Mikhail Kalatozov (1903-1973)
Georgian-born Kalatozov received international recognition when his film, The Cranes Are Flying (1957), was awarded the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.
Kalatozov was born Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozishvili in Tbilisi, Georgia on December 28, 1903.
In 1925, he began his film career as an actor, eventually moving on to work as an editor, cameraman and scriptwriter at the Tbilisi film studio. In 1928, Kalatozov co-directed his first film, Their Empire, with Nutsa Gogoberidze, which they assembled using stock newsreel footage.
In 1930, he made his feature film-directing debut with Sol Svanetii (Salt of Svanetia), a seminal work of avant-garde Soviet cinema. This look at life in a remote Caucasian village is noted today for its beautiful cinematography and dynamic montage, but at the time it was made authorities considered it too antagonistic due to its seeming fascination with the “backwardness” of the Svanetians. This resulted in Kalatozov falling out of favour with authorities, who went on to ban his next film, Nail in the Boot (1931), for similar reasons.
With his directing career effectively shut down for the remainder of the decade, Kalatozov was relegated to administrative duties within the Soviet film industry until 1939, when he was appointed Chief Administrator of Soviet Feature Film Production. Throughout the next decade, Kalatozov worked his way up the ranks until he ultimately held the post of Deputy Minister of Cinematography.
In 1957, he directed the crowning achievement of his career, The Cranes Are Flying. A “superbly crafted” drama about the cruelty of war and the psychic trauma experienced by the Soviet people after WWII, was lauded for its “stunning cinematography” and “impassioned performances,” and won several international awards, including the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958.
Kalatozov followed Cranes with three more features, including I Am Cuba (1964), before passing away in Moscow on March 29, 1973.
See Sources
Kalatozov was born Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozishvili in Tbilisi, Georgia on December 28, 1903.
In 1925, he began his film career as an actor, eventually moving on to work as an editor, cameraman and scriptwriter at the Tbilisi film studio. In 1928, Kalatozov co-directed his first film, Their Empire, with Nutsa Gogoberidze, which they assembled using stock newsreel footage.
In 1930, he made his feature film-directing debut with Sol Svanetii (Salt of Svanetia), a seminal work of avant-garde Soviet cinema. This look at life in a remote Caucasian village is noted today for its beautiful cinematography and dynamic montage, but at the time it was made authorities considered it too antagonistic due to its seeming fascination with the “backwardness” of the Svanetians. This resulted in Kalatozov falling out of favour with authorities, who went on to ban his next film, Nail in the Boot (1931), for similar reasons.
With his directing career effectively shut down for the remainder of the decade, Kalatozov was relegated to administrative duties within the Soviet film industry until 1939, when he was appointed Chief Administrator of Soviet Feature Film Production. Throughout the next decade, Kalatozov worked his way up the ranks until he ultimately held the post of Deputy Minister of Cinematography.
In 1957, he directed the crowning achievement of his career, The Cranes Are Flying. A “superbly crafted” drama about the cruelty of war and the psychic trauma experienced by the Soviet people after WWII, was lauded for its “stunning cinematography” and “impassioned performances,” and won several international awards, including the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958.
Kalatozov followed Cranes with three more features, including I Am Cuba (1964), before passing away in Moscow on March 29, 1973.
See Sources
ESSENTIAL FILMOGRAPHY
1930 – Salt for Svanetia
1931 – Nail in the Boot
1957 – The Cranes Are Flying
1964 – I Am Cuba
Complete Filmography
1931 – Nail in the Boot
1957 – The Cranes Are Flying
1964 – I Am Cuba
Complete Filmography