The mountain of destiny
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The mountain of destiny |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1924 |
| length | 97 (1924) 60 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Arnold Fanck |
| script | Arnold Fanck |
| production | Arnold Fanck |
| camera | Arnold Fanck Hans Schneeberger Sepp Allgeier Herbert Oettel Eugen Hamm |
| cut | Arnold Fanck |
| occupation | |
| |
Der Berg des Schicksals is a German silent film by Arnold Fanck with Luis Trenker in his first feature film and Erna Morena in the leading roles. The production was Fanck's first 100% cinema staging with a game plot and established the genre of mountain films . For the 30-year-old Leni Riefenstahl , the film that she watched every evening for a week in Berlin in 1924 was a key experience that prompted her to contact Fanck and to play the leading female role in the film The Holy Mountain, which was written especially for her to take over.
action
So far, no climber has managed to climb the summit of the majestic Guglia del Diavolo - the last wall that leads to the summit is simply too steep. Even the best climber in Tyrol tries his luck again and again in vain, risking his head and neck every time. Since his old mother can't stand having to worry about her son's life so often, he promises her not to dare to try again. Another person has made the Guglia del Diavolo his goal in life: Hella, a childhood friend and at the same time the best student of the mountaineer. She has spent countless hours fixing the mighty mountain with her eyes to hear an inner voice say how she is able to climb it.
Hella finally thinks she knows which is the safe way to the summit. She tries to persuade her climbing instructor to climb the mountain together. But he feels bound by the promise he once made to his mother. Hella is very disappointed with his decision, and so she tries to risk the first ascent on her own. Soon a storm is approaching and Hella's father hurries to the mountaineer in fear of death for his daughter. Breathlessly he tells him about Hella's crazy plan, which she now intends to realize all by herself. The mountaineer does not want to be guilty of the possible death of his childhood friend and sees no other option than to climb the wall again, even if he has to break the promise made to his mother.
Production notes
The shooting of The Mountain of Destiny began in 1923 in the Dolomites . The film was completed in early 1924 and premiered on May 10, 1924 in the Berlin UFA pavilion on Nollendorfplatz . The seven-act film was 2,432 meters long and was released for young people. The title "popular education" was given.
The film structures were designed by Leopold Blonder . The 31-year-old mountaineer Luis Trenker made his debut as a film actor here.
criticism
“The plot is built from a fable of conceivable simplicity. There is a mountaineer, a man for whom conquering the mountain world is as intoxicating as the artist is with creating. It is a dream that fulfills him to climb the summit of the Guglia de Diavolo, which no one has ever climbed. But, the mountain is stronger than it, and it falls into the depths. Years later, his son completed what he started. And at the same time he saves his childhood friend, who is inspired by the same intoxication as him, tried to climb the summit with a touch of defiance and was surprised by a storm. That is the whole plot of this film, a work of the most disturbing effect. "
“Peak performance! Peak performances not only in the sporting field, but also in photographic technology. Technology? No, no more technology, but the very highest art! Any word of praise is too faint to emulate what this film has to offer to our eyes and minds. It was believed that after the wonderful films of Dr. Fanck "The wonders of snowshoeing" and "Fox hunt in the Engadine" an increase would no longer be possible. We have seen many imitations that, despite their great inner beauty, could not come close to the originals. First Dr. It was left to Fanck himself to achieve further development artistically, but also in terms of audience effectiveness. For the first time he consciously uses a continuous act. In its simple naturalness it is reminiscent of the most beautiful Swedish examples and gained in its emphasized simplicity through the representation. "
“More essential than the plot with its beneficial outcome are the wonderful nature shots, which were obtained under the most difficult circumstances and after months of patient endurance. The rock formations of the Dolomites - Cimone della Palla, Latemar, Rosengarten and whatever they are called - tower skyward in every light, they are reflected in the lakes, and clusters of clouds crowd them: heap clouds, huge white massifs that flutter, seas of clouds that billow up and ebb away, streaky features and flocks of herds. Faster than in reality they rush to and disperse, betrayed of their duration by the time-lapse. They hide the peaks, encircle them and withdraw for a moment from the siege: a kaleidoscopic spectacle, always the same and always new. Seldom has one seen such heavenly scenes in films; its strange attraction is based above all on the fact that processes which take many hours to develop in nature are presented here in a few minutes. The cloud events are concentrated and the time warping creates an optical noise that is delightful. In addition, there is the sight of experienced climbers in the rock. The surgeon Arnold Fanck, who cranked it up, deserves every admiration, because he too had to follow "always along the wall" to capture the images. Chimney and wall climbers in the sun and fresh snow are demonstrated to perfection. The suppleness of the mountaineer is aesthetically pleasing, as is any pronounced physical development. "
“The 'Berg des Schicksals' (1924), again a film by the Freiburgers, can hardly be surpassed as the summit achievement of alpine film art. How Arnold Fanck melts the clouds, collapses and lets their ghostly being drift around the rock, how the thunderstorm rages on in the mountains, that has not yet been shown in the film. "
Web links
- The mountain of fate in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The mountain of fate at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Leni Riefenstahl: Memoirs . Cologne: Taschen, 2000, pp. 69–70