Pyotr Todorovsky: biography and filmography of the director

August 26, 1925 in Ukraine, the Kirovograd region (formerly Zinovievsky district of the USSR), was born Peter Todorovsky - a talented director, composer, actor, screenwriter and cameraman.

Todorovsky is a representative of the military generation

He survived the war years, like most of the younger generation, with the infantry school, the war and the front, Peter reached the Elbe, was wounded and sent to the rear. Many military orders and awards are telling eloquently about the military past. After the end of the war, there was military service, mobilization and short-term work at the glass container plant.

In 1949, Todorovsky entered the Cinematography Department of the VGIK; For five years of his studies he made several of his films, which unfortunately, until today, have not reached. Todorovsky began his film career with the work of an operator at the Odessa film studio (until 1962), so his debut is rightfully considered to be the film "Moldavian tunes", filmed in 1955.

Is capable of more

At a certain point, Peter Efimovich realized that he was capable of doing more. Many peer filmmakers helped film their films (for example, "Two Fedora" and "Spring on Zarechnaya Street" by Marlen Khutsiev), in order to decide one day to start filming their movies. In 1962, Todorovsky, who had become self-taught in directing, shot the film "Never," which immediately became successful, working as an operator and co-director with V. Dyachenko.

But the film "Loyalty", published on the screens three years later, eclipsed all of its previous successes. It was a memory film about Yura Nikitin - an orphan, a bright man, brought up by a children's home, a front-line friend of Peter. Killed from a sniper bullet, he embodied a young generation, ruthlessly cut out by the war. For this work, Todorovsky received the prize of the Cannes Film Festival and several other prestigious awards. Years later, the matured and wiser director, deeply aware of the tragedy of his people, called this work "childish babble"; In the later films of the military cycle, there was more drama, bitterness and cruelty. Todorovsky, being self-taught, always studied with more experienced comrades and recruited from them creative courage, experience and knowledge; This is Bulat Okudzhava, Marlen Khutsiev, Grigory Pozhenyan, Alexander Volodin.

Then the viewer saw such films of Todorovsky Peter, whose list is far from complete:

• "Urban romance",
• "The Last Sacrifice,
• "Magician",
• "His land,
• "On the day of the holiday."

In several of them Todorovsky was a co-author of the script.

Favorite movies, shot by Todorovsky

From 1967 to 1989, Pyotr Todorovsky, whose filmography is diverse and multifaceted, has made nine films: special, with a soft humor, a little shaded with sadness, with a reservedly masculine drama and modest poetry. Todorovsky showed an extraordinary ability to work in different genres, creating a human, life, good movie - something that the viewer so loves and understands. This is a lyrical comedy "Favorite woman of the mechanic Gavrilov", the melodrama "The Last Sacrifice", the sad parable "The Magician", the adventurous melodrama "Interdevochka", preserving the purity and charity of the artistic view.

The cast in the films Todorovsky

In the films of Todorovsky played such wonderful actors as Lyubov Polishchuk, Elena Yakovleva, Natalya Andreichenko, Nikolai Burlyaev. Tried to act as director himself; In the movie "It was the month of May" he played one of the key roles.

In 1967, for a significant contribution to the development of motion pictures, Pyotr Todorovsky received the title of "Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR", in 1989 he became "People's Artist of the RSFSR".

At the end of the century, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he put such noteworthy tapes as "Anchor, More Anchor", "In the Constellation of the Bull", "What a Wonderful Game", "Riorita".

For his films, Pyotr Todorovsky received high state awards. In December 2005, he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland II degree, which was the last award in the fate of the director.

Peter Todorovsky: personal life

The director was twice married. His first wife is Nadezhda Cherednichenko, from whose marriage her daughter was born. The second wife of the World, who was a marine lieutenant engineer by profession, gave birth to her son Valery, who dedicated his life, like his father, a movie. In the process of living together, she began to write scripts for popular science films devoted to marine issues. According to her works, 13 motion pictures were delivered. Later, Mira Todorovskaya created Mirabel, her own independent studio, where some of the films of Peter Efimovich were filmed.

The house of Todorovsky was always hospitable; Almost all the directors and actors who came to the Odessa film studio, including Andrei Tarkovsky and Vladimir Vysotsky, passed through it.

The last years of his life Todorovsky more realizes himself as a screenwriter; Films practically do not take off, only occasionally tells novice directors. In May 2013, Peter Efimovich suffered a heart attack, from which he failed to recover. An outstanding director is buried at Novodevichye Cemetery.