It is said that truly ingeniousworks over the years do not lose their relevance. This concerns a lot: pictures, books, songs and even films. Almost eighty years have passed since the great Soviet storyteller Row Alexander Arturovich shot his first motion picture. And although for all this time several generations of viewers have grown up, they all continue to love the good fairytale films made by him.
Director's parents
Paradoxical as it may sound, but parentsthe great Soviet director, who managed to revive ancient Slavic tales on the screen, were foreigners. The father of the storyteller was an Irish engineer sent to work in the Russian Empire, Arthur Howard Row. Here he met a beautiful Greek woman from the local diaspora, and soon the lovers got married. From this marriage in the spring of 1906 a son was born - Roe Alexander Arturovich.
The family of the future director, unfortunately, wasnot strong When the boy barely turned eight years old (according to other data, ten), the father left his wife and son and returned to Ireland. Since then, the care of his mother, whose health did not allow her to work, fell on the shoulders of his young Sasha.
Alexander Row: The Early Years
To feed himself and his mother, young Roe tookAny job. At first, he was an assistant cleric, later began to trade in every little thing, from greenery to ridges and needles. However, Sasha's mother, seeing the intelligence and assertiveness of her son, understood that he was capable of more. Therefore, she made every effort to ensure that after seven years of Rowe enrolled in a local technical school.
Some biographers claim that Alexander Rowattracted career clergyman. Others believe that he planned to go to work in the specialty obtained in his trade and economic college. Despite these differences, biographers agree on one thing: Roe’s plans turned the Blue Blouse agitteater, where the guy got a job while studying.
Once in the world of theater, Roe Alexander Arturovich was inliterally bewitched by him. So, the future director immediately took his documents from the technical school and transferred to the Boris Tchaikovsky film school for cinematographers.
In the film school the future director studied until 1930. The next four years he continued to receive education in the drama college named after Yermolova.
The first work in the cinema
In parallel with studying in drama technical schoolRowe began to work as an assistant director Yakov Protazanov at the Mezhrabpomfilm film studio (now the Gorky film studio). Since 1937, he begins to work as a director at the same film studio. And a year later he was shooting his first picture - the fairy tale “At the command of a pike”.
Shooting a similar film, Roe Alexander Arturovichvery risked, because before him no one did anything like that. Previously, it was decided to film fairy tales with the help of animation. However, his firstborn - the movie “By the Pike” - absolutely everyone liked. Both children and adults with pleasure went to watch a wonderful film several times.
А тем временем режиссеру была уже заказана новая motion picture, which was supposed to tell viewers about the eternal struggle of evil with good and about love for their native land. Thus, the idea of a new film fairytale “Vasilisa the Beautiful” appeared, which was released in 1939 and again became a kind of hit of that time. Since then, Rowe began to specialize in fairy-tale movies.
Row Alexander Arturovich: the filmography chosen
Over the years, Alexander Rowe made as many as sixteen motion pictures. Seventeenth - “Finist - The Clear Falcon” - was shot after his death according to the script of his composition.
The most famous work of the director named RowAlexander Arturovich - a film "Kashchey Immortal", "Marya the Mist", "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka", "The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors", "Fire, water and ... copper pipes", "Barbara Beauty, a long braid" and, Of course, the most famous movie Row, beloved not only in the USSR, but throughout the world - "Frost."
A little known fact, but among the director's workAlexander Arturovich also has documentaries (“Artek” and “Crimea”), as well as a film-ballet, shot together with Rostislav Zakharov, - “Crystal Shoe”.
Relationship Rowe and his actors
Separate attention deserve relationshipthe great storyteller and his "apprentices". As many actors recall, director Rowe did not like strangers on the set. Therefore, he preferred to work with his team. He has shot many actors in almost every movie story.
The most favorite actor and friend of Row was GeorgeMillyar, with whom the director met during the filming of his debut film. After that, Milyar became practically the visiting card of the director. He played with him and Baba Yaga, and Koschey, and the devil, and other evil spirits.
Row opened some of his stars himself.For example, Alexey Katyshev, the performer of the role of Vasenka (“Fire, water and ... copper pipes”), and Andrei, the fishing son (“Varvara-Krasa, a long braid”). Once the director saw a young assistant sound engineer with amazing eyes and a kind smile. After that, he approved him for the main role in his new film fairy tale, despite the fact that the guy had neither the appropriate education nor the experience of working in the cinema.
During filming, Alexander Row neverordered the actors how to play. He simply set a task for them: play one or the other. And how to do it and what methods, remained at the discretion of the actors themselves.
The death of the great storyteller
In the last days of the outgoing 1973 greatmeter of Soviet cinema was gone. He died, and not having time to finish the work on the film “Finist - Clear Falcon”. There remained only the scenario in which a student of Row - Gennady Vasilyev - was filmed a film dedicated to the memory of his great teacher.
Roe Alexander Arturovich: personal life
The first wife of Rowe was actress Elena Savitskaya. However, the family life with such a bright and restless woman the director did not work out. Since the two talents could not build something in common.
Но жизнь не стояла на месте, и чуть позже Alexander Row met his betrothed. She became the second wife of the director - this is Elena Georgievna Row. This courageous woman was for him a real fighting friend, who gave all her time and strength to her beloved husband. I went with him to the shooting, made sure that he ate in time and did not get sick. Friends and actors recall that the Row spouses were very hospitable people.
Практически всю свою жизнь Роу снимал киносказки for the younger generation. Unfortunately, his kids did not appear. Roe Alexander Arturovich sometimes liked to joke: his wife, children are actors. Indeed, he treated his subordinates in this way: he loved them and cared for them. And the artists themselves treated the storyteller as a father. For his sake, they performed dangerous stunts on the set, risked health, broke their legs - and all just to make a film the way the director saw it.
A man of difficult fate was Row AlexanderArturovich. The biography of this wonderful person and an incredible professional is worthy of imitation. Despite all the problems that he had to deal with, he was able to preserve the children's purity of his soul, which he later invested in his films. And although for many years this talented director has not been among the living, his films have remained and will please many more generations.
