Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Fedorovich Bondarchuk was a Soviet and Russian actor, film director, and screenwriter who was one of the leading figures of Russian cinema of the 1950s, 1960s and 70s. He is known for his sweeping period dramas including the internationally acclaimed 4-part adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace and the Napoleonic War epic Waterloo.
Bondarchuk's work won him numerous international accolades. His epic production of Tolstoy's War and Peace won Bondarchuk, who both directed and acted in the leading role of Pierre Bezukhov, the Golden Globe Award for "Best Foreign Language Film", and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1968. He was made both a Hero of Socialist Labour and a People's Artist of the USSR.
Early life
Born in Belozerka, in the Kherson Governorate of the Ukrainian SSR, 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. After his studies, he was conscripted into the Red Army during the WWII against Nazi Germany. He was decorated for his courage in battles and was discharged with honors in 1946.Film career
In 1948, Bondarchuk made his film debut in The Young Guard directed by Sergei Gerasimov. In 1952, he was awarded the State Prize for the leading role in the film Taras Shevchenko 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 1956, he starred with his future wife Irina Skobtseva in Othello. In 1959, he made his directorial debut with Destiny of a Man, based on the Mikhail Sholokhov short story of the same name.Bondarchuk earned international fame with his epic production of Tolstoy's War and Peace, which on original release totaled more than seven hours of cinema, took six 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 Martin 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. In Europe the critics called it remarkable for the epic battle scenes and details in capturing the Napoleonic era. 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 1973 he was the President of the Jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.
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. His 1986 film Boris Godunov was also screened at Cannes that year.
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. After his death, the film remained locked for several years until it was recovered and released in 2006.
In 1995 he was posthumously awarded an Honorable Diploma for contribution to cinema at the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.
Personal life
He first married Inna Makarova, mother to his oldest daughter, Natalya Bondarchuk. Natalya is remembered for her role in Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 film Solaris.He met his second wife Irina Skobtseva when both were appearing in Othello, and they married in 1959. They had two children, actress Elena Bondarchuk and a son Fyodor,, a popular Russian film actor and director best known for his box-office hit The 9th Company.
Death
Bondarchuk died on 20 October 1994, aged 74, from a heart attack. He is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. In June 2007, his ex-wife Inna Makarova unveiled a bronze statue of Bondarchuk in his native Yeysk.Honours and awards
- Stalin Prize, 1st class – for the main role in the film Taras Shevchenko and the role of Sergei Tutarinov in Knight of the Golden Star
- USSR State Prize – for the film Red Bells
- Lenin Prize – for the film The Destiny of Man
- Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film – for the film War and Peace
- Academy Award for "Best Foreign Language Film – for the film War and Peace
- Hero of Socialist Labour
- State Prize of the RSFSR Vasiliev brothers – for the film They Fought for Their Motherland
- USSR State Prize Taras Shevchenko – for his performance as Cardinal Montanelli in the film The Gadfly
- Order of Lenin, twice
- Order of October Revolution
- Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour
- People's Artist of the USSR
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | Fate of a Man | Andrei Sokolov | |
| 1966–1967 | War and Peace | Pierre Bezukhov | |
| 1970 | Waterloo | ||
| 1975 | They Fought for Their Country | Zvyagintsev | |
| 1977 | The Steppe | Yemelian | |
| 1982 | Red Bells | ||
| 1983 | Red Bells II | ||
| 1986 | Boris Godunov | Boris Godunov | |
| 1993-2006 |
;Writer