Nonna Mordyukova
Encyclopedia
Noyabrina "Nonna" Viktorovna Mordyukova (Russian: Но́нна (Ноябри́на) Ви́кторовна Мордюко́ва; November 25, 1925 - July 6, 2008) was a Soviet actress and People's Artist of the USSR
(1974). She was the star of films like director Denis Yevstigneyev's Mama and Nikita Mikhalkov
's 1980s hit Rodnya. She co-starred with the best actors of the Soviet era, among them Vasily Shukshin
, Yuri Nikulin
, Valentin Zubkov
, Mikhail Ulyanov
, Vyacheslav Tikhonov
and others.
, Ukrainian SSR
. Nonna spent her childhood in a settlement where her mother worked as chairwoman of kolkhoz
(collective farm). In 1946 Nonna Mordyukova entered the Actors’ Faculty of VGIK
and studied there under Boris Bibikov and Olga Pyzhova. After graduating she played on stage of Theatre Studio of Film Actor and was often featured by film directors. In 1948, Nonna Mordyukova was married to actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov
and had a son from him (who died). The two were divorced in 1963.
movie. It was her debut film role.
Her impressive filmography reveals, however, that while she has had the chance to work with a constellation of the best Soviet directors, it has usually been for one project only. There is no high profile director with whom she has a continuous working relationship. After her work for Sergei Gerassimov on The Young Guard, she was cast in the last movie of veteran Vsevolod Pudovkin
The Return of Vasili Bortnikov (1952). Other one-time collaborations with well-known directors have been with Mikhail Shvejtser for Chuzhaya rodnya (1955), Lev Kulidzhanov
for Otchij dom (1959), with Leonid Gaidai
for The Diamond Arm
, with Andrei Konchalovsky
for the Turgenev adaptation Dvoryanskoye gnyezdo (1969), with Grigori Chukhrai
for Tryasina (1978), with Eldar Ryazanov
for Railway Station for Two, and with Nikolai Gubenko
for Zapretnaya zona (1988). She only played once in a film by Nikita Mikhalkov
, who structured his village comedy-drama Kinfolk (1981) entirely around the personality of the actress, who had by that time established herself as an epitome of the Russian peasant woman.
The role of Klavida Vavilova, a robust and boisterous Red Army Commissar who has accidentally become pregnant, in Aleksandr Askoldov
's Commissar
(1967) is Mordyukova's most memorable work. The film, shot in 1966, was shelved and was only released in 1988. By that time Mordyukova was over sixty and had starred in over twenty other films. The wide critical acclaim and appreciation for what is probably her best performance came too late to have any definitive effect on her profile as an actor. She received FIPRESCI Award, Otto Dibelius Film Award, and Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival
, and Silver Spur Award (Flanders International Film Festival) for The Commissar.
During the period of perestroika, Mordyukova appeared in a number of supporting roles in a range of comedy-dramas. Similarly, she has been a highly visible presence throughout the 1990s, with supporting roles in some of the most-popular Russian features, such as Pavel Lungin
's Luna Park (1992) and Vladimir Menshov
's Shirli-Myrli (1995). In 1999 she played the leading role in Mummy (1999), directed by Denis Yevstigneyev; a family saga loosely based on a real story, mixing action, melodrama and comedy elements and spanning several decades.
Reportedly, "Russian cinema goers and critics call Mordyukova one of the best actresses of the 20th
century." In over fifty years of work in the cinema she has played in dozens of films, where she acted mainly as ordinary Russian women.
In November 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin
has signed a decree awarding the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
, third degree, to Mordyukova.
The asteroid 4022 Nonna
is named after Nonna Mordyukova.
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1974). She was the star of films like director Denis Yevstigneyev's Mama and Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
's 1980s hit Rodnya. She co-starred with the best actors of the Soviet era, among them Vasily Shukshin
Vasily Shukshin
Vasily Makarovich Shukshin was a notable Soviet/Russian actor, writer, screenwriter and movie director from the Altay region who specialized in rural themes. Upon his death, Shukshin was interred at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.-Biography:...
, Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin was a well-known Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films.He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1973 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1990...
, Valentin Zubkov
Valentin Zubkov
Valentin Ivanovich Zubkov was a Soviet film actor.Valentin Ivanovich Zubkov was born in Peschanoye Settlement of Ryazan Province. He finished Armavir Military Aviation School and served as a pilot at frontlines of the German-Soviet War....
, Mikhail Ulyanov
Mikhail Ulyanov
Mikhail Alexandrovich Ulyanov was a Soviet and Russian actor who was one of the most recognizable persons of the post-World War II Soviet theatre and cinema. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1969 and received a special prize from the Venice Film Festival in 1982.Mikhail Alexandrovich...
, Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Tikhonov was a Soviet and Russian actor whose best known role was as Soviet spy Stirlitz in the television series Seventeen Moments of Spring. He was a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People's Artist of the USSR and Hero of Socialist Labour .-...
and others.
Biography
Nonna (Noyabrina) Viktorovna was born into a large family in the Cossack village of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk RegionDonetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
, Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
. Nonna spent her childhood in a settlement where her mother worked as chairwoman of kolkhoz
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
(collective farm). In 1946 Nonna Mordyukova entered the Actors’ Faculty of VGIK
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography
The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), VGIK for short, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.-History:...
and studied there under Boris Bibikov and Olga Pyzhova. After graduating she played on stage of Theatre Studio of Film Actor and was often featured by film directors. In 1948, Nonna Mordyukova was married to actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Vyacheslav Tikhonov
Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Tikhonov was a Soviet and Russian actor whose best known role was as Soviet spy Stirlitz in the television series Seventeen Moments of Spring. He was a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People's Artist of the USSR and Hero of Socialist Labour .-...
and had a son from him (who died). The two were divorced in 1963.
Career
In 1949, she was awarded the Stalin Prize for the role of Ulyana Gromova in The Young GuardThe Young Guard (film)
The Young Guard is a two-part 1948 Soviet film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by Alexander Fadeyev. In 1949 a Stalin Prize for this film was awarded to Gerasimov, cinematographer Vladimir Rapoport, and the group of leading actors.The Film was also the highest...
movie. It was her debut film role.
Her impressive filmography reveals, however, that while she has had the chance to work with a constellation of the best Soviet directors, it has usually been for one project only. There is no high profile director with whom she has a continuous working relationship. After her work for Sergei Gerassimov on The Young Guard, she was cast in the last movie of veteran Vsevolod Pudovkin
Vsevolod Pudovkin
Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin was a Russian and Soviet film director, screenwriter and actor who developed influential theories of montage...
The Return of Vasili Bortnikov (1952). Other one-time collaborations with well-known directors have been with Mikhail Shvejtser for Chuzhaya rodnya (1955), Lev Kulidzhanov
Lev Kulidzhanov
Lev Aleksandrovich Kulidzhanov was a Soviet film director and screenwriter...
for Otchij dom (1959), with Leonid Gaidai
Leonid Gaidai
Leonid Iovich Gaidai was one of the most popular Soviet comedy directors, enjoying immense popularity and broad public recognition in the former USSR & modern Russia...
for The Diamond Arm
The Diamond Arm
The Diamond Arm is a 1968 Soviet comedy film filmed by Mosfilm and first released in 1968. The film was directed by slapstick director Leonid Gaidai and starred several famous Soviet actors, including Yuri Nikulin, Andrei Mironov, Anatoli Papanov, Nonna Mordyukova and Svetlana Svetlichnaya. The...
, with Andrei Konchalovsky
Andrei Konchalovsky
Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky is a Soviet-American and Russian film director, film producer and screenwriter....
for the Turgenev adaptation Dvoryanskoye gnyezdo (1969), with Grigori Chukhrai
Grigori Chukhrai
Grigori Naumovich Chukhrai was a prominent Soviet film director and screenwriter. He is the father of director Pavel Chukhrai.-Career:He was born in Melitopol in the Zaporizhia Oblast of Ukraine...
for Tryasina (1978), with Eldar Ryazanov
Eldar Ryazanov
Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov is a Soviet/Russian film director whose comedies, satirizing the daily life of the country, are very famous throughout the former Soviet Union....
for Railway Station for Two, and with Nikolai Gubenko
Nikolai Gubenko
Nikolai Nikolaevich Gubenko is a Soviet actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in twelve films between 1964 and 1977. He also directed eight films between 1970 and 1988. His film Wounded Game, was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film Festival...
for Zapretnaya zona (1988). She only played once in a film by Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
, who structured his village comedy-drama Kinfolk (1981) entirely around the personality of the actress, who had by that time established herself as an epitome of the Russian peasant woman.
The role of Klavida Vavilova, a robust and boisterous Red Army Commissar who has accidentally become pregnant, in Aleksandr Askoldov
Aleksandr Askoldov
Aleksandr Yakovlevich Askoldov was a Soviet Russian actor and film director. He graduated from the Gorky Literary Institute. After finishing the advanced directing course he directed his first film, Commissar...
's Commissar
Commissar (film)
Commissar is a 1967 Soviet movie based on one of Vasily Grossman's first short stories, "In the Town of Berdichev" . The main characters were played by two People's Artists of the USSR, Rolan Bykov and Nonna Mordyukova...
(1967) is Mordyukova's most memorable work. The film, shot in 1966, was shelved and was only released in 1988. By that time Mordyukova was over sixty and had starred in over twenty other films. The wide critical acclaim and appreciation for what is probably her best performance came too late to have any definitive effect on her profile as an actor. She received FIPRESCI Award, Otto Dibelius Film Award, and Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, and Silver Spur Award (Flanders International Film Festival) for The Commissar.
During the period of perestroika, Mordyukova appeared in a number of supporting roles in a range of comedy-dramas. Similarly, she has been a highly visible presence throughout the 1990s, with supporting roles in some of the most-popular Russian features, such as Pavel Lungin
Pavel Lungin
Pavel Semyonovich Lungin is a Russian film director. He is sometimes credited as Pavel Loungine .Born July 12, 1949 in Moscow, Lungin is the son of a scriptwriter and philologist. He later attended Moscow State University from which he graduated in 1971...
's Luna Park (1992) and Vladimir Menshov
Vladimir Menshov
Vladimir Valentinovich Menshov is a Soviet and Russian actor and film director. He is noted for depicting the Russian everyman and working class life in his films. Like many other Russian filmmakers, he studied acting and directing at the state film school VGIK, the world's oldest educational...
's Shirli-Myrli (1995). In 1999 she played the leading role in Mummy (1999), directed by Denis Yevstigneyev; a family saga loosely based on a real story, mixing action, melodrama and comedy elements and spanning several decades.
Reportedly, "Russian cinema goers and critics call Mordyukova one of the best actresses of the 20th
century." In over fifty years of work in the cinema she has played in dozens of films, where she acted mainly as ordinary Russian women.
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
has signed a decree awarding the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Order of Merit for the Fatherland
The Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
, third degree, to Mordyukova.
The asteroid 4022 Nonna
4022 Nonna
4022 Nonna is a main-belt asteroid discovered on October 8, 1981 by Lyudmila Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. It is named after a Russian actress Nonna Mordyukova.- External links :...
is named after Nonna Mordyukova.
Selected filmography
| Year | English Title | Original Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Young Guard The Young Guard (film) The Young Guard is a two-part 1948 Soviet film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by Alexander Fadeyev. In 1949 a Stalin Prize for this film was awarded to Gerasimov, cinematographer Vladimir Rapoport, and the group of leading actors.The Film was also the highest... |
Молодая гвардия |
| 1952 | The Return of Vasili Bortnikov The Return of Vasili Bortnikov The Return of Vasili Bortnikov is a 1953 Soviet film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin based on the novel The Harvest by Galina Nikolayeva.-Cast:* Sergei Lukyanov - Vasili Bortnikov* Natalya Medvedeva - Avdotya* Nikolai Timofeyev - Stephan... |
Возвращение Василия Бортникова |
| 1955 | Other People's Relatives | Чужая родня |
| 1959 | A Home for Tanya A Home for Tanya A Home for Tanya is a 1959 Soviet drama film directed by Lev Kulidzhanov. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Vera Kuznetsova - Natalya Avdeyevna* Lyudmila Marchenko - Tanya* Valentin Zubkov - Sergei Ivanovich... |
Отчий дом |
| 1960 | A Simple Story | Простая история |
| 1964 | The Chairman | Председатель |
| 1965 | Balzaminov's Marriage Balzaminov's Marriage -Cast:* Georgy Vitsyn - Balzaminov* Lyudmila Shagalova - His Mother* Lidiya Smirnova - Matchmaker* Yekaterina Savinova - Matryona* Zhanna Prokhorenko - Kapochka* Lyudmila Gurchenko - Ustinka* Tamara Nosova - Nichkina... |
Женитьба Бальзаминова |
| 1965 | Thirty Three Thirty Three (film) Thirty Three is a 1965 Soviet comedy film directed by Georgi Daneliya.-Plot:A rough factory worker of a distant rural town of Russia becomes a national celebrity, when it's discovered that his mouth bears 33 teeth... |
Тридцать три |
| 1967 | The Commissar Commissar (film) Commissar is a 1967 Soviet movie based on one of Vasily Grossman's first short stories, "In the Town of Berdichev" . The main characters were played by two People's Artists of the USSR, Rolan Bykov and Nonna Mordyukova... |
Комиссар |
| 1968 | The Diamond Arm The Diamond Arm The Diamond Arm is a 1968 Soviet comedy film filmed by Mosfilm and first released in 1968. The film was directed by slapstick director Leonid Gaidai and starred several famous Soviet actors, including Yuri Nikulin, Andrei Mironov, Anatoli Papanov, Nonna Mordyukova and Svetlana Svetlichnaya. The... |
Бриллиантовая рука |
| 1971 | Russian Field | Русское поле |
| 1973 | No Return | Возврата нет |
| 1975 | They Fought for Their Country They Fought for Their Country They Fought for Their Country is a 1975 Soviet war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The film is the story of a Soviet platoon fighting a rearguard action during the German drive on Stalingrad.-Cast:... |
Они сражались за Родину |
| 1978 | Quagmire | Трясина |
| 1981 | Kinfolk | Родня |
| 1992 | Luna Park Luna Park (film) Luna Park is a Franco-Russian film. It competed in the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, was shown at the Toronto Film Festival on , and was released in New York in January 1994. The composer Isaak Schwarz won a Nika Award from the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences for the film's music... |
Луна-парк |
| 1995 | What a mess! Shirli-Myrli Shirli-Myrli is a 1995 farce comedy film of late post-Perestroyka era directed by Vladimir Menshov based on a screenplay by Vitali Moskalenko and Andrei Samsonov. Produced by Vladimir Dostal and Aleksandr Litvinov. Music by Timur Kogan, sound by Olga Ilyina. Cinematography by Vadim Alisov... |
Ширли-мырли |
| 1999 | Mother | Мама |