Vadim Yusov: biography, films, teaching activities

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

This is the most talented cameraman of the Soviet Union and Russia. Vadim Yusov has created a large number of films together with Georgy Danelia, Sergei Bondarchuk, Andrei Tarkovsky and many other directors.

Biography of the legend

He was born in a small village in the Leningrad region called Klavdino in 1929 on April 20th. After graduating from school, he moved to live in Moscow and went to work at a metal products factory there. After working for almost three years, I realized that the soul lies in a completely different profession.

Vadim Yusov, the chief operator of the Soviet Union, decides to enter VGIK at the camera department. At the institute, he went through the school of B. I. Volchek. In 1954, he received an education, and immediately became an assistant cameraman at Mosfilm, and after only three years he became a director of photography at the same film studio.

The first serious work with which he acted as director of photography was Andrei Tarkovsky's The Skating Rink and the Violin. After the debut, the work of Yusov and Tarkovsky continued. Together they filmed such masterpieces as Andrey Rublev, Soryalis and Ivan's Childhood.

After the success of these paintingsthe director of photography was offered work in such films as “Don't Cry!” and "I'm Walking in Moscow" by Georgy Daneliya, and "Boris Godunov" and "They Fought for the Motherland" by Sergei Bondarchuk.

Since 1968, Vadim Yusov has been an Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR. On October 3, 1979, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1982 he received the Lenin Prize. Since 1983, Vadim Yusov has been a cameraman and head of the department of cameramanship. He taught young directors the skill that he himself possessed by lecturing at VGIK. Was a professor of the department.

Unfortunately, at the age of 84, a unique cameraman, director and actor Vadim Yusov passed away. On August 23, 2013, he was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Yusov's motto

The cameraman was very fond of his work, he could talk about it for hours on end. He praised her and told her how difficult she was. In his monologue, you can learn a lot about the author himself and about his life priorities. Despite the fact that Vadim Yusov, whose personal life was inextricably linked with cinema, had worked as an operator for almost thirty years, he admitted that he still knew too little about his profession. He liked to say: "There is no difficult work, there is interesting" - which was his motto in life.

It's hard to imagine that the operator, who shot a huge number of film masterpieces, was once fired from the Mosfilm film studio due to lack of ability. To date, everyone notes his high professionalism, which is technically far ahead of his own.time.

Back in 1963, while filming the film "I'm Walking Through Moscow," officials viewing the film were amazed at how it was possible to film it without a helicopter. And during the filming of "They Fought for the Motherland", military officials were so imbued with the cameraman that they gave him a helicopter as a token of respect. And Vadim Yusov, as a dedicated cameraman, used him in the film, filming him in the fall.

Work Style

He treated his work with special trepidation and all responsibility. In working on the pictures, he was distinguished from other operators by the thoroughness of the choice of light and nature, the selection of the necessary optical and stabilization equipment, the selection of the composition of the frame, and with all this, also an academic approach.

At that time, the film industry was not in its prime, in order to get the right and unique shot, it was necessary to constantly improve shooting techniques and equipment in order to make a great film. Vadim Yusov, chief cinematographer for Andrei Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood and Andrei Rublev, himself invented the specific camera movements required for these films.

Prizes and awards

For all his creative activity, he received a huge number of prizes and awards. He was encouraged both by awards for his contribution to creative activity in general, and for individual paintings.

He has three Nika awards in his collection, received in 1991, 1992 and 2004. The first two were awarded as the best cameraman for the films "Passport" and "Prorva", and the third - "For contribution tocinematic criticism, education and science.”

In addition to "Niki", for the film "Prorva", Vadim Yusov received the "Constellation" Film Festival "Constellation" award in 1993 for the outstanding shooting of performers, and in 1992 at the French Film Festival in Chalons - the CIDALC award.

For the painting "I'm walking around Moscow" in 1964 he was awarded the prize of the VKF. And in 1977, for the film “They Fought for the Motherland”, released in 1975, he was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR named after the Vasilyev brothers.

It was symbolic to receive the Lenin Prize in 1982 for the film “Karl Marx. Youth". In 1984 he was awarded the State Prize, as well as the Order of IV degree "For Merit to the Fatherland" in 1996.

It is worth noting the receipt in 2002 of a special prize from the President of Russia "For outstanding contribution to the development of Russian cinema."

In 2010 he received the last award in his life - the Order of Honor.

Filmography

During his entire creative career, he not only made films, but also starred in some of them himself. So, in the film "Penny", filmed in 2002, he not only worked as a cameraman, but also starred in a cameo role.

He mostly appeared in documentaries. These include: "Russian artist Alexei Shmarinov", "Man in the frame", "Vasily Merkuriev. While the heart is beating”, “Great combinators”, “Islands”, etc. Yusov also tried his hand as a screenwriter. So in 1974, the film "Purely English Murder" was released, the cameraman and screenwriter of which was Vadim Yusov.

WhatAs for his camera work, it is difficult to even count the pictures taken by him. More than thirty films were published with the light hand of the master. The most popular of them were: "They fought for the Motherland", "Don't Cry!", "Solaris", "Andrei Rublev", "I'm walking around Moscow", "Ivan's Childhood" and many others.

I'm walking around Moscow

The picture was published in 1963. A huge film crew worked on the film, and Georgy Daneliya, the director, and Vadim Yusov, the chief cameraman, were in charge. Photographs of Moscow in the 60s captured on film still evoke nostalgia in us today. Over the years, the capital has changed beyond recognition.

The film "I'm walking around Moscow" saw the capital in a completely new light. She was shown more picturesquely and plastically. Shots of wet asph alt taken after a summer rain, hurrying passers-by against the background of static plans of architecture, panoramic images of the city taken from high points - all this gave the picture an extraordinary depth and filled with a unique atmosphere.

They fought for the Motherland

The second most popular, but not the most important, picture taken by Vadim Yusov. A 1975 film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. The film is based on the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov. The action of the picture takes place at the most terrible time for the Soviet people, when the whole course of the war was turned in a bloody battle, but, unfortunately, a large number of officers and soldiers of the Soviet army died in this battle.