Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (
Russian:
Никита Сeргеевич Михалков; born in
1945,
Moscow) is perhaps the most famous living Russian
filmmaker and
actor.
Mikhalkov was born into a distinguished artistic family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of
Yaroslavl, whose mother was a
Galitzine princess. Nikita's father,
Sergei Mikhalkov, is best known as writer of children's literature although he also wrote the lyrics to the
Soviet and Russian national anthems. Nikita's mother, the poet Natalia Konchalovskaya, was daughter of the avantgarde artist
Pyotr Konchalovsky and granddaughter of another outstanding painter,
Vasily Surikov. Nikita's older brother is the filmmaker
Andrei Konchalovsky, primarily known for his collaboration with
Andrei Tarkovsky and his own Hollywood action movies, such as
Runaway Train.
Early acting career
Mikhalkov studied acting at the children's studio of the
Moscow Art Theatre and later at the Schukin School of the
Vakhtangov Theatre. While still a student, he appeared in
Georgi Daneliya's film
I Walk in Moscow (
1964) and his brother Andrei Konchalovsky's film
Home of the Gentry (
1969). He was soon on his way to becoming a star of the
Soviet stage and
cinema.
Begins directing
While continuing to pursue his acting career, he then went to
VGIK, the state film school in Moscow, where he studied directing under filmmaker
Mikhail Romm, teacher to his brother and
Andrei Tarkovsky. He directed his first short film in
1968,
I'm Coming Home, and another for his graduation,
A Quiet Day at the End of the War in
1970. Mikhalkov had appeared in over twenty films, including his brother's
Uncle Vanya (
1972), before he co-wrote, directed and starred in his first feature,
At Home Among Strangers in
1974, a
Red Western set just after the
1920s civil war in
Russia.
Gains international reputation
Mikhalkov established an international reputation with his second feature,
A Slave of Love (
1976). Set in
1917, it followed the efforts of a film crew to make a silent
melodrama in a resort town while the
Revolution rages around them. The film, based upon the last days of
Vera Kholodnaya, was highly acclaimed upon its release in the U.S.
Mikhalkov's next film,
An Unfinished Piece for Player Piano (
1977) was adapted by Mikhalkov from
Chekhov's early play,
Platonov, and won the first prize at the
San Sebastian Film Festival. In
1978, while starring in his brother's epic film
Siberiade, Mikhalkov made
Five Evenings, a love story about a couple separated by
World War II, who meet again after fifteen years. Mikhalkov's next film,
Oblomov (
1980), with
Oleg Tabakov in the title role, is based on
Ivan Goncharov's classic novel about a lazy young nobleman who refuses to leave his bed.
Family Relations (
1981) is a
comedy about a provincial woman in Moscow dealing with the tangled relationships of her relatives.
Without Witnesses (
1983) tracks a long night's conversation between a woman (
Irina Kupchenko) and her ex-husband (
Mikhail Ulyanov) when they are accidentally locked in a room.
In the early 1980s, Mikhalkov resumed his acting career, appearing in
Eldar Ryazanov's immensely popular
Station for Two (1982) and
A Cruel Romance (1985). At that period, he also played Henry Baskerville in the Soviet screen version of
The Hound of the Baskervilles. He also starred in many of his own films, including
At Home Among Strangers, A Slave of Love, An Unfinished Piece for Player Piano and
Burnt by the Sun.International success
|
Nikita Mikhalkov as Tsar Alexander III in the movie The Barber of Siberia (1998). |
Incorporating several short stories by Chekhov,
Dark Eyes (
1987) stars
Marcello Mastroianni as an old man who tells a story of a romance he had when he was younger, a woman he has never been able to forget. The film was highly praised, and Mastroianni received the Best Actor Prize at the
Cannes Film Festival and an
Academy Award nomination for his performance.
Mikhalkov's next film,
Close to Eden (
1992, a.k.a.
Urga), set in the little known world of the
Mongols, who live on the border between Russia and
China, received the
Golden Lion at the
Venice Film Festival and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Mikhalkov's
Anna: 6-18 (
1993) documents his daughter Anna as she grows from childhood to maturity.
Mikhalkov's most famous production to date,
Burnt by the Sun (1994), was steeped in the nervous atmosphere of
Stalinist purges. The film received the Grand Prize at Cannes and the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, among many other honours. As of
2000,
Burnt by the Sun was the top grossing movie to come out of
Eastern Europe. Filming a sequel is under way.
Recent career
Mikhalkov used the critical and financial triumph of
Burnt by the Sun to accumulate some 25,000,000 $ budget for his most epic venture to date,
The Barber of Siberia (1998). The film, which opened the
1998 Cannes Film Festival, was designed as a patriotic extravaganza for domestic consumption. It featured
Julia Ormond and
Oleg Menshikov (a Mikhalkov regular) in leading roles, while the director appeared as Tsar
Alexander III of Russia.
The movie received the
Russia State Prize and spawned rumours about Mikhalkov's presidential ambitions. The director, however, chose to administrate the Russian cinema industry. Despite much opposition from rival directors, he was elected the President of the Russian Society of Cinematographists and has managed the
Moscow Film Festival since
2000. He also set the Russian Academy
Golden Eagle Award in opposition to the traditional
Nika Award.
In
2005, Mikhalkov resumed his acting career, starring in three brand-new movies -
The Councillor of State, a
Fandorin detective which broke the Russian box-office records;
Zhmurki, a noir-drenched comedy about the
Russian Mafia; and
Krzysztof Zanussi's
Persona non grata.
Director
*
Devochka i veshchi (
1967) (short film)
*
And I Go Home (
1968) (short film)
*
A Quiet Day During the End of War (
1970) (short film)
*
At Home Among Strangers (
1974)
*
A Slave of Love (
1976)
*
An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano (
1977)
*
Five Evenings (
1978)
*
Oblomov (
1980)
*
Family Relations (
1981)
*
Without Witness (
1983)
*
Dark Eyes (
1987)
*
Hitch-hiking (
1990)
*
Close to Eden (
1992) (aka Urga)
*
Remembering Chekhov (
1993)
*
Anna: 6 - 18 (
1993)
*
Burnt by the Sun (
1994)
*
The Barber of Siberia (
1998)
Actor (selected)
*
I Step Through Moscow (
1964) -
Georgi Danelia*
A Nest of Gentry (
1965) - A. Konchalovsky
*
The Red Tent (
1969) -
Mikhail Kalatozov*
The Postmaster (
1972) -
Sergey Soloviev*
At Home Among Strangers (
1974) - N. Mikhalkov
*
A Slave of Love (
1975) - N. Mikhalkov
*
An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano (
1976) - N. Mikhalkov
*
Siberiade (
1978) - A. Konchalovsky
*
The Hound of the Baskervilles (
1980) -
Igor Maslennikov*
Portrait of the Artist's Wife (
1982) - A. Pankratov-Biely
*
A Railway Station for Two (
1983) -
Eldar Ryazanov*
A Cruel Romance (
1984) - Eldar Ryazanov
*
Humiliation and offense (
1991) - A. Echpai
*
Burnt by the Sun (
1994) - N. Mikhalkov
*
Gogol's The Inspector General (
1996) - S. Gazanov
*
The Barber of Siberia (
1998) - N. Mikhalkov
*
The Councillor of State (
2005) -
F. Yankovsky*
Zhmurki (
2005) - A. Balabanov
*
Persona Non Grata (
2005) - K. Zanussi
*
Mikhalkov Productions
