The old law
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The old law |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1923 |
| length | 128 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ewald André Dupont |
| script | Paul Reno based on notes by Heinrich Laube |
| camera | Theodor Sparkuhl |
| occupation | |
| |
The old law is a German silent film by director Ewald André Dupont from 1923.
action
In the middle of the 19th century, the rabbi's son Baruch decided to leave his Galician shtetl against his father's will to become an actor. First he joins a traveling theater, where the Austrian Archduchess Elisabeth Theresia takes a liking to him and, through her influence, gives him an engagement at the Vienna Burgtheater . Baruch manages to become a celebrated and successful star. His father, Rabbi Mayer, is appalled by this life and casts his son away. When he does attend a performance of Don Carlos with his son, he is deeply impressed by his son's acting talent, recognizes God's grace and forgives him after a discussion. Baruch goes back home, where his childhood sweetheart Esther was waiting for him.
background
The film structures were designed by Alfred Junge and executed by Curt Kahle. The costumes are from Ali Hubert .
The film premiered in Germany on October 29, 1923. It is seven acts long and has been released for young people. It has been preserved in several copies, which differ from one another and partly do not correspond to the original. On the initiative of the film scholar Cynthia Walk , the film was digitally restored by the Deutsche Kinemathek . Philippe Schoeller composed a new film music that was recorded by the Jakobsplatz Munich Orchestra . The restored version - longer with 135 minutes playing time - premiered on February 16, 2018 at the Berlinale 2018 with a live performance of the film music in the Friedrichstadt-Palast . The subtitles represent a reconstruction based on the censorship cards .
reception
Extensive reviews appeared in the film magazines Film-Kurier and Lichtbild-Bühne in 1923.
“Dupont succeeds in making the atmosphere of the so different worlds in this film visible: the ghetto environment, which is separated from the outside world by an almost insurmountable wall and this world itself; which is made vividly through the Vienna of the sixties, which is carried by the rhythms of the waltzes of Johann Strauss and for which the Burgtheater is the epitome of all art. "
“And now Dupont's direction: Certainly, he made mistakes through length and width. But how forgivable they are! Mustn't one involuntarily and lovingly adhere to the description of this milieu, which is necessary to awaken a deeper understanding? With a couple of scissors cut these defects can be eliminated. And how are they balanced by gorgeous directing units, wonderfully seen images and a decent line management, which may not have always been easy given the delicate nature of the subject. "
See also
- The jazz singer (1927 - the American drama depicts a similar conflict between a rabbi and his son, a jazz singer).
Web links
- The Old Law in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The old law at filmportal.de
- Film data sheet of the Berlinale
- The old law. (Not available online.) In: arte.tv . Archived from the original on February 20, 2018 (film description and video, 135 min., TV premiere on February 18, 2018; video no longer available).
Individual evidence
- ↑ From Meir, Hebrew meˈʕir “enlightened”.
- ^ Margrit Frölich: Berlinale / DVD tip: »The old law«. In: epd-film.de. epd Film , January 30, 2018, accessed February 15, 2018 .
- ↑ The old law. ( Memento from February 20, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) In: arte.tv, accessed on February 19, 2018.
- ↑ criticism. In: filmportal.de, accessed on February 19, 2018.
- ↑ criticism. In: filmportal.de, accessed on February 19, 2018.