The son of two poets (his father wrote the Russian national anthem), Konchalovsky originally studied as a concert pianist before moving on to filmmaking, writing scripts for acclaimed director Andrei Tarkovsky. His short thesis film, "The Boy and the Pigeon", won first prize in its category at the 1962 Venice Film Festival and his feature debut, "The First Teacher" (1965), established his reputation for finely-observed, well-acted character studies. "Asya's Happiness" (1967) was suppressed upon completion but released to critical acclaim in 1988.In 1979 Konchalovsky's three-and-a-half-hour "Siberiade" was awarded the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, earning him international attention and leading--partly due to the efforts of actor Jon Voight--to his move to the USA in 1980. Apart from the 1985 Voight-starrer "Runaway Train", however, Konchalovsky's American feature output has been disappointing. He made motion picture history with "Inner Circle" (1991), the first film to shoot scenes inside the Kremlin, KGB headquarters and the Soviet army's war college. For his first small screen effort, an adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" (NBC, 1997), Konchalovsky corralled an impressive cast, including Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Bernadette Peters and Vanessa Williams, and earned respectable reviews for his efforts.
Profession(s):
director, screenwriter, composer, assistant director
Sometimes Credited As:
Andrei Mikhalkov
Andrei Mikhalkov Konchalovsky
Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky
Family
brother:Nikita Mikhalkov (younger; appeared in several of Konchalovsky's films)
father:Sergei V Mikhalkov (head of Soviet writers union; wrote words to Russian national anthem)
grandfather:Pyotr Konchalovsky
great-grandfather:Vassili Surikov
mother:Natalya Konchalovskaya
wife:Vivianne Mikhalkov (French; worked as an assistant to film director John Berry)
Emmy Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special "The Odyssey" 1996 - 1997
Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize Award "Siberiade" 1979
1996 Helmed first American TV miniseries, "Odyssey" (to air in 1997)
1991 Directed "Inner Circle", first film to shoot scenes inside the Kremlin, KGB headquarters and the Soviet Red Army's war college
1985 First American film, "Maria's Lovers"
1966 Film "Asya's Happiness" banned by Soviet government (film released in 1988)
1965 Directed first feature, "The First Teacher"
1960 Formed partnership with director Andrei Tarkovsky; wrote "Kotok I Skripka/THe Steamroller and the Violin"
1957 Abandoned music career; began to study film
Studied music for 15 years intending to become a concert pianist
