Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fetin (; ; 14 October 1925 — 20 August 1981) was a Soviet film director. He was named Merited Artist of the RSFSR in 1975.Cinema. Encyclopedic Dictionary // ed. Sergei Yutkevich. — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1987, p. 447
Biography Vladimir Fetin was born in Moscow into a noble Russian-German Fetting family which traced its history to Pyotr Ivanovich Fetting (born Pierre Friedrich de Fetting), a military engineer who moved to the Russian Empire from Berlin in 1812.Fetting Vladimir Aleksandrovich document scan at the Podvig naroda database (in Russian)Pierre Friedrich de Fetting at the Erik Amburger's database (in German)Fetting at the All-Russian Genealogical Tree database (in Russian) In 1943 he was enlisted in the Red Army and fought in the first reserve artillery corps. He changed several professions after the war, then entered the director's faculty at VGIK, a workshop led by Sergei Gerasimov which he finished in 1959.
His diploma short The Colt based on Mikhail Sholokhov's story saw a theatrical release by Lenfilm where he had been working since.Sergei Bocharov. Tolstoy's Contribution to Literature article from the Soviet Literature magazine № 11, p. 167, 1960 It was compared favourably with the French movie White Mane by foreign critique.Peter Baker. The Other Half of the Curtain article from the Films and Filming magazine № 3, London: Hansom Books, 1961, p. 34 Fetting's surname appeared as "Fetin" in the credits, he adopted it and used in all of his movies.The Colt at the official Lenfilm channel (in Russian)
In 1960 he was approached with an ambitious screenplay of a comedy about a ship overran by tigers. It was written with the famous tiger tamer Margarita Nazarova in mind who agreed to play the main part while her husband and circus partner Konstantin Konstantinovsky was to manage tigers and perform various stunts. Striped Trip was shot on board of a motor vessel in the Black Sea, with ten tigers, a lion and a chimpanzee acting along with popular comedy actors.Vyacheslav Ogryzko. Melville's school article at the Literaturnaya Gazeta newspaper № 2008, 23 February 2015 (in Russian)Attention, Tigers! documentary at the website in the memory of Aleksei Smirnov, Lenfilm, 1961 (in Russian) It was released in 1961 to an overwhelming success, becoming the Soviet box leader with 45.8 mln viewers.Sergey Kudryavtsev (1998). Our Cinema. — Moscow: Dubl-D, p. 145
After that Fetin turned back to dramas and directed Don Tale (1964), another Sholokhov adaptation based on two of his early stories. Once again he cast Yevgeny Leonov in the main part along with Lyudmila Chursina whom he married shortly after the film was released, again, to a success, becoming the 7th most popular Soviet movie of 1964 with 31.8 mln viewers.The master list of Soviet box office leaders (1962-1969) by Sergey Kudryavtsev (in Russian) His drama Sweet Woman was seen by 31.3 mln people, becoming the 12th most successful Soviet film of 1977.The master list of Soviet box office leaders (1970-1977) by Sergey Kudryavtsev (in Russian)
Vladimir Fetin died on 20 August 1981 from heart attack, shortly after finishing Lost Among the Living. He was buried in Leningrad at the South Cemetery.Vladimir Fetin's tomb
He was married three times, with a son from the first marriage and a daughter from the third. His second wife, an actress Lyudmila Chursina (born 1941), starred in four of his movies in the leading roles. According to her, Fetin developed a drinking problem while waiting for new projects which led to a split and ruined his health.Natalia Nikolaichik. Ludmila Chursina: I was close to becoming a bum interview at the Seven Days magazine, 1 August 2012 (in Russian)
Filmography 1959 — The Colt (Жеребёнок) 1961 — Striped Trip (Полосатый рейс) 1963 — Big Fitil (Большой фитиль), the Payoff episode (Расплата) 1964 — Don Tale (Донская повесть) 1968 — Virineya (Виринея) 1970 — Lyubov Yarovaya (Любовь Яровая) 1973 — Open Book (Открытая книга) 1975 — Fitil (Фитиль), The Flying Saucers episode (Летающие тарелки) 1976 — Sweet Woman (Сладкая женщина) 1979 — A Taiga Story (Таёжная повесть) 1981 — Lost Among the Living (Пропавшие среди живых)
References
External links
Vladimir Fetin on Open Library, Internet Archive Vladimir Aleksandrovič Fetin, su AllMovie, All Media Network.