R.I.P. Irina Skobtseva (1927-2020)

On Sunday 20 October 2020, Russian actress Irina Skobtseva (1927) has died. She was a famous star of the Soviet cinema. She was the second wife of Sergei Bondarchuk and played Helen Kuragina in his epic film Voyna i mir/War and Peace (1966), a powerful adaptation of the eponymous masterpiece by Leo Tolstoy. Skobtseva was 93.


Soviet postcard by Izdanie Bjuro Propagandy Sovetskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A05978, 1968. The card was issued in 300,000 copies. Retail price: 8 Kop.

Miss Charm of the Cannes Film Festival

Irina Konstantinovna Skobtseva (Russian: Ирина Константиновна Скобцева) was born in 1927 in Tula, USSR (now Russia). Her father, Konstantin Skobtsev, was a meteorology scientist, her mother, Julia Nikolaevna, was an archive researcher.

After graduation, Irina entered the art department of Moscow State University. While studying, she played in the student theatre. After graduating in 1952, she entered the Moscow Art Theatre School, from which she graduated in 1955.

In the same year, Irina Skobtseva made her cinema debut as Desdemona in the Shakespearian drama Otello/Othello (Sergei Yutkevich, 1955) opposite Sergei Bondarchuk. The picture won the Best Director award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, and Skobtseva was awarded the title 'Miss Charm of the Cannes Film Festival'.

After Otello, Irina Skobtseva, who remained in the audience's view primarily as a romantic heroine, turned to character acting. She played Cyrus in the film adaptation of Leonid Leonov's play Obyknovennyy chelovek/The Ordinary Man (Aleksandr Stolbov, 1956) and Klavdia Nikolaevna in Nepovtorimaya vesna/Unrepeatable Spring (Aleksandr Stolper, 1957), starring Yevgeniya Kozyreva and Izolda Izvitskaya.


Soviet multiview postcard by Izdanie Bjuro Propagandy Sojuza rabotnikov kinematografii SSSR, Moscow, no. 16380, 1960. Irina Skobtseva in scenes from Otello/Othello (Sergei Yutkevich, 1955), Obyknovennyy chelovek/The Ordinary Man (Aleksandr Stolbov, 1956), Ivan Franko (Timofei Levchuk, 1956), Nepovtorimaya vesna/Unrepeatable Spring (Aleksandr Stolper, 1957), Poyedinok/Duel (Vladimir Petrov, 1957), Annushka (Boris Barnet, 1959), and Seryozha/A Summer to Remember (Georgiy Daneliya, Igor Talankin, 1960).

The most expensive film ever made

In 1959, Irina Skobtseva married actor and director Sergei Bondarchuk who had been her partner in Otello/Othello. This laid the foundations for a series of joint works in the cinema.

Skobtseva shot to fame as Helen Kuragina in Bondarchuk's epic Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1966). The eight-hour epic became the most expensive film ever made. The film was produced over a period of seven years, from 1961 to 1968, at an estimated cost of $100,000,000 (about one billion dollars adjusted for inflation in 2010).

Voyna i mir set several records, such as involving over three hundred professional actors from several countries. Tens of thousands of extras from the Red Army appeared in the filming of the 3rd two-hour-long episode about the historic Battle of Borodino against Napoleon's invasion. This made it the largest battle scene ever filmed.

Voyna i mir won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Skobtseva played in the films produced by Bondarchuk himself like Oni srazhalis za rodinu/They Fought for Their Country (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1975), Step/Steppe (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1977), and Boris Godunov (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1986).

She also played in films by other directors — Seryozha/Splendid Days (Georgiy Daneliya, Igor Talankin, 1960), Molchaniye doktora Ivensa/Silence of Doctor Evans (Budimir Metalnikov, 1973), Vybor tseli/Take Aim (Igor Talankin, 1975), Otets Sergiy/Father Sergius (Igor Talankin, 1978), and Barkhatnyy sezon/Velvet Season (Vladimir Pavlovich, 1979).

Skobtseva also performed roles in such films of Bondarchuk as Waterloo (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1970) with Rod Steiger and Orson Welles, Krasnye kolokola, film vtoroy - Ya videl rozhdenie novogo mira/Red Bells II (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1982) with Franco Nero, and Quiet Flows the Don (1992) with Rupert Everett - the last work of Sergei Bondarchuk.


Soviet postcard by Izdanie Bjuro Propagandy Sovetskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08347, 1969. Photo: Irina Skobtseva and Sergey Bondarchuk in Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergey Bondarchuk, 1966). This postcard was printed in an edition of 500.000 cards. Retail price: 6 Kop.


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin no. 2744, 1966. Retail price was 0,20 MDN. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1967) with Lyudmila Savelyeva (Natacha Rostova), Irina Skobtseva (Hélène Kuragin), Vasili Lanovoy (Anatol Kuragin).

People's Artist of the RSFSR

Irina Skobtseva appeared as a comedic actress in the films of Georgiy Daneliya, such as Ya shagayu po Moskve/Walking the Streets of Moscow (1963), Tridtsat tri/Thirty-Three (1965), and Sovsem propashchiy/Hopelessly Lost (1973).

One of her best comedy roles is Lidia Sergeevna in the film Eldar Ryazanov's Zigzag udachi/Zigzag of Success (1969).

In the 1980s, Irina Skobtseva semi-retired, but she made some appearances in films and on television since. The actress played major roles in the films Zagadochnyy naslednik/The Mysterious Heir (Tamara Lisitsian, 1987), Besy/The Possessed (Dmitri Talankin, Igor Talankin, 1992), and Zorka venera/Zorka Venus (Margarita Kasymova, 2000).

On TV, Skobtseva starred in the series Zhenskaya logika/The Heirs (Eldor Urazbaev, 2001; Viktor Buturlin, 2005), and Belaya gvardiya/The White Guard (2012).

Later she appeared in the family film Tayna tyomnoy komnaty/The Secret of the Dark Room (Olga Belyaeva, 2014). Her final film role was in the family film Opasnye kanikuly/A dangerous vacation (Olga Belyaeva, 2016).

Since 1957, Skobtseva was an actress of the National Film Actors' Theatre, and since 1971, she taught acting, was an assistant professor of the department of acting at VGIK, and together with Sergei Bondarchuk, she led an acting studio. Irina Skobtseva received the title People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1974. In 1997, she was awarded the Order of Friendship.

Irina Skobtseva passed away in Moscow, Russia. With Sergei Bondarchuk, she had a daughter, actress Yelena Bondarchuk, and a son, Fyodor Bondarchuk, a film director, actor and producer, and chairman of the board of directors of Lenfilm.


Russian multiview postcard by FK, Rostov on Don, Engels, no. 54. The card was issued in 100,000 copies. Pictures from Otello/Othello (Sergei Yutkevich, 1955), Obyknovennyy chelovek/The Ordinary Man (Aleksandr Stolbov, 1956), Annushka (Boris Barnet, 1959), and Ivan Franko (Timofei Levchuk, 1956).


Russian postcard, series no. 38. Caption: My favourite artists. Film stars pictured are amongst others Sergei Bondarchuk, Aleksey Batalov, Izolda Izvitskaya, Irina Skobtseva, and Vyacheslav Tikhonov.

Sources: Steve Shelokhonov (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

Voyna i mir (1967)

This film special is about the longest films I ever saw, Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966). The original version even took 431 minutes. I saw a bit shorter version in the 1980s at a Dutch student festival called 'De lange zit' (The long sitting), which I helped organizing. And it was a long sitting! There were no intervals (we had simply no time for it), but plenty of free and very long films. These included Bernardo Bertolucci's Novecento/1900 (1976) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part 1 and II (1972-1974). But the epic film version of Tolstoy's War and Peace beat them all - in length. A happy memory.


Russian postcard by Sovexportfilm. Publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966). Caption: "VOINA I MIR, WAR AND PEACE, GUERRE ET PAIX, GUERRA Y PAZ". Collection: Amsterdam EYE Filmmuseum.


East-German postcard by VEB Progress Filmvertrieb, Berlin no. 2744, 1966. Retail price was 0,20 MDN. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Lyudmila Savelyeva as Natacha Rostova, Irina Skobtseva as Hélène Kuragin, and Vasili Lanovoiy as Anatol Kuragin.

The most expensive film ever made in the Soviet Union

Voyna i mir (Война́ и мир) is a Soviet film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, released in four parts during 1966 and 1967.

Sergei Bondarchuk directed the film series, co-wrote the script and starred in the leading role of Pierre Bezukhov, alongside Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Lyudmila Savelyeva, who depicted Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova.

Voyna i mir was produced by the Mosfilm studios between 1961 and 1967, with considerable support from the authorities. At a cost of 8,291,712 Soviet ruble – equal to 9,213,013 U.S. dollar in 1967 rates, or $67 million in 2011, accounting for ruble inflation – it was the most expensive film ever made in the Soviet Union.

Upon its release, it became a success with the audiences, selling approximately 135 million tickets in its native country. Voyna i mir/War and Peace also won the Grand Prix in the Moscow International Film Festival, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.


Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08343, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500,000 cards. Retail price was 6 kop. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Lyudmila Savelyeva.


Soviet postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08341, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500.000 cards. Retail price: 6 Kop.Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Sergei Bondarchuk as Pierre Bezukhov.

A counter strike to King Vidor

The nearing 150th anniversary of the 1812 French Invasion, as well the worldwide success of War and Peace (1959), King Vidor's American-Italian adaptation of the Russian national epic – at a time when the USSR and the United States were struggling for prestige – motivated the Soviet Minister of Culture Yekaterina Furtseva to begin planning a local picture based on Leo Tolstoy's novel.

An open letter which appeared in the Soviet press, signed by many of the country's filmmakers, declared: "it is a matter of honour for the Soviet cinema industry, to produce a picture which will surpass the American-Italian one in its artistic merit and authenticity." According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, the film was to serve as a 'counter strike' to King Vidor.

During 1960, several leading Soviet directors proposed themselves to head the project, but the Ministry of Culture offered it to forty-year-old Sergei Bondarchuk, who had completed his directorial debut, Destiny of a Man, in 1959.

Bondarchuk had not sought out the position and did not know of the proposal until a letter from the Ministry reached him, but he chose to accept it. He represented a generation of young directors promoted by Nikita Khruschev's Kremlin to replace the old filmmakers from the Stalin era.


Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08352, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500,000 cards. Retail price was 6 kop. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Vyacheslav Tikhonov as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. Tikhonov is the first from the right, not to be confused with the man in foreground.


Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08359, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500.000 cards. Retail price: 6 Kop. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Boris Zakhava as General Kutuzov.

An authentic impression of the early 19th-century Russia

On 5 May 1961, the work on Voyna i mir/War and Peace (1967) began at the Mosfilm studios. Bondarchuk hired playwright Vasily Solovyov as his assistant for composing the script. They chose to seclude several of Tolstoy's plotlines and themes, in order not to make the film too cumbersome: the episodes concerning Nikolai Rostov and Maria Bolkonskaya were almost completely ignored, and Anatol Kuragin received an only slightly better treatment. The author's views on philosophy and history were barely mentioned at all.

On 20 March 1962, Minister Furtseva approved the scenario and requested all relevant agencies to assist the producers, including the Ministry of Defence, which was deemed central in providing support for the project.

More than forty museums contributed historical artefacts, such as chandeliers, furniture and cutlery, to create an authentic impression of the early 19th-century Russia. Thousands of costumes were sewn, mainly military uniform of the sorts worn in the Napoleonic Wars.

Anticipating the need for cavalry, line producer Nikolai Ivanov and General Osilkovsky began seeking appropriate horses. While the cavalry formations of the Army were long abolished, several units in the Transcaucasian Military District and the Turkestan Military District retained horse drawn mountain artillery. In addition to those, the Ministry of Agriculture gave away nine hundred horses and the Moscow City Police organized a detachment from its mounted regiment.


Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08356, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500,000 cards. Retail price was 6 kop. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Lyudmila Savelyeva and Vasili Lanovoiy.


Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08339, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500,000 cards. Retail price was 6 kop. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1967) with Lyudmila Savelyeva.

The first Soviet picture to win the Oscar

Part I, Andrei Bolkonsky was screened in two consecutive parts, released in a total of 2,805 copies in March 1966. In the fifteen months afterwards, the first sold 58.3 million tickets in the USSR, and 58 million of the viewers remained through the intermission. Thus, Andrei Bolkonsky became the most successful film of the year.

Part II, Natasha Rostova, which opened in July with 1,405 copies disseminated, performed less well and attracted 36.2 million viewers in the same time period, reaching the third place in the 1966 box office, although it would have been ninth if counted in 1967.

The two final parts have deteriorated further: Part III, The Year 1812, with 1,407 copies released, had 21 million admissions and Part IV, Pierre Bezukhov, sold 'merely' 19.8 million tickets. They made it to the 13th and 14th place at the 1967 box office.

With a total of some 135 million tickets sold, Voyna i mir/War and Peace was considered a resounding commercial success at the time.

The series was screened in 117 countries around the world. In East Germany, the state-owned DEFA studio produced a slightly shorter edition of the series, dubbed to German, which ran 409 minutes and maintained the four-part order of the original. Among others, it featured Angelica Domröse, who voiced Lisa Bolkonskaya. It attracted more than 2 million viewers in the German Democratic Republic. In the People's Republic of Poland, it sold over 5 million tickets in 1967, and in France more than 1.2 million tickets

Walter Reade Jr.'s company Continental Distributors purchased the US rights of Voyna i mir/War and Peace for $1.5 million. The distributor shortened the American version by an hour, and added English-language dubbing.

In July 1965, Voyna i mir/War and Peace was awarded the Grand Prix at the 4th Moscow International Film Festival together with the Hungarian entry Húsz óra Twenty Hours (Zoltán Fábri, 1965). In 1967, Voyna i mir was entered into the 1967 Cannes Film Festival, outside of the competition.

In the United States, it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in the 26th Golden Globe Awards. The picture was the Soviet entry to the 41st Academy Awards. It received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Voyna i mir/War and Peace was the first Soviet picture to win the Oscar for best foreign film, and also the longest film ever to receive an Academy Award.

In 1986, Sergei Bondarchuk was requested to prepare Voyna i mir/War and Peace for a broadcast in television. A 35-mm. copy of the series, which was filmed in parallel to the main version and had a 4:3 aspect ratio, rather than the 70-mm. 2.20:1, was submitted, after being adapted by a team headed by Petritsky.

In 1999, as part of an initiative to restore its old classics, Mosfilm resolved to restore Voyna i mir/War and Peace. As the original 70-mm. reels were damaged beyond repair, the studio used the 1988 4:3 version and the original soundtrack to make a DVD edition.


Russian postcard by Izdanije Byuro Propogandy Sovietskogo Kinoiskusstva, no. A 08351, 1969. This postcard was printed in an edition of 500,000 cards. Retail price was 6 kop. Photo: publicity still for Voyna i mir/War and Peace (Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965-1966) with Lyudmila Savelyeva.

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.