The cross of Golgotha

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Movie
German title The cross of Golgotha
Original title Golgotha
Country of production France
original language French
Publishing year 1935
length 90 (German version 1953)
95 (original) minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Julien Duvivier
script Canon
Joseph Reymond
adapted from Julien Duvivier
production A. d'Aguiar for Ichy's film
music Jacques Ibert
camera Jules Kruger
cut Marthe Poncin
occupation

The Cross of Golgotha (original title: Golgotha ) is a French passion drama by Julien Duvivier from 1935 with Harry Baur , Jean Gabin and Robert Le Vigan as Jesus Christ in the leading roles.

action

The story essentially recounts the Passion of Jesus Christ in Holy Week ; starting with Palm Sunday until his resurrection . The end of this consecrated and dignified film drama is Ascension Day .

Production notes

The Cross of Golgotha was shot from October 1934 to February 1935 and had its world premiere on April 10, 1935 in Paris. While Golgotha , so the original title, was banned from performing in the National Socialist German Reich, the religious drama was premiered in German in Vienna on January 31, 1936, in the presence of Federal President Miklas and Cardinal Innitzer . The German premiere took place after the war, on October 30, 1953.

Apparently the shooting was accompanied by some weather problems. As the Austrian Film Newspaper (ÖFZ) reported in its November 3, 1934 edition on page 6, a storm had destroyed the film structures at the Algiers location. Duvivier then preferred the first studio shots and, according to the ÖFZ, shot the outdoor shots in December 1934 in Algiers on December 22, 1934. With further studio recordings in the studios of Boulogne-Billancourt , the shooting was completed in the same month, according to the ÖFZ on February 8, 1935.

Christ actor Robert Le Vigan played an exceptionally positive figure here; normally in his film career he was subscribed to abysmal, sinister and evil characters almost continuously.

The film structures were created by Jean Perrier , Robert Vernay and Jean Stelli served by Duvivier as assistant directors. William H. Clothier , who was in Europe at the time, was, along with Marc Fossard and Robert Juillard , one of several simple cameramen who worked as head cameraman Jules Kruger . Jacques Ibert's music was recorded by the Walther Straram Orchestra under the direction of Maurice Jaubert .

Award

The film received the NBR Award from the National Board of Review in the United States, where it ran in 1937 .

Reviews

On the day after the Vienna premiere, Vienna's Neue Freie Presse reported in its edition of February 1, 1936: “This film, which undertakes nothing less than to portray the life of Christ, is a little stylized in almost all of its parts and is increased to monumental everywhere. It begins with the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and, in a dramatically skilfully constructed increase in external events, spans the arc of the plot up to the crucifixion scene, the resurrection and the appearance of the Savior among his disciples. […] The event developed from turbulent crowd scenes in a large, noble line, which here was entirely geared towards the cinematic possibilities. It was undoubtedly a problem that was difficult to solve to shape the sequence of the scene in such a way that the viewer perceives the action known to him as nothing monotonous or even blasphemous. This task was mastered. "

The lexicon of international films wrote: “The opening credits emphasize that the presentation is limited to the external course of events and does not presume to 'touch the mystery of the Passion'. In fact, the film is most convincing where it is able to freely design profane realities (mass scenes, buildings, character studies) with complex technology or to set its accents on the political background of the event. Only passages from the Gospels were used for the dialogues. In the shortened German rental version, almost all of the close-ups of Christ have been cut; probably in the conviction that the portrayal of Jesus needs distance. "

Halliwell's Film Guide characterized the film as follows: "Impressive version made at a time when the portrayal of Christ was still virtually taboo".

The film magazine Variety found: "An accomplishment that should bring world-wide prestige to the French film industry".

Hal Erickson wrote: “Julien Duvivier's most controversial production to date, 1935's Golgotha is an ambitious and expensive retelling of the Last Days of Jesus. Robert le Vigan plays the Son of God, but as often happens in films of this nature he is upstaged by the villains, Herod (Harry Baur), Pontius Pilate (Jean Gabin) and Judas (Lucas Gridoux). All of Jesus' dialogue is taken directly from the Scriptures, with no movie-style adornments: le Vigan delivers these lines with sincerity and quiet grace. Considering the anti-Semitism prevalent in Europe during the 1930s, the question of the Jews 'responsibility for Jesus' death is handled with restraint; Blame is squarely laid on the shoulders of a handful of conspirators, rather than an entire race. A throwback to the religious films that Duvivier had made during the silent era, Golgotha may seem a bit old-fashioned and stilted when seen today: one contemporary reviewer has likened the film to a display of picture post-cards. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. rotary reports in the Austrian Film newspaper of 3 November 1934 of 22 December 1934 on 8 February 1935th
  2. Discussion in the Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt on January 31, 1936
  3. ^ Neue Freue Presse of February 1, 1936
  4. Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 5: L - N. Rudolf Lettinger - Lloyd Nolan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 12.
  5. "Golgotha". In:  Neue Freie Presse , February 1, 1936, p. 8 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp
  6. The Cross of Golgotha. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  7. ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide . Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 414. Translation: "Impressive version that was created at a time when the representation of Christ was de facto taboo."
  8. Translation: "An achievement that should bring the French film industry worldwide prestige."
  9. Hal Erickson on Golgotha
  10. ^ Translation: "Julien Duvivier's most controversial production to date. Golgotha from 1935 is an ambitious and expensive retelling of the last days of Jesus. Robert le Vigan plays the Son of God, but as is so often the case in films of this kind, he is outpaced by the villains: Herod (Harry Baur), Pontius Pilate (Jean Gabin) and Judas (Lucas Gridoux). All of Jesus' dialogues were taken directly from the Holy Scriptures, without any cinematic embellishments: Le Vigan brings his text with sincerity and abundant grace. In view of the widespread anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s, the question of the responsibility of the Jews for the death of Jesus was treated with some reluctance; the guilt was fairly shared on the shoulders of some conspirators rather than an entire race. As a throwback to the religious films that Duvivier made during the silent film era, Golgotha may seem a little old-fashioned and stilted from today's perspective: a contemporary critic once compared the film to the view of picture postcards. "