Yuri Ozerov - creator of epic films about the Great Patriotic War

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

Soviet director Yury Ozerov entered the history of world cinema as the creator of such epic films as "Liberation" and "Battle for Moscow". On the eve of the May anniversary of the great victory, let's remember these wonderful paintings and their creator.

Biography - participation in the Great Patriotic War, years of study

Yuri Ozerov was born in the family of opera singer Nikolai Ozerov. The mother of the future director came from a noble family. The younger brother Nikolai later became the most famous and beloved by many sports commentators.

The theater family could not help but have a huge impact on the education of the future director. The Ozerovs were often visited by such famous artists as Konstantin Stanislavsky, Sergei Lemeshev, Leonid Sobinov, Vladimir Kachalov.

From an early age, showing a love for art, Yuri Ozerov studied at an art school, and then entered GITIS. The war prevented her from graduating. The future film director was drafted into the Red Army and went through the entire war. Having started his service as an ordinary signalman, he graduated from the Military Army a year before the end of the war.academy and was promoted to major.

The severity of the soldier's service and the horrors of war did not change Ozerov's desire to continue his studies. He returned to GITIS, in which at first he felt extremely uncomfortable - he was already an adult and had seen a lot, and now mostly young girls were studying next to him.

After some time, Ozerov entered the directing department of VGIK. Such future famous directors as Sergey Parajanov and Marlen Khutsiev studied with him on the same course.

Early work

Yuri Ozerov started shooting his first pictures in 1950s. They were not much different from traditional Soviet cinema: the ideas of the victory of socialism, a happy present and no less bright future for every Soviet citizen. Ozerov's early works include the tapes "Kochubey" (about the hero of the Civil War), "Son" and "Fortune". They went almost unnoticed by the audience.

Ozerov was a rather conservative director, but among his early works there is a special picture - the adventure comedy "Big Road". This is a film about Yaroslav Hasek, but the director will never make such a light and witty film again.

Filmography of the famous director - the most significant works

The most famous film directed by the director is the epic "Liberation". Yuri Ozerov in 1960 was among the members of the procurement commission, which visited the United States. There he saw a picture dedicated to the opening of the Second Front. Ozerov, as a participant in the war, was struck and outraged by the fact that in the American film nono word was said about the First Front.

Returning to his homeland, the director obtained from the authorities consent to the creation of a national monumental film about the feat of the Soviet people during the war years at the front and in the rear. The film epic by Yuri Ozerov "Liberation" was created by filmmakers from several countries. It consists of 5 parts, the plot of which covers the period from the Kursk Bulge to the capture of Berlin.

The scale of the film is astonishing - 51 historical figures are involved in it, and most of the prototypes were alive at the time of filming, which made it very difficult for the selection of actors. It was necessary to find performers not only with the maximum portrait resemblance, but also to obtain consent from the prototype of the character to use his image in the filming.

The creators of the film epic were consulted by hundreds of participants in those events and experts. Ozerov paid great attention to details - the costumes of the heroes had to exactly match the historical period. For example, Soviet uniforms of those years were taken from warehouses where they had been stored all these years, and Stalin's uniform was sewn by his personal tailor.

The first film in the series was released in 1970. The show was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the victory.

The epic filming took 5 years.

Nikolai Ozerov, despite the fact that the shooting of the picture was under the state order of the government, he tried to tell as truthfully as possible about the events of the war years. He was incredibly lucky - in the picture they were allowed to leave the episode with General Vlasov and his sonStalin Yakov.

In 1977, the director completed work on the next film epic - the film "Soldiers of Freedom".

Film "Battle for Moscow"

In 1985, a two-episode film was released about the two most important events of the war - the defense of the Brest Fortress and the battle for the capital.

The film "Battle for Moscow" is a fusion of fiction and documentary. There are no fictional characters in it - only real historical figures.

The film "Stalingrad", released in 1989, completed Ozerov's cycle of films about the Great Patriotic War.

Oh sport, you are the world

Nikolai Ozerov has in his filmography another picture that received recognition from the audience - a film about the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow. A bright, dynamic tape, full of the most important events, which are shown through the eyes of the contestants, could not leave the viewer indifferent. And the famous footage of farewell to the symbol of the Olympics, the Bear, touches the heart even today.

Recent works of the director

In 1993, Ozerov finished editing the series "Tragedy of the Century", based on his previous works about the events of the Great Patriotic War. In the same year, the military drama Angels of Death was released. The director's latest work was a feature documentary about Georgy Zhukov.

Conclusion

Yuri Ozerov's films are an unforgettable page in our history. In his paintings, the famous director tried to show the truth, albeit impartial, aboutwar years and recall the feats performed daily on the battlefields.