This article discusses the biography and work of Lev Kuleshov. During his life, he managed to be a screenwriter, a teacher, a doctor in art history and a people's artist of the Soviet Union. In addition, he played a significant role in the field of research on the specifics of filming and the development of the art of editing.
Basic data
Lev Kuleshov lived a bright and colorful life full of events. He has repeatedly published autobiographical books, the most famous of which are The Art of Cinema and How I Became a Director, as well as a number of articles in the Journal of Cinematography, the main purpose of which was to convey his artistic experience to readers.
In his works, Kuleshov was of the opinion that the actor and the scenery are equal, and in most cases the latter play an even more significant role. Consequently, the main figure in the process of creating a movie is not even a director, but an artist. That is why if the director does not have sufficient artistic skills, he will never be able to create a decent work.
As an example, Leo cited the case when a white hairpin on a maid's hair spoiled the whole impression of the acting of actors playing surrounded by black velvet scenery. He believed that cinema is primarily a visual, spectacular art, so it is the artist-director who should play the main role in creating the film.
Study
Like his father, who died in 1911, Leo early felt a craving for beauty and became interested in fine art, but Lev Kuleshov was able to start studying it closely only after he moved in 1914 with his mother and brother live in Moscow. There, after repeated visits to the art studio, he decides to learn how to draw as well as the great artists, and for this he begins to take lessons from the artist-teacher I. F. Smirnov. During his studies, he managed not only to instill in Leo a love for classical painting, but also to teach him to distinguish outstanding works from amateur ones. It was on the recommendation of the teacher that Kuleshov read his first books of a political orientation, for example, Capital by Karl Marx and the works of Lenin and Plekhanov.
After graduating from individual studies, he enters the famous Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where not only his father, but also the famous Vladimir Mayakovsky, who graduated a little earlier, previously studied. It is noteworthy that Kuleshov later developed strong friendly relations with him.
Family
No one in the family had any idea how outstandinga person will be Lev Kuleshov, whose personal life turned out to be filled with a mass of events. He was born on January 1 (old style) 1899 in Tambov. His father, Vladimir Sergeevich, came from an impoverished noble family. At one time, having disobeyed his parents, Vladimir entered the same Moscow school to study fine arts, where his son Leo would later study.
After graduating from it, he, unfortunately, could not start a career in the field of painting and went to work in a more than modest position as a remingtonist in the Tambov land administration. In fact, he combined two positions at once and was both a clerk and a typist. At the same time, the desire for creativity prompted him to start doing hand-drawn photography in his spare time. Lev's mother, Pelageya Alexandrovna, bore the maiden name of Shubina. She spent her childhood in an orphanage, after graduating from which she worked as a teacher in the village until her marriage. It is noteworthy that her portrait, made at one time by her father, still hangs in the apartment of Lev Kuleshov. It is noteworthy that Kuleshov had an older brother, Boris, who died during the Second World War.
Passion for theater
Like most creative personalities, Lev Kuleshov did not pass by the theater hobby.
While still a student of the artist-teacher I. F. Smirnov, he was able to get a job creating scenery for one of the acts of the play "Eugene Onegin" for the Zimin Theater, but for independent work in the Kuleshov Theater, not yet known for that time in creative circles, sonobody invited. That is why, despite all his efforts, the dream of theatrical activity did not come true.
Career start
Kuleshov Lev Vladimirovich first encountered film work in 1916, when he managed to get a job as an artist-decorator at the film factory A. Khanzhonkov. Not the last role was played by the patronage of the mother of one of his school friends, who introduced Lev to the film director A. Gromov, who had already helped him get a job at the film factory. It was here that the talent of the young man managed to unfold in full force. Under the guidance of director Evgeny Bauer, whom he met at work, Leo quickly learns the basics of a new profession. In one of his autobiographical books, Kuleshov mentions that working with Bauer was significantly different from working with other directors, since he did not limit Leo's work in any way, allowing the young man to fully reveal his talent.
In the future, when working with other directors, Kuleshov's manner of performance acquired a more courageous character. Even though he was only 18 years old at the time, he was already slowly starting to take the first steps towards developing his own style when decorating films with sets.
First successes
Despite having his own theories in the field of filmmaking, Lev Kuleshov, whose films would be extremely popular in the future, remained primarily a practitioner. So, at the beginning of his career, he puts on a joint film with director V. Polonsky, which was called "Unsung Love Song". However, toUnfortunately, the film of this film has not survived to this day.
In 1918, he makes his own film called "Engineer Prite's Project". Unfortunately, this work has been preserved in fragments, but in the credits the name of Kuleshov is mentioned twice: both as a director and as an artist. He tries to display ordinary strong and he althy people who live in the real world on the screen, so most of the actions in the film were filmed in factories, train stations and educational institutions. Shortly after this film was released, Kuleshov got a job in the film and photo department of the People's Commissariat of Education as the head of the film editing section and part-time newsreel director.
Most Famous Movies
The events unfolding on the political front in 1918-1920 were reflected in real life in the pictures taken by Lev Kuleshov. His filmography is extensive. The most famous newsreels:
- "Opening the relics of Sergius of Radonezh".
- "Revision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in the Tver province."
- Ural.
- "First All-Russian Subbotnik".
In the period between the filming of the films "On the Red Front" and "The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks", Kuleshov, who managed to successfully establish himself as a director, manages to create his own film studio, write a number of articles and work as a teacher in State Film School.
Awards
Despite the fact that Lev Kuleshov filmed manyown films, his real creative takeoff came only at the end of his directing career:
- 1933 - "The Great Comforter".
- 1942 - "Timur's Oath" according to the scenario of A. P. Gaidar.
- 1943 - "We are from the Urals".
In 1941, Kuleshov's capital work en titled "Fundamentals of Film Directing" was published, which was translated into many foreign languages and had a significant impact on the development of the cinematic process.
After that, Lev decides to devote himself entirely to teaching at VGIK in order to be able to teach young directors the art of making films.
Kuleshov effect
If anyone could have a direct impact on filmmaking technology, it was Lev Kuleshov, whose editing for the first time made it possible to combine separately shot fragments in combination with the face of a person who allegedly experiences and comprehends a number of different emotions. In the cinematic world, this concept is called the "Kuleshov effect".
Later understanding of the effect was that the sound sequence was superimposed on the visual one, which, in turn, was polyphonic and expressed its content differently depending on the color.
Conclusion
During his life, Kuleshov received a number of well-deserved awards, a title and an academic degree:
- Doctor of Arts.
- People's Artist of the RSFSR.
- Order of Lenin.
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
The last years of his life Lev Kuleshov preferred to spend together with his wife Alexandra Khokhlova. He died on March 29, 1970 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery (1st plot, 14th row).
