Innokenty Smoktunovsky Movies
An internationally acclaimed Russian dramatic actor of stage and screen, Innokenty Smoktunovsky is best remembered for his portrayal of Hamlet in the 1964 Russian film version. Shakespeare experts Sir John Gielgud and Kenneth Branagh consider this work the definitive rendition of the Bard's tragic tale. Whether playing a classical role or a more contemporary one, Smoktunovsky avoided stodgy literal interpretations of his characters, preferring instead to imbue them with qualities and physical traits that would make them complex, surprising, larger than life, and unique to himself, but still somehow real and utterly believable. Paradoxically, despite his meticulous preparation, Smoktunovsky's acting style appeared remarkably natural and free.As a young man, Smoktunovsky fought on the front lines during WWII and afterwards studied drama at the Krasnoyarsk Pushkin Theatre. He then appeared in a wide assortment of amateur and professionally staged plays and worked with several major theaters, including ones in Norilsk, Volgograd, and Moscow. Between 1957 and 1960, he was part of the Moscow Drama Theatre and from there he worked at the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theatre. While in Moscow, the young thespian gained national recognition for his multi-layered portrayal of Prince Myshkin in a 1958 theatrical production of Dostoyevsky's Idiot. It became one of Smoktunovsky's favorite roles.
Smoktunovsky launched his screen career in 1956, with Ubiystvo Na Ulitse Dante/The Murder in Dante Street. From then on, he often re-created his most popular stage roles for the screen. The leading man's most highly praised films include The Soldiers (1957), Nine Days of One Year (1962), and Mozart and Salieri (1962), in which Smoktunovsky played Mozart. Though his film career continued into the early '90s, he found it increasingly difficult to find decent dramatic roles in post-Communist Russia. In some regards, Smoktunovsky's decline could be compared to that of Sir Laurence Olivier, for the Russian actor, too, began to be rather indiscriminate in choosing later roles. Still, Innokenty Smoktunovsky made many important additions to his country's cinema and for his contributions, he received numerous special awards, including the designation of People's Artist of the Soviet Union (1974) and the Lenin Prize (1964). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
A man unwillingly looks back upon his life as he prepares for his death in this grim Russian drama that features the final film appearance of star of stage and screen Innokenti Smoktunovsky. Knowing that he will soon pass on, elderly Valentin Grack hires private detective Stanislav to follow him around for an entire day and write down everything that he does. It is a cold day and during Grack's travels he encounters a younger woman who addresses him as "professor." He then meets a prostitute who turns out to be his daughter, and finally he meets an old woman, his worried wife who has been searching eight days for him. In between meeting the women, Grack finds himself in some almost surreal situations and having flashbacks about his youth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, (more)
- 1987
Oci Ciornie was an international co-production tailored for Marcello Mastroianni. It received good reviews in Italy and France, and Mastroianni was awarded "Best Actor" at the Cannes Film Festival. However, some in Russia felt that director Mikhalkov (who previously received wide acclaim for another Chekhov adaptation, (An Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano) tried too hard to cater to foreign tastes rather than to convey Chekhov's mood. So this film conveys more of a foreign idea what Chekhov is about rather than a Russian one. In the story, Romano (Marcello Mastroianni) is living the life of a "kept" man in that he is the penniless husband of a rich aristocratic woman who supports him. Whenever life at home becomes too difficult for him, he goes off to some spa or other for a "rest cure." In addition to resting, the clownish fellow flirts shamelessly with the women he finds at these resorts. During one of his restorative excursions, he meets a shy Russian woman named Anna, whom he is much taken with. When she leaves to return to her life at home, he resolves to follow her and woo her there. With a great deal of buffoonery and ingenuity (such as pretending to be a manufacturer of a special kind of glass), he gets a visa to travel into Russia. There, he finds her unhappily married to a minor official, and before he leaves for Europe he promises to return and marry her. When he gets back home, he finds that his aristocratic wife is experiencing a genuine crisis (her family has lost its money), and he soon forgets about Anna and his promises to her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Marthe Keller, (more)
