Alexey Yurievich German is a film director, a person for whom quality is much more important than quantity. He worked for a very long time on each of his paintings, and also did not miss the opportunity to write a script, in which he was helped by his beloved wife - Svetlana Karmalita. There is always much less talk about directors than about actors. Therefore, the younger generation may not know who Alexei German is. Which films are his merit? How did this man live? What has he achieved in his life?
Biography
07/20/1938 in the Leningrad family of Tatyana Alexandrovna and her husband, writer Yuri Pavlovich, the son Alexei was born - the future film director, actor, screenwriter. Soon it became known about the beginning of the war, and he moved with his mother to Arkhangelsk, and his father ended up in the Northern Fleet. After that, the family moved to Komarovo (at that time Kelomyakkhi), as little Lesha developed tuberculosis. There he went to school, immediately in the third grade, and it was at that time that he began to show his love for books - he was completely immersed in reading.
In the 48th year of the last century, Alexey returned to Leningrad with his parents. In the afternoon, he was seriously engaged in boxing, and in the evenings did not miss the opportunity to go to the theater for a performance. At that time, German dreamed of becoming a doctor, visited the library and read a lot of literature on this topic.
Why did he become a director and decided to devote his entire life to cinema? The main contribution was made by Yuri Pavlovich and his friends. However, in order to arouse interest in creativity in Alexei, it did not take much effort. Already in 1955, he became a student in the directing department of the Leningrad Institute.
Student years
It so happened that Herman was surrounded by people much older than him. Many already had higher education, and Aleksei Yuryevich himself said that he should have got into just such a group, as he always tried to reach out to his senior comrades and strove to ensure that he was not worse and dumber.
However, there were some difficulties. At first, the 17-year-old Lesha was accused of being a âwriterâs sonâ and took someone's place at the university. But soon the teacher Arkady Katsman returned to the university, who later became a professor. He looked at the student sketches, and then said that the most talented was with Herman, and this moment became decisive. And then there was the first session, which also played a role in the fate of Alexei - he was one of the few who received a rating of "five", while the rest - triples and fours.
Fateful was his graduation staging. âOrdinary Miracleâ (author - E. L. Schwartz) made a lasting impression on everyone who saw him. Among those who watched the play was G. A. Tovstonogov, after which he invited Alexei German to work at his Bolshoi Drama Theater. Here, the cinematic thinking of the future legend was fully formed.
Herman came to Lenfilm in 1964. In cinema, his first work was Vengerov's painting "Worker Village", in which he took the place of the second director. And three years later, together with G. Aronov, they staged The Seventh Satellite.
The first independent work of Alexei Yuryevich was the picture "Operation" Happy New Year "", the script of which was written according to the story of his father. Filming ended in 1971, but the film appeared on the screens only 14 years later under the name "Check on the road."
Personal life
In 1970, Alexei German, a film director, married scriptwriter Svetlana Karmalit. She became not only his first and only wife, but also a permanent co-author. Subsequently, she became a screenwriter, Honored Artist. 6 years after the wedding, they had a child, son Alexei, who followed in the footsteps of his parents.
Alexey German: filmography
In total, the great director has four pictures. It may seem a little. But Alexey Yuryevich put all his strength into them, made them become the best. And they became such - they all entered the golden fund of Russian cinema. The last, fifth picture of Herman, was released in 2013, the year of his death. This is a film adaptation of the Strugatskyâs novel âIt Is Hard to Be a Godâ. The cinema master worked on it for more than 10 years.
The first independent work, as already mentioned, was the picture "Check on the road" with Rolan Bykov and Anatoly Solonitsyn in the lead roles. The film provoked strong criticism and condemnation, but already in 1988 Alexei was awarded the USSR State Prize.
In 1976, the equally popular painting âTwenty Days Without Warâ was published (based on the work of Konstantin Simonov). The main performers were Lyudmila Gurchenko and Yuri Nikulin. By chance, the film reached Paris, although in his homeland it was released on the screen "through the teeth," as Alexey German himself said. In France, the Cannes Film Festival was held at this time . The picture was so liked by the world community that the film director was awarded the well-known award in the cinema - named after Georges Sadul.
âMy friend Ivan Lapshinâ made a positive impression on everyone who watched it. The film earned a sea of ââapplause, endless congratulations poured on Alexei Yuryevich and the entire crew. The film was aired in 1984, and in 1998 Russia met âKhrustalev, the car!â, And again German received several awards for his work.
The last picture of a great filmmaker is called "It's Hard to Be a God." He worked on it for more than 10 years, as already mentioned, but did not have time to finish it. In 2013, Hermann Sr. died, and his son completed the work, thanks to which in the same year the movie appeared on the screens.
Acting
Alexey German - the actor is also wonderful. He played the following roles:
- journalist at Rafferty;
- Nikolai Dmitrievich in the film "Sergei Ivanovich retires";
- Konstantin Mustafidi in the film "Directorâs Personal Life";
- Lesny in the film "Time has passed";
- Klamm in the "Castle";
- a doctor at the Mania Giselle.
Alexey Yuryevich German as a screenwriter
Scenarios for his two paintings were written by Alexei German himself (the films Khrustalev, the car and It is difficult to be a god). He also worked for other tapes:
- "The Legend of the Brave Khochbar."
- "There lived a brave captain."
- "Sit next, Bear."
- "Torpedo bombers."
- "Journey to the Caucasus Mountains."
- "The death of Otrar."
- "My combat crew."
Awards
Alexey German Sr. (his filmography consists of only a few paintings) received almost recognition or award for almost every work:
- 1988 - Honored Artist.
- 1992 - The Golden Aries.
- 1994 - People's Artist of Russia.
- 1998 - Triumph.
- 1998 - S. Dovlatov Prize.
- 2003 and 2012 - Tsarskoye Selo Art Award.
- 2008 - Order of Honor for contribution to the development of cinema.
- Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree.
Alexei German died on February 21, 2013, he was 74 years old. This is a wonderful person, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. He put a piece of soul into his paintings, and precisely because of this, today, viewers can not only watch them, but also enjoy them.