From Germany's glory days 1870/71
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | From Germany's glory days 1870/71 |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1913 |
| length | 42 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Franz Porten |
| script | Franz Porten |
| production | Paul von Woringen |
| camera | Werner Brandes |
| occupation | |
From Germany's Glory Days 1870/71 is a nationally patriotic, German historical silent film from 1913. Directed by Franz Porten .
action
The events that led to the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 are described in a picture-book style , beginning with the Ems Dispatch and ending with the defeat of France and the coronation of King Wilhelm of Prussia as the first German Emperor of the so-called " Second Reich ".
The story begins with the meeting of Wilhelm with the French ambassador Benedetti in Bad Ems. On his return to Berlin, the Prussian monarch is celebrated triumphantly by the people. After the French declaration of war on Prussia provoked by Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck's troops set off for the west. French and Germans fight battle after battle; Shown are the storming of the cemetery of Saint Privat, the fight on the Spicheren Heights , the battles at Wörth and Gravelotte and finally the surrender negotiations with the French Emperor Napoleon III, who was trapped at Sedan . A highlight is Napoleon's gesture of submission to Wilhelm in Bellevue Palace . Then the monarch begins his difficult journey into captivity.
In the meantime, the Republic has been proclaimed in Paris, but the warlike events will continue for a while. The great military successes induced Bismarck to offer the German imperial crown to his Prussian king. After a few negotiations with other German monarchs, the emperor is finally proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace . In the final scene, the newly appointed German Emperor Wilhelm I receives homage from his Berliners from his palace “ Unter den Linden ”.
Production notes
From Germany's Glory Days 1870/71 was made in the spring of 1913 in the Mutuskop film studio in Berlin-Lankwitz , censored on May 27, 1913 and had its German premiere on June 14, 1913. In Austria-Hungary, the film, which was first released on May 20, 1913 could be seen in a film show, also under the title Napoleon III. and Wilhelm I expelled. From Germany's glory days of 1870/71 was three acts long and only 778 meters long. When it was re-censored in March and April 1925, the film had to be shortened to 667 and 671 meters, respectively.
Temporal and political classification
From Germany's glory days in 1870/71 was the last part of a three-part cycle of national-patriotic films that Franz Porten directed in 1912/13 for Deutsche Mutuskop und Biograph GmbH. Before that, he directed Theodor Körner and the ambitious, albeit very pathetic, three-part film Der Film by Queen Luise . His thesis was arguably the least expensive work. The aspiring cameraman Werner Brandes was at his side for all three films .
This film is a typical product of the times of the end of Wilhelminism . In Germany and Austria-Hungary, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, it was the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Central Europe from Napoleonic occupation and war terror. As early as 1909, a rather amateurish short film was made about the Tyrolean freedom hero Andreas Hofer , four years later Carl Froelich staged a far more ambitious Hofer work entitled Tyrol in Arms . The Austrians remembered their fight against Napoleon in Tyrol with an elaborate film made from the summer of 1912 about the Hofer ally Josef Speckbacher under the programmatic title Speckbacher . In 1913, under the direction of Portens Körner actor Feher, a song of praise for Major Schill was written under the title Das Blutgeld .
Franz Portens From Germany's Glory Days 1870/71 does not take place in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, but it did develop in the wake of the nationalistic upsurges in the German Reich Wilhelm II, which were also reflected in the film shortly before 1914. But there were also more conciliatory tones at the same time: Franz Portens daughter Henny, of all people, appeared in a film in the same year 1913, which portrayed his story, also set in 1870, from the point of view of the alleged "hereditary enemy" France, without listing the French: The Enemy in the country .
criticism
“A piece of the history of national fame, German strength and unity is the film“ From Germany's Glory Days ”. Picturesque pictures with the development of military masses bring to mind the time of the fighting in 1870 (...) The events are reproduced based on the paintings of great masters from this time. (...) The image of the heroic emperor, who shows himself to his Berliners at the historical window when the castle guard is drawn up, makes a deep impression. The film differs favorably from similar soldier pictures by an excellent representation of the battles and an invariably recorded historical loyalty. "