Larisa Shepitko: biography and filmography

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

The famous Soviet film director Larisa Efimovna Shepitko was born on January 6, 1938 in the city of Artemovsk (Ukraine). She received her secondary education in a regular school, graduating in 1954. A year later, Larisa entered VGIK at the directing department. As a student, she starred in several films. Shepitko's graduation work was the full-length film "Heat" based on Aitmatov's work "Camel's Eye". Filming took place in Kyrgyzstan at the film studio "Kyrgyzfilm". During the editing of the picture, Larisa met Elem Klimov, who was also a student at VGIK. Young people began to meet, and in 1963 they got married.

Shooting and Botkin's disease

They were a beautiful couple. Both were distinguished by self-sufficiency, did not depend on each other in terms of work, but they could not be apart for a long time. Elem was several years older than his wife, but she graduated from VGIK much earlier. During the filming of the picture "Heat" the whole group picked up jaundice. I had to leave for a while, some of the actors left for Moscow, some, including Larisa and her husband, stayed. Weakened Shepitko directed the filming process, sitting onhospital stretcher. Elem handled the ongoing editing. Shooting in a slightly truncated version, but still continued.

Religion

Larisa was a believer, although she was considered a member of the Komsomol. She did not hide her religiosity, and this negatively affected her career, while atheism was in its prime. Shepitko was also convinced that there is an afterlife and the transmigration of souls. She was haunted by the feeling that she had once lived in the environment that now surrounded her. Once in a completely unfamiliar room, where she ended up with Elem, Larisa felt that she had once been here. She pointed to an ordinary table and said: they played cards here, this is a card table. When the tablecloth was removed, it turned out to be a green card cloth.

Career start

The diploma work of the novice director Larisa Shepitko was awarded the prize "For a successful debut" at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary in 1964. The picture also received a prize at the First All-Union Film Festival in Leningrad. Film critics noted that a new significant figure has appeared in the film industry, which has serious potential.

Larisa Shepitko, whose biography then opened another page, became famous after the release of her second film called "Wings", filmed in 1966. The film presented the story of the pilot Nadezhda Petrukhina and her post-war fate.

Participation of the local population infilming

Shepitko's next work - the film "The Motherland of Electricity" based on the stories of Andrey Platonov - was filmed in the Astrakhan region, in the village of Seroglazovo. The population of the surrounding villages was called to numerous minor roles. Larisa Shepitko became the first director who invited local residents who had no idea about cinematography to participate in the production. Filming was successful, but the film was shelved for ideological reasons.

Atmosphere of creativity

Cheerful Shepitko immediately took off her next picture "At the thirteenth hour of the night." It was a musical fairytale story on good color film with the participation of such actors as Georgy Vitsin, Vladimir Basov, Spartak Mishulin, Zinovy Gerdt and Anatoly Papanov. All actors worked willingly, feeling the benevolent attitude of the director. The film-tale turned out to be colorful, cheerful and informative.

Another color film called "You and I" was shot by Larisa Shepitko in 1971. It was a film on the topic of the day, frankly satirical and at the same time staged at a good artistic level. When creating the film, the director tried her hand as a screenwriter. Larisa Efimovna Shepitko created the plot of the future film together with Gennady Shpalikov, a professional cinematographer.

The film was about the thirties generation. According to the plot, two medical scientists "buried" their talent for the sake of material achievements and personal popularity of a very dubious nature. The main roles were played by Yuri Vizbor, Alla Demidova andLeonid Dyachkov. For this work, Larisa Efimovna Shepitko was awarded the medal "Victory in the Competition of Young Film Directors". After this award, the direction of her creative work has changed somewhat towards greater realism.

Popularity and recognition

Larisa Shepitko, whose films were distinguished by genuine sincerity, became more and more popular. She received bags of letters from fans and was very worried that she could not answer her admirers. Fame gave her strength, and Larisa Shepitko, whose photographs were posted in many newspapers and magazines, worked with redoubled energy. In 1974, she received recognition at the state level, becoming an Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

Many believe that the director's work is not a woman's job. Indeed, this profession is predominantly occupied by men. However, Larisa Shepitko is an exception, she is the first female director who received an official offer to work in Hollywood. The invitation was not accepted.

Contacts

Larisa closely communicated and was friends with famous representatives of Western cinema, among whom were Francis Coppola, Bernardo Bertolucci and others. She even became friends with the eccentric Liza Minnelli. Shepitko was shocked by the mores of Hollywood, widespread alcoholism, immorality, lack of elementary decency.

Energy

God kept Hollywood from Larisa Shepitko, otherwise she would have instantly subjugated to her willeveryone there, from young to old. The actress-director possessed a truly inhuman energy. Actor Alexei Petrenko, who played Rasputin in the film "Agony", lost all the iron will of his character, as soon as Shepitko appeared on the set, replacing her husband Elem Klimov for several days. But Rasputin had no equal in strength of mind, his bullets were not taken, death bypassed. Of course, the actor Petrenko is not Rasputin, but he has already got used to the image. And suddenly, from a legendary seer, Alexei turns into a weak-willed creature, just refuse the role.

Otherworldly powers

In the work of Larisa Shepitko there were always subtle mystical moods. The same was observed with Elem Klimov, her husband and directorial partner, who openly invited psychics, hypnotists, and soothsayers to the set. Once during the filming, Wolf Messing himself appeared. Larisa did not practice such invitations, but some spirit of the other world was also present in her work. As one producer remarked, "The set smells of brimstone."

Larisa foresaw her imminent death and willingly shared her feelings with loved ones. Filming "Farewell to Matyora" according to the scenario of Valentin Rasputin, she publicly declared that this was her last work. And so it happened, after the death of Larisa, Elem Klimov finished the story in memory of his wife and called it "Farewell".

The death of Larisa Shepitko

Early in the morning on July 2, 1979, the Volga movie machine22M was moving along a deserted highway one hundred and fifty kilometers west of Tver. Larisa Shepitko, cameraman Vladimir Chukhnov, artist Yury Fomenko and assistants were in the car. Far ahead loomed an oncoming car, it was a massive truck that was rapidly approaching.

When the distance between the cars was reduced to a hundred meters, "Volga" suddenly swerved and flew into the oncoming lane. A strong blow followed, no one had a chance to survive. Larisa Shepitko was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in Moscow. Thirty-six years have passed, and fans often gather at the grave with bouquets of fresh flowers.

Larisa Shepitko, filmography

Most of the directorial works of Larisa Shepitko contain scenes with her participation, since she was a professional actress and willingly played in her films.

If she was invited to some role in someone else's film, she did not refuse, but on the condition that her character would be secondary.

Such films were:

• "Carnival Night", episodic role.
• "Poem of the Sea", episode.
• "An Ordinary Story", Nina's character.
• "Tavriya", the role of Ganna.
• "Sport, sport, sport", queen character, cameo role.
• "Agony", short episode.

On account of Larisa Shepitko five scenarios:

• "Farewell" based on the work of Valentin Rasputin, script written in 1978.
• "Climbing" bynovel by Vasil Bykov, script created in 1976.
• "You and Me", own work, 1971.
• "The Motherland of Electricity", script written in 1967 based on a novel by Andrey Platonov.
• "Heat", the script Shepitko wrote in 1963 specifically for her thesis, based on the story of the same name by Chingiz Aitmatov.

Director's work

• "The Blind Cooker", short film, term paper, filmed 1956.
• "Water of Life", short, term paper, 1957.
• Heat, Feature Film, Thesis, 1963.
• "Wings" - the first film project directed by Shepitko, filmed in 1966.
• "The birthplace of electricity", film almanac, 1967.
• "At thirteen o'clock at night", fairy tale film, 1969.
• "You and Me", 1971.
• "Rise", 1976.
• "Farewell to Matera", 1979 (work in progress).