Filmography: Elem Klimov & Larisa Shepitko

Elem Klimov · Larisa Shepitko

(( This was initially two separate collections but then we learned that they were married, and Shepitko died during filming of Farewell , and Klimov finished it, so it's a shared feat. )) Elem Germanovich Klimov (Элем Германович Климов; 9 July 1933 – 26 October 2003) was a Soviet-Russian filmmaker. He studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. Klimov's best-known film was his final, Come and See , which follows a teenage boy in German-occupied Byelorussia during World War Two. Klimov completed no more films after Come and See . His plans included an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita , an adaptation of Dostoevsky's Demons , and a film about Josef Stalin. However, none came to fruition. He died on 26 October 2003 from brain hypoxia, after six weeks in a coma. Larisa Yefimovna Shepitko (Лари́са Ефи́мовна Шепи́тько, Лариса Юхимівна Шепітько, Larysa Yukhymivna Shepitko; 6 January 1938 – 2 July 1979) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Ukrainian origin. Considered one of the best female directors of all time, with The Ascent (1977) being the second female-directed film to win a Golden Bear and the third to win a top award at a major European film festival (Cannes, Venice, Berlin). Shepitko was further considered one of the most prominent Soviet filmmakers during both the Khrushchev Thaw and the Era of Stagnation . Shepitko's career was tragically cut short in 1979 when she was killed in a car accident while scouting locations for Farewell . Her husband Elem Klimov finished the film, and created a tribute documentary short called Larisa in her legacy. Welcome, or No Trespassing [Добро пожаловать, или Посторонним вход воспрещён | Dobro pozhalovat, ili Postoronnim vkhod vospreshchyon ] (1964, Klimov) Children rebel against the strict rules and regulations they face during their time in a Communist Young Pioneer camp. Adventures of a Dentist [Похождения зубного врача | Pokhozhdyeniya zubnovo vracha ] (1965, Klimov) Young dentist Chesnokov has a knack for painless tooth removal, much to the dismay of others, who fear unemployment and start to challenge Chesnokov. Wings [Крылья | Kryl'ya ] (1966, Shepitko) Former fighter pilot turned provincial schoolmistress Nadezhda Petrovna struggles to adapt to peacetime, having internalised military ideals of service and obedience. In the Thirteenth Hour of the Night [В тринадцатом часу ночи | V trinadtsatom chasu nochi ] (1969, Shepitko) New Year's Eve 1969: A variety of Russian folklore characters gather in the hut of Baga Yaga to await the arrival of the New Year, amid much foolery, snippets of popular artists of the day, satirical views of the west via a magical kaleidoscope, and other hijinks. Sport, Sport, Sport [Спорт, спорт, спорт] (1970, Klimov) [ no subs ] Combining staged scenes, newsreel footage, and documentary episodes, the history of the development of sports is presented, showing the stadiums of Moscow, Philadelphia, Stockholm and Mexico City in the past and future. You and Me [Ты и я | Ty i ya ] (1971, Shepitko) Pyotr, a once-promising neurosurgeon who left his groundbreaking research and career abroad, returns home years later in search of fulfillment. Encountering old friends, strained relationships, and the realities of his choices, Pyotr grapples with regret, identity, and the value of his work. The Ascent [Восхождение | Voskhozhdeniye ] (1977, Shepitko) During a freezing WWII winter, two Soviet partisans on a mission to gather food contend with the temperature, the occupying Germans, and their own psyches. Larisa [Лариса] (1980, Klimov) Klimov's tribute to his late wife, killed in a car accident a year earlier. Features excerpts from all of her films, and archival audio of her discussing life and art. Agony [Агония | Agoniya ] (1981, Klimov) As an adviser to the emperor Nicholas II, mystic Grigori Rasputin holds great influence over the empire. However, many in St Petersburg begin to regard Rasputin, with his strange practices and mesmerizing qualities, as a liability and plot his assassination. When Rasputin, known to many as the 'Mad Monk', leads Nicholas to embrace an ill-conceived military strategy, a group of determined conspirators set down a plan to eliminate him. Farewell [Прощание | Proshchanie ] (1983, Shepitko, completed by Klimov) Matyora is a small village on an eponymous beautiful island; its existence is threatened with flooding by the construction of a dam, leaving its citizens forced to bid farewell to their beloved home. Come and See [Иди и смотри | Idi i smotri ] (1985, Klimov) The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends teenager Florya into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds everyone he once knew massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.