Superfluous People (1926)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Superfluous people |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1926 |
| length | approx. 107 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alexander Rasumny |
| script | Alexander Rasumny based on motifs from several short stories by Anton Chekhov |
| production | Willi Münzenberg for Prometheus film (Berlin / Moscow) |
| music |
Edmund Meisel (1926), Werner Schmidt-Boelcke (1978) |
| camera |
Otto Kanturek , Karl Attenberger |
| occupation | |
| |
Superfluous people is a cinematic mix of silent film grotesque and genre picture from the year 1926. Directed by Alexander Rasumny play Eugen Klopfer , Henry George , Albert Steinrück , Werner Krauss and Camilla of Hollay the leading roles.
action
Russia, at the time of the tsarist rule. At the center of the action are several petty bourgeoisie with their worries and needs in the shtetl in the deepest province, which is decoupled from big world events: there are down-to-earth craftsmen and service providers like the carpenter Bronsa, who has already thought about the size of the coffin for his terminally ill wife, the coachman Balagula and the tailor Sigajew. All three men make music in the village band in the evening. There are guys who indulge in alcohol and solid fights, raw and sometimes dull guys, or as the title suggests: Superfluous people. Sigajew, for example, the bass violinist in the village orchestra, was left by his wife. She's on and off with a breezy magician and illusionist. Thereupon Sigayev torches down his own house in his grief and intoxication and is just saved by the coachman Balagula.
On the way to an engagement, Sigayev meets a young lady while bathing. How can he know that this is the bride of the upcoming event ?! In any case, their clothes are stolen from both of them, whereupon the demoiselle hides in his violin case, of all places. In an adventurous detour, that violin case with that undressed bride gets into trouble - to make matters worse, the mayor's daughter too! - at their own engagement party. The naked woman promptly emerges from the instrument case in front of the eyes of all those present. Scandal!! At the same time, the drunken bass violinist, whose clothes have also been stolen, is sleeping off his intoxication. In this state he is then mistaken for a drowned man, rescued in a dangerous way and is still lucky in the end, because his wife remorsefully returns to his arms.
Production notes
Unnecessary people passed the film censorship on October 27, 1926 and received a youth ban. The premiere took place on November 2, 1926 in Berlin's Capitol cinema. The length of the six-acter was around 1693 meters. After the Second World War, the film ran for the first time on August 19, 1979 on ZDF .
The film was not only the first production of the Berlin Prometheus film by the communist publisher Willi Munzenberg , but also the first joint German-Soviet production.
The film structures were designed by Andrej Andrejew and Stefan Lhotka .
Reviews
“The first German-Soviet co-production processed eleven novels by Chekhov, partly true to the work, partly motivic […] An idyllic provincial farce with tragic-touching accents, grotesque exaggerations and crude comedy, characterized by conciliatory humanity. The film, which was believed to have been lost for a long time, was reconstructed in 1978 on behalf of ZDF and underlaid with new illustration music, which is all too nostalgic in its musical-dramaturgical conception. "
"Like Chagall in his fabulously playful pictures, the film 'Superfluous People' tried to transport the viewer into an irrational dream world."
Web links
- Superfluous people in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Superfluous people at filmportal.de