The famous Soviet and Russian cameraman, who was rightly considered a genius, has a rich pedigree with Swedish-Danish roots, aristocratic and creatively gifted.
George was born in September 1937 in Moscow. One of his grandfathers was a famous architect, related to the construction of the telegraph, the Kiev railway station in the capital. The second grandfather - the artist, painted portraits of the Grand Duchesses, landscapes. Father is an artist-designer, a great many illustrated books came out from under his brush. Mother played the cello, was a well-known person in creative circles.
Since childhood, George was interested in painting, especially distinguished Dutch and Italian masters. In his youth, he painted himself, but so far few works of the master have been preserved. He destroyed more than half. Education future famous cultural figure received excellent. In 1960 he graduated from VGIK, the operator's department.
Famous works
Rerberg's debut work was the painting "The First Teacher" (1965), shot in black and white according to the story of Chingiz Aitmatov. This is a drama with documentary elements. The next film was "The History of Asya Klyachina …", Rerberg worked on the film together with Andron Konchalovsky. The film was banned at the box office, only after 20 years the restrictions were lifted. It was then that recognition came. The creators of the picture were awarded the State Prize. Vasiliev brothers. Rerberg himself was nominated for a “Nick”.
This was followed by "Uncle Vanya", in which black-and-white frames with color are surprisingly organically intertwined, which gives the plot special drama and piquancy. This technique was the hallmark of George Rerberg. He continued it in Tarkovsky’s Mirror, where the unreal is displayed in black and white and the childhood world is colorful. In addition to color tricks, the operator used a lot of others: rapid, reportage, intraframe movement, contrast lighting and others.
"Stalker"
Shooting of the famous film director Tarkovsky "Stalker" was marked by a conflict situation. The film "Kodak" was spoiled, on which the impressive part of the film was filmed. The director demanded that Rerberg be removed from participation in the production process. Most of the film was re-shot by director A. Knyazhinsky. A 2008 documentary was created about the conflict between the two masters.
George Rerberg and his wife
The brilliant cameraman, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, was distinguished by a steep disposition. The inconsistency and unpredictability of character became the causes of his frequent conflicts with colleagues, actors. He had a small circle of friends, his personal life did not actually develop. They loved George Rerberg, women found him to be especially brutal, masculine, respected for genius, valued and believed in harmonious relations. He was a heartthrob and himself believed that he was not capable of a long relationship with one woman, gravitated to a free and unencumbered life. He didn’t know how to love and be gentle with lovers, too. One of the famous novels of the master was with Marianna Vertinskaya. However, the longest was an alliance with actress Valentina Titova.
Acquaintance with her happened by chance, on the set of the film "Father Sergius." Director Igor Talanin invited Valentina to take part in the process of creating the picture. Rerberg worked as an operator and, as he later admitted, fell in love with the girl’s back. One day, George volunteered to conduct an actress, then insisted on meeting his mother, who had already heard about Valentine.
Lovers did not live in the best conditions. Behind the soul, the eminent operator had virtually nothing. Thanks to the efforts of Titova, he began to adapt, learned to live in the same square with another person. In the actual marriage, Valentin Titov and George Rerberg lived 15 years, after which they decided to register their relationship. He insisted that the spouse take his last name after the marriage. At the end of his life, George left a touching message to his wife, in which he apologized for having endured his difficult character for 20 years.
