death_date death_place birth_place birth_date birthname article_title name occupation
17 april 1999 saint petersburg , russia saint petersburg , russian empire february 25 , 1910 pavel vladimirovich klushantsev pavel klushantsev
 pavel klushantsev film director , producer , screenwriter , author
pavel klushantsev

pavel vladimirovich klushantsev -lrb- ; 25 february 1910 in saint petersburg , russian empire -- 17 april 1999 in saint petersburg , russia -rrb- was a russian film director , producer , screenwriter and author who worked during the soviet era .
a self-taught special effects engineer , far ahead of his time , klushantsev devised many effects and techniques used by major motion pictures for decades to come .
george lucas during his 1988 visit to the soviet union credited pavel klushantsev as the `` godfather of the star wars '' .
