Red Moscow

Chapter 2442

Hearing Eisenstein’s instructions to the operator, Sokov couldn’t help but smile. If the other party ignores you, then what you say is just a blind man lighting a lamp in vain. Since he sent a telegram to the director team for verification, his identity will be confirmed soon. As long as the other party understands his true identity, he will definitely agree to participate in this movie, and maybe he will be given a few more shots.

 The reason Sokov has such confidence is because he feels that he played a far better role than others in the defense of Stalingrad. For example, the 13th Guards Division, which had a brilliant record in history, was overshadowed by its 41st Guards Division, and its performance on the battlefield was mediocre. And the world-famous "Pavlov's Building" became the "Vasily's Building" because of him, making the sniper Vasily famous in another form.

Contrary to Sokov, Asiya seemed extremely worried. She asked Sokov in a low voice from time to time: "Misha, is this possible? Can Eisenstein agree that you play a suitable role in the movie?"

Sokov stretched out an arm, hugged Asiya, and said with a smile: "Asiya, you are also one of the participants in the battle to defend Stalingrad. Do you think the troops under my command have been strong throughout the battle?" Did it play a big role?”

 In response to Sokov's question, Asiya nodded vigorously and replied without thinking: "That's for sure."

 Seeing Asiya trusting him so much, Sokov was somewhat surprised, "You trust me so much?"

"Misha," Asia leaned her head on Sokov's arms and said softly, "I say this not because you are my husband, but because of other people's evaluation of you."

"What do others think of me?" Sokov was curious about what he was like in the minds of others, so he asked curiously: "What do they think of me?"

"As you know, I once worked as a military doctor in the Weapons and Equipment Department for a period of time." Asiya explained: "Because of my profession, I was able to come into contact with different people. And they didn't understand my identity, so in There is no need to have any scruples when talking about certain things. I once heard a general say that if the Germans occupied Mamayev Hill, they could set up artillery on the hill or build fortifications and blockade them with fire. The crossing of the Volga River completely cut off the connection between the city and the outside.

 Misha, although I am only a military doctor, I still understand many things. Even though we won the Battle of Stalingrad, those who have not participated in the battle cannot understand the dangers involved. Although the defenders in the city performed bravely and tenaciously, they would not be able to defend the city if the enemy cut off the supply of troops and ammunition. And you commanded the troops to guard Mamayev Heights, ensuring the smooth flow of the city's life path. "

"Comrade General," Lieutenant Colonel Kulak walked up to Sokov, first glanced at Eisenstein standing in the distance, and then lowered his voice and said apologetically: "The deputy director is a stubborn person, very unhappy. It's easy to talk to, if he offends you in any way, please don't mind."

Facing Kulak's overture, Sokov nodded slightly and then said: "Talented people usually have some weird problems. Don't worry, I won't argue with him."

 Just through the conversation with Asya, Sokov recalled the information about Eisenstein. Sergei Eisenstein was born in Riga, Russia on January 23, 1898. He graduated from the Architecture Department of the St. Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineering. He is a famous director, screenwriter, producer, actor, writer, and editor.

In 1923, he directed his first short film "Grumov's Diary". In 1924, he directed his first film "Strike". In 1925, he directed the war film "Battleship Potemkin". This film was rated by international film critics at the 1958 Brussels International Film Festival as the first of the 12 best films since the film came out.

  In 1928, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, he directed the feature film "October". In 1934, in order to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Soviet cinema, the article "Five-Year Plan 1924-1929" was written. In 1938, he directed the war film "Alexander Nevsky", for which he was awarded the State Medal by the Soviet Ballet Committee. In 1939, he was awarded the "20 Years of Soviet Cinema" Medal for Contribution. In 1944, he directed the biographical film "Ivan the Terrible". In 1948, he wrote his last article "Color Cinema".

 On February 2, 1946, Sergei Eisenstein underwent surgery for myocardial infarction at the Kremlin Hospital. On February 11, 1948, Sergei Eisenstein died on the set of the film due to angina pectoris at the age of 50. In 1958, the biographical film "Ivan the Terrible 2" directed by him was released. In 1979, the documentary "Viva Mexico" directed by him won the Honorary Gold Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival.

 It is precisely because of understanding Eisenstein's extraordinary life that Sokov behaves so generously. He turned to Kulak and asked, "Do you know Einstein?"

"Einstein?!" Hearing the name Sokov said, Kulak nodded and said in a positive tone: "Of course I know, he is a great physicist. Although he was born in Germany, because of his As a Jew, he immigrated to the United States in the 1930s. It is said that the super bomb used by the United States to bomb the island country a few months ago was developed based on the theory he invented."

After listening to Kulak's words, Sokov said with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since you know Einstein, you have naturally seen his photos. Don't you think Comrade Eisenstein's hairstyle is very similar to Einstein's?" Is it similar?"

Hearing what Sokov said, Kulak thought about it carefully, then nodded in agreement and said: "Comrade General, you are right, they both have the same hairstyle. They are both great people with a little temper. ,It should be possible."

“Comrade General,” Woven ran over and said to Sokov: “Comrade Eisenstein, please come over.”

“So, a call back from the director team has arrived?” Sokov guessed from Woven’s attitude why Eisenstein invited him there.

"Yes, the call back from the director team has indeed arrived." Woven explained: "Comrade Eisenstein is speaking to you."    "Comrade Eisenstein," Sokov came to Eisenstein with a smile on his face. Asked: "Did the callback from the director team explain my identity?"

"You are right, General Sokov." After learning Sokov's true identity, Eisenstein became much more enthusiastic about Sokov. He rubbed his hands and said, "According to your experience in Stalingrad, For your work in Defence, you really deserve a suitable role.”

 “So, I can act as my true self?”

"Wait a minute, Comrade General." Eisenstein said apologetically: "I regret to tell you that your name will indeed appear in the movie, but someone else will play you."

When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked: "Comrade Eisenstein, I don't quite understand what you mean, can you make it clearer?"

"That's it, Comrade General." Eisenstein said with some embarrassment: "In the movie we are about to shoot, the defense of Mamayev Heights is only a small part of the plot. The commander who leads the troops to defend the highlands is probably It’s only going to be a little over a minute of footage. It’s because there’s so little description of this character that I just didn’t connect you to this character at all.”

"Ah, there is only more than a minute of footage." After hearing this, Asya, who was next to Sokov, couldn't help showing a shocked expression on her face: "You know, Mamayev Ridge has to withstand German shelling and bombardment every day. Bombing, and endless attacks. I still remember that after the defenders ran out of bullets, they fought hand-to-hand combat with bayonets and the oncoming enemies. The battle at that time was extremely cruel, and the casualty ratio between us and the enemy reached One to three. In other words, for every three enemies we kill, one soldier will be sacrificed."

 Eisenstein had a shocked expression on his face when he heard this. Although he listened to the intelligence bureau's battle reports every day during the Battle of Stalingrad, the contents of the battle reports were very simple. They were nothing more than that General So-and-so's troops successfully repelled the enemy's attack and destroyed many enemies. How many weapons were seized and so on. As for how our troops fought with the enemy, they were all described in a simple sentence without introducing the details of the battle at all. Eisenstein didn't even know that Sokov's troops fought with the invading enemy with bayonets in order to defend Mamayev Heights.

Sokov’s reaction was beyond everyone’s expectations. He still had a smile on his face and was not affected by Eisenstein’s words at all. Because he knew very well that even the famous Zhukov was directly ignored in this movie, let alone a small teacher like himself. He still remembered that in the 1949 version of the movie, he saw General Rodimtsev, the commander of the 13th Guards Division, as a tall and handsome young man. In later versions, the Rodimtsev who appeared was indeed a fat man of medium height. And Sokov, who had met Rodimtsev, naturally understood that the Rodimtsev in the later remake of the movie version was in line with his own image.

Thinking of this, he tentatively asked Eisenstein: "Comrade Eisenstein, I would like to ask, who is the director planning to let play me?"

When Eisenstein heard this question, he replied with a bitter look on his face: "General Sokov, I just said that your character only appears in the movie for more than one minute. For such a character, The actors used will naturally not be too famous." Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov would be unhappy, he also emphasized, "But don't worry, even if he is an ordinary actor, his appearance will never disappoint the audience."

After listening to this, Sokov nodded slightly and said: "As long as the actors don't look too ugly, it will be fine. I don't want to leave a bad image in the minds of all the audiences."

"You can rest assured that the actors we use have absolutely no problem with their appearance." After Eisenstein finished speaking, he tentatively asked Sokov: "General Sokov, the director team probably needs more It takes an hour to get here, and I can show you the script if you want."

 When he learned that the director's team would have to wait an hour before arriving, Sokov originally thought it would be too long. But when Eisenstein said he could read the script, he immediately changed his mind. He felt that the script used in a blockbuster film like "The Battle of Stalingrad" must not be simple, and he might not be able to finish it in an hour.

After he took the script of "The Battle of Stalingrad" from Eisenstein, he found a place to sit down and read it patiently.

Through reading the script, Sokov quickly discovered the problem. The problems with the 1949 version of "The Battle of Stalingrad" are clear at a glance. In the film, the image of Stalin portrayed by Diki is extremely tall. Throughout the film, only the Supreme Commander himself is strategizing and directing the country. He is always in his office in the Kremlin, constantly giving instructions, making decisions, and deploying troops with the help of God. Mobilize troops.

 All generals, including Vasilevsky, are tool men in the movie. Every time, Stalin meditated hard in front of the map, and then came up with clever strategies, and then implemented them on the battlefield through the tool men around him, thus achieving the final victory of the battle.

Although the later film "The Battle of Stalingrad" has made great progress, Sokov still feels that there are many shortcomings. For example, in the later stages of filming the new version of "The Battle of Stalingrad", director Ozerov ran out of money. In desperation, he had to ask Warner Bros. for help and obtained filming funds. However, the tradition of Hollywood has always been to push the envelope and ask for American actors to be included in the film. Ozerov was reluctant in every possible way, but money can work, and after weighing the two, he had to give up the number one leading actor Chuikov to an American actor. Starring Powers Booth.

The upcoming "Battle of Stalingrad" does not create a vivid image of a soldier. In fact, comparing the movie script, it still depicts a variety of images of soldiers and ordinary people, including a local old lady. The descriptions are very vivid, but they are all missing in the movie. They are all freehand statue-like existences of soldiers. The silhouettes of soldiers look like they have been slashed with axes, and there is no trace of the real human heart. Therefore, the war in the movie The scene cannot resonate with the audience, which must be said to be the flaw of the film.

Sokov closed the script and said to Eisenstein: "Comrade Eisenstein, I have read the script and it is very well written. I believe that after this film is filmed, it will be famous all over the world."

 Hearing Sokov's compliment, Eisenstein showed a knowing smile on his face.

 (End of this chapter)