Without knowledge of the past, humanity has no future. If we do not know our great ancestors, what can we be proud of? It is wonderful when there are works devoted to the history of the country. More recently, the film "Poddubny" was released with Porechenkov in the title role. In the center of the picture is the story of one of the most famous Russian professional wrestlers, a man with a very interesting fate.
Russian hero from the Cossack clan
Ivan Poddubny was born in Poltava county, in Ukraine. An impressive physique and heroic strength was inherited from his ancestors, Zaporizhzhya Cossacks. By today's standards, the growth of Poddubny is not phenomenal - it was 184 centimeters, but its strength and endurance were amazing. During his career as a fighter, he has not lost a single tournament or competition. There were losses in individual fights, but they can be counted on the fingers.
Prior to the release of the film "Poddubny" (2014), the reviews of which are very mixed, the name of the famous Russian hero was known only among wrestling fans. But at the beginning of the century it thundered throughout Russia and far beyond its borders. So who is Ivan Poddubny? 2014 made it possible to recall the name of a wonderful Russian wrestler.
How to become champions
Many legends are associated with the name of the Russian athlete. They said that in the circus he performed with an amazing number. He placed a telegraph pole on his shoulders and 10 people hung on both sides of it. The number ended when the pole broke under the weight. True or beautiful fiction, it’s hard to say now, there is little documentary evidence about the wrestler. According to another legend, he decided to perform in the circus solely out of a desire to please Emilia, who liked the Poddubny gymnast. How did the glory of the great fighter begin?
Accustomed to hard physical labor from childhood, the future famous athlete worked from an early age. He was a loader in the port of Feodosia, when he first visited the circus and saw famous wrestlers. A very powerful young man decided to volunteer for a duel. He was able to win only in the fight on the sash, losing in the end to the real giant Peter Yankovsky. The future athlete always suffered defeats. He realized that it was impossible to defeat professionals by the power of one’s tactics and self-discipline. From that moment, Poddubny decided to connect his future life with sports and become a fighter.
He began performing in the circus of Truzzi and quickly gained popularity. After escaping with Emilia’s lover, the wrestler leaves for Kiev. And then an important event takes place in his life - he receives an invitation to become the representative of Russia in the international competition for the title of world champion. It turned out that his successes have long been monitored and chosen as the best candidate. So began the ascent to world fame of the Russian athlete Ivan Poddubny.
The tragedy of the Russian hero
With incredible physical strength, the great Russian athlete performed until the age of 70. His last exit on the carpet took place in 1941. After the war, he lived in terrible poverty and starved. The powerful organism of Poddubny needed much more food than an ordinary person. The card system could not feed the wrestler. He died in 1949 from a heart attack. If not for the difficult conditions of the last years of his life, the famous wrestler would have lived much more. His family was famous for good health and stamina, and he, like his grandfather, could live up to 120 years.
The plot of the picture
The film "Poddubny", reviews of which are diverse - from enthusiastic to extremely negative - tells the story of the famous Russian athlete. A fairly common technique is used for this - there is a story about the trip of the already world-famous athlete to America, and in parallel with him, the viewer is shown how the path to professional wrestlers of the young Poddubny began.
Not without some distortion of facts. This primarily affected the love line. In fact, Poddubny fell in love much more often than shown in the picture, and gymnast Masha was not his first love at all. But the fact that she meant a lot to him, and her death greatly influenced the athlete, is true.
Mikhail Porechenkov: what the actor had to do for the role
The outward resemblance of an actor to a character is very important for the viewer. So it’s easier for him to plunge into the atmosphere of the picture, to believe what is happening on the screen. If the main character is a historical person, the choice of an actor becomes even more important. It is not always possible to achieve absolute similarity, but it happens that the actor and the hero he plays are strikingly similar. It happened with Mikhail Porechenkov. If you compare the parameters of the actor and the famous wrestler, then they will be almost identical. Growth Poddubny - 184 centimeters, Michael - 182.
By weight, the wrestler beat the actor - 118 against 93 kilograms. So it turned out that Porechenkov in the role of Poddubny was more than convincing. And the problem with weight was solved using a special diet. Yes, gaining weight is just as difficult as losing extra pounds, a special diet is also selected for this.
Juggling kilograms
To participate in the film, the actor gained 25 kilograms. Trainer Nikolai Danilov-Nitusov strictly followed the diet of Porechenkov and helped him during weight gain and weight loss. The fact is that Mikhail played Poddubny in his youth and adulthood. Therefore, we had to change body weight several times during the shooting - from 108 to 118 kilograms.
But just gaining weight is not enough. The actor trained hard 4 times a week, performing strength exercises to gain muscle mass.
We must pay tribute to the actor - not every actor will decide on such experiments with weight. Renee Zellweger, who had to gain a lot of weight twice in order to participate in the film "The Bridget Jones Diary," had to experience such a thing. Tom Hanks first gained 20 kilograms for the Outcast, and then dropped 25. Jared Leto grew 30 kilograms to play in the movie Chapter 27.
The film "Poddubny" was another successful work of Mikhail Porechenkov. Although, as the actor noted, this role became the most difficult for him because of the grueling workouts, diet and heavy loads on the set. Porechenkov had to wear a copy of the athlete’s cane, weighing 16 kilograms, and confront professional wrestlers in the ring. After one of the shot scenes, he found cracks in two ribs. He is grateful to the director for entrusting him with such a significant role for the actor, but will not experiment with his body anymore. 45-year-old Porechenkov understands that he will not be able to go on such a feat again.
Did Porechenkov manage to get used to the role: viewers opinion
Even those who negatively evaluated the picture, noted the excellent work of the actor. Especially everyone was struck by the external similarity of Mikhail and Poddubny. Viewers also liked how masterfully the character of the great athlete was revealed. I must say that before the filming of the film "Poddubny", reviews of which are contradictory, Porechenkov knew practically nothing about the famous wrestler. After studying his biography, the actor began to sincerely admire Poddubny. He believes that he was a fighter not only in the ring, but also in life.
The role of Poddubny seemed to be waiting for the actor. The script of the film, written back in 2000, was read by Porechenkov several years before the filming began, and he liked it. But work on the film did not start then. Gleb Orlov, who took up work on the picture, saw only Mikhail in the role of Poddubny, but the producers persuaded him to see other actors. But no one was able to overshadow Porechenkov, who was eventually approved in the title role. According to the director, the actor was ideally suited for several reasons: texture, huge talent and the ability to keep the viewer.
Interesting facts about the film
There are paintings with a difficult fate. The “Poddubny” tape also belongs to them. Reviews about her are largely contradictory, but even inveterate critics find words of approval for Porechenkov and the cameraman of the film, who was able to make a real giant out of the actor and showed amazingly beautiful landscapes.
The script for the film was written in 2000, but only 12 years later the director Gleb Orlov was able to start working on it.
The shooting took place not only in Russia and Ukraine, but also in France, the USA and Bulgaria. The creators of the story of the great Russian wrestler visited all the places that were significant in his fate. The Pirogovo National Museum of Folk Architecture was turned into an athlete’s native village for filming.
The film "Poddubny" 2014: reviews of viewers and the opinion of critics
The picture did not leave indifferent, perhaps, not a single spectator. She was highly advertised, and therefore there were many people who wanted to see the history of the famous Russian athlete and wrestler. She was praised a lot, wrote positive reviews. Someone was delighted with the work of Porechenkov, someone liked the patriotic orientation of the film. There were also dissatisfied with the film "Poddubny". Reviews from critics are also divided. Some believe that the director managed to create a thorough, deep picture with an inner nerve, which is worthy of the attention and love of the audience. Others have a completely different opinion. Browser Anton Dolin called the film a shining example of "popular" cinema, designed for a poorly educated audience.
Should I watch the new work of Mikhail Porechenkov?
The answer to this question can only be positive. Rarely on the domestic screen appear such films as “Poddubny”. Reviews of him, from enthusiastic to skeptical, suggest that he was able to find a response among the audience. The picture was included in the top ten best films of domestic distribution in 2014 and collected about 184 million rubles. And the viewer, as you know, votes with money.
As for Mikhail Porechenkov, he went, like his hero, all-in, deciding on a difficult and difficult role, and won. As Vasily Livanov is forever connected to the viewer with Sherlock Holmes, the great Russian hero Ivan Poddubny and the Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov will now become synonyms. In any case, the picture should be given credit at least for the fact that the audience remembered (and some first learned) the great Russian athlete who had been victorious in competitions in 14 countries for 40 years.