Author / Hayashi Ono
"Walter" and "Colonel Faulkner"
Mr. and Mrs. Tito with Mr. and Mrs. Richard Burton
I. Tito was drunk when he heard that Richard Burton was playing himself
The Battle of Sutjeska (1973)
This famous still of Walter carrying a Schmeiser submachine gun is believed by many to have originated from Walter Defending Sarajevo, while others refer directly to the Tiger of the Bridge.
In fact, this is inaccurate, this still is from the 1973 Yugoslav film Battle of Sudzeska.
In the fall of 1972, Bosna Film, Yugoslavia's largest film studio, had just finished filming Walter Defending Sarajevo, basking in the joy of success.
In the 1972 film Walter Defends Sarajevo, Walter was played by Welimir Bata Zhivoynović
The film not only won the box office, but also made Walter's actor Willy Mill an international superstar.
"Walter Defends Sarajevo" is still rated 8.2 by audiences from all over the world on foreign film websites! And the "Wild Goose Death Squad", which is also a war theme, is only 6.8 points.
At that time, the ambitious Posner film was determined to go to the next city and start filming "The Battle of Suterska"!
This is a huge investment, magnificent scene, star-studded war film, known as Yugoslavia's "most expensive film in history".
If "the film that does not die a single character and best represents the national nature of the French" is "Tiger's Mouth", then the most representative of the fierce bloodiness of the Yugoslav nation is "The Battle of Sudeska"!
1973 Yugoslav film Battle of Sudzeska
The Battle of Suterska is set in May 1943, when the Germans launched the fifth encirclement and suppression campaign in the Suterska River region in southeastern Yugoslavia, with the goal of annihilating the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia with the slogan " Capture Tito, life or death" ! The Confederate army was outnumbered and opposed to the Axis 120,000 troops and fighter tanks with 20,000 troops, and finally the Southern army suffered heavy casualties and the Axis countries were completely defeated! One of the worst battles in the history of World War II! With their blood and lives, the Yugoslav people fought for freedom and defended their dignity, earning the yugoslav people the respect of the world.
Of course, such a good theme should not be missed, and famous people in the Yugoslav performing arts at that time asked for help.
The heroine Vera is played by the famous "Balkan Rose" - Milena Delavić! Chinese audiences may be unfamiliar with the name, but they are familiar with her husband.
The heroine of the Battle of Sudeska, Milena Dravić, Milena Dravic
Her husband is the famous male number two "Big Chin" in "The Man on the Blacklist"——
The 1974 TV series "The Man on the Blacklist" played by The Second Prell - Dragan Nikolic
Milena is a Yugoslav national treasure actress, in fact, Chinese audiences have seen her works in the 1980s.
1980 Yugoslav film "Temporary Worker"
Svetlana, the heroine of the movie "Temporary Worker", plays Miliana Dravich
When the filming of "The Battle of Sudeska" began, the first person who could not sit still was "Walter" Welimir, who called Tito directly - "I want to play you in the movie!" ”
The sheep-herding actor was born restless, and it is said that when he was young, he did not get a diploma for ten years when he went to film school because he was naughty. But he was gifted and bold, and he asked Tito for the medal in person. It is precisely because this "boldness" is deeply appreciated by Tito, and the two have a very good personal relationship.
To Velimir's surprise, however, Tito declined his request. Tito's reason is that the Walter he has just played is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and he plays himself, and the audience will dance in minutes, feeling that this "Tito" in front of him is the "ghost Walter".
This frustrated Wellemire, who reluctantly starred in nikolai, the third male in the Battle of Sudeska, and fell in love with vera, who was grinding and chatting in love with the heroine Vera in the midst of the war.
At that time, Tito instructed the cadres of the film studio that since the film was expensive, it was necessary to shoot international standards and have world influence, so it was better to simply spend a huge salary, invest a million DOLLARs, and hire a first-line star from Hollywood to play the male number one - Tito!
At that time, Yugoslavia was strong and open, foreign film magazines could be bought everywhere on the street, and workers could drive private cars to various theaters to watch their favorite Hollywood movies after work, and both material and cultural life were avant-garde. Some say that the first electronic music Chinese came into contact with was the opening song "Yungong Xunyin" of "Journey to the West", which is not exact, Chinese TV viewers have long been deeply in love with the opening song of "The Man on the Blacklist", and this Yugoslav TV series originally called "Conspiracy" was filmed in 1974.
Although Tito is known as the "Tiger of the Balkans", he was born with the heart of a literary young man, and his specific instructions for the male number one actor in the "Battle of Sudiceka" are indeed far-sighted and lofty.
The studio immediately drew up a list of Hollywood stars Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Peter Otto, and many more, as the hero of Spartacus, the heroic Kirk Douglas!
1960 film Spartacus
However, Tito's avant-garde is that he has long known "rubbing hot spots", he has just finished watching the movie "Blood Stained Snow Mountain Castle", and he admires the male protagonist Richard Burton very much, so he recommends it to the crew.
Tito's vision is good, this Douban 8.1 score treasure movie has only attracted the attention of Chinese audiences in recent years, the film plot is compact, thrilling, until the last moment is still reversed, deep in the hearts of the younger generation of military fans.
The 1968 film Blood Stained Snow Mountain Castle," Where Eagles Dare
Richard Burton was very happy to receive the film's contract, and since he was a child, his child of a poor miner had regarded Tito as a perfect idol, so he gladly went to the appointment and flew to Yugoslavia with his wife Elizabeth.
Tito heard about it and got drunk happily that night.
And "Walter" WillyMir has been relatively resistant to this casting result, for an actor with a deep heroic complex, even if he plays the male number three, he must salute a Hollywood actor in the American camp every day, looking up to people's sniffles, how can he turn this corner.
The Battle of Sudeska by Nikolai and Tito
At the premiere of the film, a reporter asked Wellimere: "How do you think Of Richard Burton's acting skills?" ”
Wellemer shrugged, smiled bitterly, and said, "I don't know how good his acting skills are, I know he drinks every day." ”
So, Hollywood superstar Richard Burton traveled far away to Yugoslavia, what is he doing except "drinking every day"?
II. The trigger for Burton's divorce from Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor Elizabeth Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011)
For a long time, burton and Taylor's division and combination has been the talk of people after dinner. In the eyes of the public, Taylor is just a big-chested, brainless, demanding material girl. Her marriage is also often ridiculed by film and television dramas, such as the familiar "Steele Legend" season 18 episode 18, the TV host introduced Elizabeth Taylor to the audience -
Hollywood has always been popular with a passage that said that during the filming of Cleopatra, Richard Burton held a large bouquet of bright red roses in front of Taylor's eyes, and Taylor smiled, "This flower is really good..." and suddenly changed his face - "But where are the diamonds?" ”
Taylor's mother explained to the media that after her daughter was born, she did not open her eyes for eight days, and the first thing she did when she opened her eyes was to see her wedding ring and become obsessed with jewelry.
In the fall of 1969, at a New York auction, a 69.42 ct pear-shaped diamond named "Cartier" caught Elizabeth's attention, the most expensive diamond at the time – $1.1 million!
Taylor-Burton Diamond
And the wife said "Buy! buy! buy! Richard Burton generously donated money and immediately filmed it.
So, at the Oscars the following year, Elizabeth wore the "Taylor-Burton Diamond" gorgeously.
At the 1970 Oscars, Elizabeth wore the "Taylor Burton Diamond"
This diamond ranks ninth in the world's top 10 diamonds!
Someone once said that Richard Burton had not done anything in his life to buy diamonds for Taylor, so that he died young and died at the age of fifty-nine.
Burton, however, didn't see it that way, and in his later years he once confided in the media that "everyone loves Taylor's beautiful face and perfect body, and I love her interesting soul." ”
Elizabeth Taylor is indeed a very intelligent woman, in 1956, she and her best friend Montgomery was driving out accidentally in a car accident, the driver's seat montgomery fainted on the spot, and Elizabeth, sitting in the back seat, was very calm, she quickly climbed to the front row, picked up Montgomery's face, pulled two broken teeth out of his throat, and picked up a life for Montgomery.
Since then, no one in Hollywood has dared to underestimate this woman.
1951 film Heart Like Iron by Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor
Compared with elizabeth Taylor, the princely daughter of the rich, Richard Burton came from a poor family.
Born on 11 October 1925 in Wales, England, burton was the twelfth of thirteen children, and his mother died when he was a toddler, and his father ran away when he was less than three years old.
Burton was raised by his sister, and after completing Cambridge University on a scholarship, he would have chosen to become a scholar if he had not been for the purpose of raising a large family.
Hollywood's evaluation of Richard Burton is that of a scholar + a money worshipper.
In the eyes of his peers, he was a personable gentleman, kind and approachable.
In the early eighties, Richard Burton flew back to California from Mexico on a plane next to him, a handsome young man. The young man confided in him bitterly that although he had been busy with his livelihood and had been working as a trapeze artist for many years as a salesman for a company, his ambition was to be an actor. Burton listened politely to his ideas, encouraging him to pursue his ideals boldly along the way, and giving him a business card promising to help him at the right time. The young man got off the plane and resolutely quit his job and officially embarked on the road of acting.
This young man was the later famous Kevin Costner.
1990 Film Dances with Wolves Director/Starring Kevin Costner
Although his Hollywood peers called him a gentleman, Richard Burton hated the word "gentleman," writing in his diary: "I am a working class, and I will always be." ”
In his later years, Richard Burton complained to the media that he had been nominated seven times but never won an Oscar because he had been blacklisted on the Hollywood left in the fifties.
Burton's hatred of the so-called gentlemen and classes of British high society stemmed from a dinner party.
In the late 1960s, Burton took his wife to a cocktail party of Anglican, an English gentleman, and halfway through, the hostess of the party walked up to the couple, and the hostess was none other than the famous Mrs. Windsor.
She walked over to Burton, glanced at Taylor, who was so bright on the side, and said softly, "You know? The only person present at the dinner today is the two of you who do not have titles. ”
This stimulated Richard Burton and was deeply humiliated!
He wrote in his diary that night: "If I had been knighted, perhaps Elizabeth would have been more decent." ”
However, then Queen Elizabeth was very considerate, originally the queen did not have a good feeling for Mrs. Windsor, after hearing about this matter, she immediately decided to award Burton.
Richard Burton and his wife at the Queen's Awards Gala
On 10 November 1970, for richard Burton's outstanding contribution to theatre, he was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) By the Queen of England on his 45th birthday.
The Queen's intimacy is also that his wife Taylor and Burton's sister also won the award, on the grounds that her sister single-handedly raised him.
Although this move made Richard Burton raise his eyebrows, since then, he has become even more deviant, claiming that he is a working class, and starring in three red classics in three years!
There is a plot in the movie "The Battle of Sudska", when the British Observation Mission flew to the battlefield, due to the tragic situation, the members of the Observation Mission wept several times and sent a telegram to Churchill asking for British reinforcements. Churchill, on the other hand, sat on the wall and watched, not moving. Tito said resolutely, "We will fight this battle ourselves!" ”
Such a true restoration of historical events requires a certain amount of social and psychological pressure for a British actor, but Richard Burton is like Tito of that year, not afraid of hardships and dangers, and moving forward.
However, he did not expect that this filming work would cause his marriage to be smoked, and he had a romantic love affair with the "Red Princess", coincidentally, this "princess" was also called Elizabeth.
III. Between the two Elizabeths, where to go?
"The Battle of Sudeska" did not go well, first of all, Burton and the actor who played the German army, Hardy Kruger repeatedly clashed, the crew had to let Hardy go, and all the scenes were deleted!
The German actor Hadi was a remarkable man who was drafted into the war by the Nazis during World War II, but was sentenced to death by a military court for refusing to eliminate a group of American troops while carrying out his mission, but the world war ended before it was executed. However, the two had a narrow road, and five years later they met in another crew -
Far right: German actor Hardy Kruger
The filming conditions were very difficult, and the dangers during the period were very difficult, and the filming work itself was no less than a war.
We mentioned earlier that Elizabeth Taylor was brilliant, but also in her superior intuition, which saved the life of her husband, Richard Burton.
On set, Burton and Tito were together
Every morning, the crew would take a helicopter ride over the rolling mountains and straight into the filming locations of the deep mountains and old forests. Because it was too dangerous, Burton refused to take his wife Elizabeth with him.
Early one morning, Burton was about to get into a helicopter when he watched his wife, Elizabeth, as if he saw something floating by, a voice echoed in his ears—"Don't go there, tell him, don't go there." ”
She firmly believed that this was some kind of revelation from heaven, and a strong sense of foreboding floated in her heart, so she ran forward and pulled her husband back alive and dead, not allowing him to participate in the day's shooting.
Burton was complaining that his wife had nothing to do, but the helicopter had taken off and left.
Sure enough, the helicopter crashed into the mountains that day, and all the people on board were killed.
On another occasion, taylor and Burton were on a plane that went straight into the rainy clouds, and the fuselage began to jolt violently, frightening Taylor into praying.
Burton smiled very smartly and comforted his wife, "Oh, Tito's million dollars is really hard to earn!" I'll take it and buy you a diamond." ”
The accident was so unexpected that Burton did not renege on his promise afterwards, and he did spend a million dollars to buy another diamond for his wife, "Taj".
Burton with two Elizabeths
However, after the film was completed, Tito set up a family banquet to entertain Burton and Taylor, and at the party, the appearance of a woman made Elizabeth uneasy.
This woman is the "Red Princess" – Elizabeth Tito!
Elizabeth was 36 years old at the time, married at the age of 20, and had two daughters, when she was divorced.
Of Tito's sons and daughters, Elizabeth was the most favored.
She not only inherited the beauty of her mother, but also adhered to her father's character, perseverance and courage, rationality and calmness, and generousness.
What is even more rare is that this "red princess" has no arrogance on her face, and she is also very good at talking about classical literature and art, and she has asked the entertainers present for advice as a primary school student.
This made Richard Burton feel good.
Elizabeth Taylor's intuition was now re-energized, and she seemed to sense some kind of threat she had never felt in the verdant Hollywood.
After the dinner, the couple walked out of the mansion, when Burton looked up at the building and subconsciously sighed, "Oh, how nice it would be to be able to read Shakespeare here for the rest of my life." ”
Originally, the speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional.
Elizabeth Taylor was suddenly jealous, the flowers were discolored, and when they returned to the hotel, the two had a big fight.
Her cleverness is really, success is also Xiao He, and defeat is also Xiao He.
Burton felt tired, and he was tired of the roller coaster-like relationship between the two of them. Since getting married in March 1964, there has been a small quarrel for three days and a big quarrel for five days, and every time it is necessary to end the smoke with expensive jewelry.
He felt as if he were about to be burned to powder by this hot love.
In today's terms, Elizabeth, the "Red Princess" with high emotional intelligence, is more like a comfort zone of the soul, which makes people linger.
On June 26, 1974, Burton and Taylor formally divorced, ending their ten-year marriage.
Richard Burton was then engaged to Elizabeth Tito.
He lamented that he could finally read Shakespeare in an old house!
Elizabeth Tito in front of the Burton Villa in Switzerland
Elizabeth Tito was 38 years old and had not yet managed to get out of her second marriage.
Her second husband, Neil Balver, is eight years younger, a London stockbroker and is running for Conservative MPs.
In order not to affect his candidacy, the kind Elizabeth intends to wait six months before announcing the decision to divorce and then formally marry Richard Burton.
However, she does not seem to understand what is called "long night dreaming".
In August 1974, Richard Burton, who had just been divorced from his ex-wife for two months, was invited to fly to Israel for an event.
Elizabeth Tito, on the other hand, chose to remain quietly in Burton's Swiss villa "Wales", taking care of Burton's adopted stepdaughter Maria, without accompanying her.
Richard Burton stayed in one of the best hotels in Jerusalem, and it so happened that Elizabeth Taylor also lived there.
Burton pretended not to know the news, and he didn't want to see the woman again.
At this time, his heart is like the calm Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, and the waves are not alarming.
In the evening, he dressed up in fancy clothes and went to visit us Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the same hotel. It just so happened that Kissinger also liked Burton, and the two talked happily until late at night.
Just then, several of Kissinger's bodyguards broke in, claiming that terrorists had been spotted nearby, that the other side had prepared long guns and heavy artillery, and that the target was facing the Kissinger room of the hotel, suggesting that the two evacuate immediately.
Richard Burton's first reaction when he heard this was – what would she do?
So without thinking, he threw Kissinger away, strode into the corridor, found Elizabeth Taylor's room, knocked the door, and dragged the confused woman out of the hotel.
Under the beautiful night sky of Jerusalem, Burton felt that he was not a flower protector, he loved this woman.
Losing her is a real horror! Such as fake replacement.
If Taylor is irrational, why not himself?
This night, before the east was full of fish belly white, the two had already talked in love, ice released their previous suspicions, and planned to remarry in front of the Wailing Wall the next day (Taylor believed in Judaism).
The "Red Princess" Elizabeth, who was far away in Switzerland, had long been left behind by Burton at this time.
The two remarried on October 10, 1975, within nine months, and divorced again on July 29, 1976.
After that, Richard Burton's only spiritual companion was only wine, only wine, and never failed him, a point of hard work, a point of harvest.
Drink a bottle and you'll get old.
Don't be fooled!
In the twilight years, people often carry the drunken Burton into the set, broken films, forgetting words is a common thing, it seems that only "Wild Goose Death Squad" has few lines, and the group drama with many members is more suitable for him.
In 1978, after the release of "Wild Goose", the box office reputation was not ideal, although it later attracted military fans from all over the world, but Richard Burton's self-confidence was hit hard at that time.
For this reason, he rejected 1981's "Sea Wolf" and later regretted it deeply.
In the spring of 1984, the producers graciously invited him to star in "Wild Goose Death Squad 2", and fifty-nine-year-old Richard Burton was extremely happy, and he was very cooperative to lose weight and quit drinking as much as possible, hoping to give the audience of all countries a heroic Colonel Faulkner!
Unfortunately, however, just a week before the official start of filming of Wild Goose Daredevil 2, Richard Burton died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage.
His role was replaced by another male star who inadvertently made Scott Glenn!
Scott Glenn played FBI senior Jack in The Silence
"Wild Goose Death Squad 2" was on the verge of changing generals and suffering heavy losses. Some people say that Burton not only lived himself into a story, but finally lived himself into an accident! It's still textbook-level.
In fact, whether it is a story or an accident, throughout this person's life, Richard Burton shows us the greatest sincerity of a man for love! He disregarded the world's vision, ignored the door valve magnates, loved what I loved, and had no complaints or regrets.
To the point of affection, why not be happy with life.
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