Vladimir Menshov is a Soviet and Russian actor and director who has accounted for not only many truly iconic projects, but also the most prestigious international award - the Oscar. The films “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears” and “Love and Pigeons” became the most significant in his directorial career.
Early biography pages
Vladimir Menshov was born in 1939, the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, but has a Russian origin: at that time the family lived in another republic at the place of service of the father of the future actor. In 1947, the Menshovs moved to the beautiful northern city of Arkhangelsk, the nature of which greatly aroused the craving for creativity in young Vladimir.
A few years later, the family returned to their homeland - in Astrakhan. Here, the future director was seriously interested in cinema. He not only watched the famous Soviet films, but also read about how they were created, studied the activities of famous actors and directors. The parents themselves made the decision to become an actor themselves positively and sent him to Moscow. There Menshov tried to enter VGIK, but he did not succeed. He returned to Astrakhan and began to prepare for re-entry.
Actor career
Having gained experience in the local drama theater and saved up money, Vladimir Menshov once again went to the capital in 1961. Now he easily enrolled in the Moscow Art Theater School, becoming a student in the acting department. In subsequent years, he managed to work in the Stavropol Drama Theater and additionally graduate from directing graduate school.
In 1970, Menshov made his debut in the film of fellow student Vladimir Pavlovsky "Happy Kukushkin." Then he played in the film "The Man in His Place", which was highly praised by critics. In subsequent years, the actor starred in such popular films as “Where is Nofelet?”, “Courier”, “Highway”. He continues to act today: over the past decade, he was remembered by the audience for the paintings "Day Watch", "Brezhnev", "Legend No. 17" and others.
Director's chair
Having a director's education, Vladimir Menshov for a long time wanted to start filming his own movie. He succeeded for the first time in 1976, when his film "Raffle" was released, which became the rental leader and was awarded various awards.
In 1979, Menshov released the second film, which became fatal: the film “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” not only became the most watched and discussed film in the history of the USSR, but was also sent to the Academy Award for the nomination “Best Foreign Language Film” " As a result, the film won this award in 1981.
In 1984, the next widely known film by Menshov was released - the comedy "Love and Pigeons". Not immediately, but rather quickly, he also trampled the path to the hearts of the audience, who had pulled the tape into quotes. In 1995, Vladimir Valentinovich shot the next comedy "Shirley-myrli", which turned out to be quite bold and experimental, and in the 2000th - the drama "Envy of the Gods" about Soviet life during the Cold War.
