Celebrity Deathwatch: Grigory Chukhrai, Soviet-era Filmmaker, 80

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

MOSCOW, Russia -- A soviet-era filmmaker, best known for his World War
II movies, has died aged 80. 

Ukrainian-born Grigory Chukhrai, who had suffered several heart
attacks, died on Sunday at a Moscow hospital, the Union of
Cinematographers said. 

Chukhrai found fame with his 1959 film "Ballad of a Soldier," which
played all over the world and is considered one of the best-ever Soviet
war films. 

Chukhrai, who was wounded four times as a WWII paratrooper and who took
part in the battle of Stalingrad, once said all his war films were
based on personal experiences 

He said: "War most clearly reveals people's characters and deeds." 

Chukhrai's other films include "The Forty-First" (1956), "Clear Sky"
(1959), "Life is Beautiful" (1980) and "I'll Teach You to Dream"
(1984). He also wrote a book of war memoirs. 

He studied at the Moscow Cinema Institute under the Soviet film master
Mikhail Romm. 

Chukhrai, who was awarded the highest Soviet artistic title of Popular
Artist of USSR, will be buried Wednesday in Moscow after a memorial
gathering. 

He is survived by a son, also a filmmaker.

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