#12
Russian filmmaker Grigory Chukhrai dead at 80
October 29, 2001
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian filmmaker Grigory Chukhrai, best known for his ``Ballad of a Soldier'' and other films on World War II, has died, the Union of Cinematographers said Monday. He was 80.
Chukhrai, who had suffered several heart attacks, died Sunday at a Moscow hospital, the union said.
The Ukrainian-born Chukhrai studied at the Moscow Cinema Institute under the Soviet film master Mikhail Romm. During World War II, he served as a paratrooper, took part in the battle of Stalingrad and was wounded four times.
Fame came to Chukhrai after ``Ballad of a Soldier,'' which came out in 1959 and played all over the world. The film, which won awards at Cannes and other film festivals, is considered one of the best-ever Soviet war films.
Chukhrai also directed such films as ``The Forty-First'' (1956), ``Clear Sky'' (1959), ``Life is Beautiful'' (1980), ``I'll Teach You to Dream'' (1984) and he wrote a book of war memoirs.
``All my films are based on my war experiences,'' Chukhrai said once. ``War most clearly reveals people's characters and deeds.''
Chukhrai, who was awarded the highest Soviet artistic title of Popular Artist of USSR, will be buried Wednesday in Moscow after a memorial gathering. He is survived by a son, Pavel Chukhrai, who directed ``The Thief'' and other recent Russian films.
