- published: 19 Oct 2014
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Chapaev (Russian: Чапаев, IPA: [tɕɪˈpaɪf]) is a 1934 Soviet war film, directed by the Vasilyev brothers for Lenfilm.
It is based on a fictionalized biography of Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev (1887–1919), a Red Army commander who became a hero of the Russian Civil War. The plot is based on the novel of the same name by Dmitri Furmanov, a Russian writer and Bolshevik commissar who fought together with Chapaev.
On release (premiered on 6 November 1934 in Leningrad cinema theatre "Titan"), the film became one of the most popular creations in the history of Soviet cinema. Within the first year it was watched by 30 million people in the USSR alone.
It was awarded the accolade "Best Foreign Film" by the US National Board of Review in 1935 and the Grand-Prix of the Paris World Fair in 1937.
In a 1978 poll of cinema critics, the film was considered one of the best 100 films in history.
After the release of the film, Chapaev and his assistants Petka and Anka became Russian folklore characters. This trio, together with their political commissar Furmanov, is present in a large number of Russian jokes.
Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev (Russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Чапа́ев; February 9 [O.S. January 28] 1887 – September 5, 1919) was a celebrated Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War.
Chapayev was born into a poor peasant family in a village called Budayka, now part of Cheboksary. During World War I, he fought as a non-commissioned officer and was awarded the Cross of St. George three times. In September 1917, he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks). In December was elected commander of the 138 Infantry Regiment by a vote of the regiment's soldiers. He later commanded the 2nd Nikolaev Division and the 25th Rifle Division.
On September 5, 1919, the divisional headquarters near Lbishchensk (now renamed Chapayev in his honour) were ambushed by White Army forces. According to official sources, Chapayev tried to escape by swimming across the Ural River, but was never again seen alive. "In 1919, a wounded Chapayev was shot and drowned in the Ural river" His body was never recovered, but the town where he died was later renamed Chapaev, and a museum was established in 1927.
A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.
The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.