Director Leonid Gaidai. Best films, biography, children

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Rare directors manage to make films that you want to watch over and over again. Almost all the paintings created by the talented Leonid Gaidai have this property. Unfortunately, the master passed away 22 years ago, his death was the result of pulmonary embolism. But the films he's worked on manage to stay relevant no matter how many years pass.

Leonid Gaidai: biography of a star

The famous director was born in 1923, his birthplace was the city of Svobodny. Leonid Gaidai is not the only child of his parents, he had a brother and sister. The childhood years of the star passed in Irkutsk, where the family moved shortly after his birth, it was there that he received his secondary education. The profession of the father of the director is connected with the railway, the mother was engaged in housekeeping and children.

At the front, 18-year-old Leonid Gaidai found himself in the first year of the Great Patriotic War, his service was awarded the honorary award "For Military Merit". In one of the battles, a young man was seriously injured, as a result of which he was released from further participation in hostilities.

The wound received in the war had a negative impact on the he alth of the future celebrity. However, this did not prevent the directing department of VGIK from acquiring such a student as Leonid Gaidai in 1949. The biography of the master also contains a mention of his two-year study at the Irkutsk theater school.

How it all started

The first work of the master was the drama "The Long Way", filmed in 1956. In the center of the plot is the story of a stationmaster who is in exile in an abandoned Siberian village. A political exile turns up at the station, in which the protagonist recognizes his ex-fiancee. The story is taken by Gaidai from the stories of Vladimir Korolenko. The painting went unnoticed by the public.

Only in 1961, thanks to the film "Dog Mongrel and Unusual Cross" the public learns about the existence of such a talented director as Leonid Gaidai. Films featuring the famous trinity of Seasoned, Stooge and Coward have been consistently popular ever since.

The film “Business People” released in 1962 helps the master to consolidate the success, the plot of which is based on the stories of the writer O. Henry. The picture, which includes three short stories, gives the audience an abundance of vivid quotes. For example, you can remember the phrase “Bolivar can’t stand two.”

Best films of the 60s

Leonid Gaidai does not stop there, creating in 1965 a cult story aboutmisadventures of a funny student. The first part of "Operation" Y "and other adventures of Shurik" tells about the re-education of a parasite and an alcoholic who accidentally became a partner of an intelligent bespectacled man. The plot of the second short story revolves around an unusual acquaintance with a girl. The third is marked by the return of the famous trinity performed by Morgunov, Nikulin and Vitsin. The bandits plan to rob a warehouse that Shurik must protect from them. Interestingly, in the first part, Gaidai himself plays a cameo role.

The public meets Shurik again already in 1967, when the famous “Prisoner of the Caucasus” comes out on the screens. Leonid Gaidai, whose films had previously been attacked by censors, managed to get this comedy shown only thanks to Brezhnev's personal intervention. The action develops in the conditions of the Caucasus of those years, where ancient customs still have power. A bespectacled student, not understanding the situation, helps the bandits steal a girl whom the local boss wants to marry.

It is impossible not to recall such a masterpiece as the "Diamond Arm", the picture was released in 1968. The film is interesting in that Yuri Nikulin tries on the image of an exemplary family man, which is atypical for him.

Best Directors of the 70s-80s

In 1971, the comedy "12 Chairs" was released, which critics and viewers recognize as the most fascinating adaptation of the work of the same name. The director is not mistaken in entrusting the main role to an unknown actor who came from Tbilisi, who literally makes the audience fall in love with him. Comedy "Ivan Vasilievich changesprofession”, released in 1973, is still reviewed by many people during the New Year holidays.

Another brilliant film by Gaidai is Sportloto-82, a comedy filmed in 1982. In the center of the plot - the search for a lost lottery ticket, which accidentally turned out to be winning. Some are looking for it to return to its rightful owner, others dream of taking the winnings.

The last picture for the director was his work “Good weather on Deribasovskaya”, released in 1992. The tape, like the director's previous works, generously supplies the audience with vivid expressions and gives minutes of laughter.

Gaidai's family

The actress Nina Grebenshchikova, with whom he lived for over 40 years, remained the wife of the star of the national cinema until his death. The only child of the spouses was the girl Oksana, who was born back in the years of her parents' studies at VGIK. The daughter of Leonid Gaidai has chosen a profession that is not related to creativity, she works as an economist. The famous director also has a granddaughter named Olga.

Fans of the master of Russian cinema can remember him by reviewing the best works.