Motion Series "Yul The Magnificent" About
Hollywood legend Yul Brynner
MOTION SERIES
"Yul The Magnificent"
About Hollywood legend Yul Brynner
Appropriate for age 12+
Duration: 4 episodes
Written and directed by Maria de Valukhoff
Yul Brynner born Yuliy Borisovich Brinner (1920-1985) was an American theater and film actor of Russian origin. In the 1950s he became one of the most successful Russian immigrants in Hollywood and won the hearts of millions of viewers around the world.
Yul was born in Vladivostok to the family of Boris and Marusya Briners, who were of Russian, Buryat and Swiss descent. In the 1930s, the family moved to Paris, where Yul met a Dimitrievich couple, a famous Romani clan that performed at a popular Russian restaurant ‘Rasputin’. This acquaintance determined the future career of Brynner: his first appearance on the stage was his entrance singing a gypsy romance, accompanied by thirty guitars. After meeting theatre teacher Mikhail Chekhov, Yul began to enthusiastically engage in acting and went to New York following the master, where he immediately found himself in the thick of things. Brynner worked in television, sang gypsy romances, participated in auditions and achieved his most renowned role of the King of Siam in the musical The King and I. Brynner played the role on the theatre stage over 4,000 times, that remains a standing record. In 1957, for the film version of his musical performance, Brynner received the highest acting award in the United States, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Yul has a wonderful voice, a bass-baritone, which shaped his roles, with film directors and producers invited him exclusively to roles of kings and emperors, including Ramses in The Ten Commandents, the King of Siam in The King and I, and Solomon in Solomon and Sheba, among others. Along with roles in films, multiple love interests developed, including Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman, and a relationship with Marlene Dietrich that lasted almost twenty years. Brynner also enjoyed relationships with Jean Cocteau, Charlie Chaplin, parties at Frank Sinatra's villa and even a personal audience with the Queen of England.
Yul was not only an accomplished actor, but also a talented photographer. Each episode of the film presents a frame of film made by Brynner himself, from which a story unfolds about the events and people associated with the particular photo frame. The story is supplemented by fragments from films with his participation, performances, and photographs from Brynner’s personal archive.
After a brilliant acting career, recognition and fame, came four marriages and a tragic death. As a patient with lung cancer, Brynner went on stage until his dying day, experiencing terrible pain, but this did not stop him smoking. On the day of his death, Brynner’s appeal regarding the dangers of smoking was shown on television, filmed shortly before his death for the National Cancer Institute. Sitting in front of the TV camera he said: "Now that I’m gone, I tell you: don’t smoke, whatever you do. Just don’t smoke". His message from the grave was credited with persuading thousands of people to quit smoking.
The life and death story of Yul Brynner is full of adventures, novels, movie stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood that will undoubtedly attract a wide range of viewers. Beautiful scenes, luxury, endless love adventures, and, of course, music: the core motif of the whole film is gypsy romances, including his favorite, "The Way is Over".
Brynner lived his life as a role – from a boy from Vladivostok to a Hollywood star to death, as in The King and I: "I'm not dying, I'm just leaving". The face has become a mask, and the role has become a face.
Creative team:
Written and directed by Maria de Valukhoff
Art director: Evgeniy Raitses
Project cost: 1,000,000 euros
