in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery (plot number 6).

Family

• Wife - Ketevan Georgievna Petrova, nee Princess Dadiani ^[2] .

• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1935)
• People's Artist of the USSR (1950)
• Stalin Prize of the first degree ( 1941 ) - for the film "Peter I" (1937, 1938)
• Stalin Prize of the first degree ( 1946 ) - for the film "Kutuzov" (1943)
• Stalin Prize of the second degree ( 1946 ) - for the film “Guilty Without Guilt” (1945)
• Stalin Prize of the first degree ( 1950 ) - for the film "Battle of Stalingrad" (1949)
• Order of Lenin (1938)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1944)
• Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• IFF in Venice (Cup for one of the six best films, the film "Thunderstorm") (1934)
• World Exhibition "Art and Technology in Contemporary Life" in Paris (Special Diploma, film "Peter the First (Series 1)") (1937)
• IFF in Venice (Brass medal, for the film “Guilty Without Guilt”) (1945)
• IFF in Karlovy Vary ( Crystal Globe Award for the film "Battle of Stalingrad") (1948-1949)
• 4th IFF in Marianske Lazne (Main Prize for the film " Battle of Stalingrad ") (1949)
• International Film Festival of Workers in Gotvaldov , Czechoslovakia (Victory Prize, the film "Battle of Stalingrad") (1949) ^[3] .

• Petrov Vladimir Mikhailovich // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.