In memory of “Amir Ghavidel” on the occasion of the twelfth year of his death / riding the train of destiny in the foggy port of cinema
“Amir Ghavidel”, who was a gifted filmmaker, unfortunately, like his teacher “Khachikian”, managed to show his abilities in a few of his works and create a work that was a complete success. It became Iranian cinema that did not have the opportunity to create influential works during its maturity.
Theater News Base: “Amir Ghavidel” was a resident of a region from which we remember many celebrities, from “Attar”, “Khayyam” and “Ferdowsi” in ancient times to “Shariati”, “Akhavan-e-Sales” and “Shajarian” in the contemporary era, ie the region. Khorasan ».
He was born in the mid-twenties and was attracted to the theater in Mashhad during his youth in the 1940s. Coming to Tehran in the fifties and getting acquainted with the cinematic atmosphere of the capital, he turned his attention to cinema and met “Samuel Khachikian” (the most important serious director of Iranian cinema in the thirties and forties who had a reputation for making terrifying films and always as a filmmaker who The components of his work are dominant and were considered by the producers) can be considered the turning point of his cinematic activity. “Ghavidel”, who was also a writer, wrote the screenplay “Death in the Rain” for “Khachikian” in 1953, and became his assistant in this work. He was to learn the secrets of directing and enter the Iranian cinema with this carbald director. This collaboration led to two other films in which “Gwaidel”, in addition to writing the screenplay, was able to be in the role of an assistant with “Samuel”: “Anxiety / 55” and “Southern Shark / 57”. In 1956, “Ghavidel” joined the TV series “Looters” as an assistant to “Mohammad Motusalani” and in the same year he managed to direct parts of the series “Changg” (along with Motusalani, Jalal Moghadam and Fariborz Saleh).
With the outbreak of the revolution and the limitation of cinematic activities in those years, “Ghavidel”, who longed for filmmaking, made two short films, “Ashura in Mazinan” and “A Small Narrative” in 1958. Acquaintance with “Rasoul Sadr Ameli”, a young journalist who had returned to Iran with the flight of “Imam Khomeini”, laid the groundwork for the production of “Khonbaresh”, his first feature film in 1359, inspired by the events of the Revolution.
The film, which narrated the story of the escape of three soldiers from the barracks during the revolution, used “Ghavidel” as a documentary about two soldiers in their own roles. He became “Sadr Ameli” (in the guise of a producer). His next film, Bloody Rice / 60, was a rural film about a multi-village struggle against the rice-eating worm and their confrontation with SAVAK. “Ghavidel” left the cinema and preferred to help make the films “Farman / Kupal Mishkat / 61” and “Dada / Iraj Ghaderi / 61” instead of making a film as a director’s consultant. In 1363, it was possible to make a film based on the life of Mirza Kuchak Khan, which due to its length, became two films in the montage, “Mirza Kuchak Khan” and “Sardar Jangal”. Did not find.
Among the features of these films, we can mention the use of a number of famous voice actors such as “Valiullah Momeni” and “Manouchehr Ismaili” as the main actors. In 1364, “Khachikian”, who was making the film “Eagles”, fell ill in the middle of filming, and in order not to stop filming, he asked his old and trusted assistant to continue working until he recovered, and “Ghavidel” directed about one-third. Makes the initial film. Rising sales of his latest films, which jeopardized his professional position, he began making “The Train” by choosing a compelling screenplay (about a locomotive attempt to deliver a fuel-carrying train to the military regime during the revolution and SAVAK’s attempt to stop it). He says that despite the many difficulties of making a film, most of which takes place on a moving train, in cold and snowy weather, the well-thought-out director of “Ghavidel”, the hard and good filming of “Faraj Heydari”, the brilliant acting of “Faramarz Gharibian”, the music. The enduring “Majid Entezami” (which in addition to being considered in the sixth Fajr Festival, is one of the few works that was heard a lot later apart from the film) and the dynamic and effective compilation of “Hossein Zandbaf”, this film was one of the three best-selling films The year 67 is the most watched film of Ghavidel’s career.
Perhaps the main weakness of the film is its replicas and special effects, which unfortunately have not been very believable. In 1968, Ghavidel made the film “Delnamak” with a mystical atmosphere (which had been common for some time in those years), which, despite the fact that he liked it very much, did not succeed in the film as a whole and attracted the attention of critics.
Notable aspects of this film are the acting of “Hadi Eslami”, the editing of “Mohsen Makhmalbaf” and the assistant of “Tahmineh Milani”. His next film “Galan”, which was made in 1969 with the writing, production and acting of “Behzad Javanbakhsh” and the theme of equestrian competitions, also did not succeed in his career.
Ghavidel’s next run to create a well-made film in line with his interests and mastery led to the production of “Foggy Port” in 1371, which, along with “Train”, can be considered one of the highlights of his filmmaking, which he directed with a suspenseful police script. Successful atmosphere, appropriate filming and deliberate editing along with the good plays of “Faramarz Gharibian” (who brought him the second Crystal Simorgh after “Tarn”) and “Mir Mohammad Tajddad” (his best role next to “Sergeant”) are successful works. Iranian police and action cinema is increasing. The low sales of this film unfortunately make Qavidel less active in the seventies. His next film “Rokhsareh / 79” about the relationship of a retired professor of literature with a girl who is interested in him and his works is a romantic film that is made in the atmosphere of the works of the reform period and one of the interesting points of this film is the live presence of “Mohammad Ali Spanloo” in Kasut is an actor who, along with “Identification / Announcement / 66”, is one of the few important roles in cinema. In the eighties, “Ghavidel”, who did not see a suitable possibility for filmmaking in cinema, turned to television and as a result, he made two series called “Kind Spirit / 84” and “Circle of Doubt / 85” (with a police atmosphere) and an unfinished series. It was about the life of “Mohammad Reza Shah” (and continued by other directors), which unfortunately none of them have a prominent place in his career.
After that, “Ghavidel”, who was preparing to make a police film in Armenia, accidentally got bored, which led to his cancellation of the film. In 1987, despite his illness, he made a film called “Friendship of Fire”, which he did not have the opportunity to complete, and after his death in November 1988, it was prepared and shown by the producer.
The life of “Ghavidel”, who was a talented and caring filmmaker, unfortunately, like his teacher “Khachikian”, he managed to show his abilities in a few of his works and create a work that was a complete success. He was a healthy artist (a mountaineer and swimmer) and a professional filmmaker. At the end of his relatively short life (62 years), he became a reluctant figure in Iranian cinema who did not have the opportunity to create effective works during his career. God bless him.