The beautiful city, praised by poets, on the Neva, 1927. It was at this time that the son of Vladimir was born into the family of the famous cameraman Naum Solomonovich Naumov-Strazh and his charming and talented wife, actress and teacher at VGIK, Agnia Burmistrova.
Doomed to success
From childhood, the boy was doomed to success, because he was brought up in an atmosphere of constant filming, discussion of scripts and rehearsals. Famous actors, films with the participation of which made the whole Soviet people cry and laugh, were for Vladimir an aunt and uncle who happily fumbled with a smart kid and predicted a great future for him. Vladimir Naumov, whose biography was already initially predetermined, did not disappoint the expectations of his relatives, he brilliantly graduated from the VGIK directing department and became an assistant to his teacher Savchenko in the films “Taras Bulba” and “Third Impact”.
On the set, he met with Alov, a creative union with which will bring him world fame in the future. During the filming, a tragedy occurred, and the main director died suddenly, Naumov became the head of the group and managed to brilliantly finish the picture, which immediately fell in love with the multimillion-dollar audience.
Alov and Naumov
After such a successful debut, Naumov became very popular; he was elected the head of the Soyuz studio. He, along with his co-author Alov, begins filming epic revolutionary films. This topic was very popular in those days and almost all famous directors turned to revolutionary themes, but not everyone managed to shoot as realistically and at the same time with such a romantic touch as Alexander Alov and Vladimir Naumov managed to do.
The painting "How Steel Was Tempered" turned out to be a true masterpiece, which was included in all the world anthologies of cinema. The well-known work sounded in a new way, a wonderful selection of young talented actors made this film truly folk. The creative tandem was gaining momentum, films of Vladimir Naumov were waiting impatiently, kilometer queues lined up in front of the cinemas. This is true popular recognition.
General recognition of the master
The directors became famous abroad after the film "Peace to the incoming." Critics reacted very favorably to Soviet directors, the film received a large number of international awards and prizes.
Despite such fame and understanding on the part of the Soviet authorities, Vladimir Naumov remained a true master, far from politics and removing what he considers necessary. The proof of this is the adaptation of Dostoevsky's "Bad Joke" with Evstigneev in the title role. The film turned out to be very realistic and officials from the cinema considered it rebellious and anti-Soviet. For a long time, the picture lay on the shelf, only in 1987 she saw the light and was appreciated by the audience. Vladimir Naumov proved himself to be a true master of a psychological film, whether it be an adaptation of a famous work or just a modern script. His characters turn out to be vivid and memorable, the tragedy of situations always turns out to be so vital that on-screen heroes viewers often recognize themselves.
"Run"
The most significant in the fate of the tandem was the film adaptation of M. Bulgakov’s famous novel "Running". I must say that Bulgakov was not particularly welcomed in those days, he was hardly published, and blind copies of the hand-printed novel The Master and Margarita walked around the country. Therefore, the bold decision to make a film about the White Guards, which are shown by ordinary Russian worthy people with their sufferings, love for their homeland, ideals and life tragedies, was a kind of challenge.
The creative team of actors was perfectly matched; a mystery of great literature was being created on the set. The usual patterns were forgotten, because the White Guards seemed to be some sort of bandits, oppressing and destroying their compatriots. The main tragedy of an entire generation of brilliant officers who have become the toys of the regime and revolution makes us cry and laugh. The premiere of the film was akin to a bomb blast. Director Vladimir Naumov completely crossed out the hackneyed stereotypes of Soviet cinema and went to a different level of skill.
"The Legend of Thiel"
The most important thing in the union of two like-minded people was the desire to create cinema for everyone, but not ordinary films and adaptations, and in each new film, the personality of the directors themselves was more and more revealed. "The Legend of Thiel" was filmed for the first time, until Naumov no one thought about the interesting storyline of the great work. Young people appreciated this picture, and the film became very popular. The older generation, who remembered the revolutionary patriotic films of Alov and Naumov, reacted more coolly to the film and accused the directors of flirting with the West and creating non-Soviet, ideologically seasoned films, but this did not affect their creative plans, because Tehran-43 was ahead. Vladimir Naumov, whose biography is rich in interesting significant achievements, worked on the film with particular interest, he was already an experienced director, and he wanted innovative ideas and an original approach to a well-known topic.
Tehran-43
The problems of the individual in world history and the ability of an individual to influence the course of history were not usually raised by Soviet directors, since from childhood they spoke of a person as a cog in a huge state machine. Personal qualities were not welcomed, and therefore the film "Tehran-43" can be considered the first in a number of films on this topic.
Constant leaps in time, parallel plots, a historical theme and a completely unusual selection of actors made this picture a masterpiece of cinematic art. Young Belokhvostikova and Alain Delon looked like creatures from another planet, the film was fascinated by the fact that the story was fictional, there were prototypes of the main characters. It was an absolute victory.
Muse
Director Vladimir Naumov created the film for centuries, it is still watched with interest by people of different ages. The second wife of Vladimir Naumov, Natalia Belokhvostikova, became the director's muse. In addition to exceptional beauty, the young actress had remarkable talent and instinct, she played many scenes as she saw fit, and subsequently Vladimir agreed with the vision of his wife. Natalia Belokhvostikova and Vladimir Naumov were an ideal pair of two talented people who are completely complementary to each other. It is impossible to list all the titles and awards that they received for their work. The director’s constant muse always brought new nuances to the joint work, from these interesting finds the films became even more interesting. Alexey Naumov, the son of Vladimir Naumov from his first marriage with the famous actress Elsa Lezhdey, did not follow in the footsteps of his father, he became an artist and eventually gained great fame both at home and abroad. In the second marriage, Naumov had a daughter, who, at the insistence of her father, was named in honor of her mother Natalia.
In general, the unexpected meeting of the eminent maestro and a young girl proves love at first sight and the fact that marriages are made in heaven. Natalya Belokhvostikova and Vladimir Naumov met on the plane when the director flew to present his picture at the next festival, it turned out that Natalya was also sent there as the nominated starring actor in the film "At the Lake".
Family happiness
They each received their prizes, and relations began to develop rapidly. Many discouraged 18-year-old Natalya from this marriage, but she firmly stood her ground and turned out to be right. Their family turned out to be strong, and they lived very happily for many years, until the death of the director. Vladimir Naumov, whose biography was originally predetermined, left an invaluable mark in Russian cinema, his films are still alive and still delight the audience.