The Prisoner of Zenda (1979)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The prisoner of Zenda |
| Original title | The Prisoner of Zenda |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1979 |
| length | 108 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Quine |
| script |
Dick Clement Ian La Frenais |
| production | Walter Mirisch |
| music | Henry Mancini |
| camera | Arthur Ibbetson |
| cut | Byron Brandt |
| occupation | |
| |
The Prisoner of Zenda (Original title: The Prisoner of Zenda ) is an American comedy film from 1979 directed by Richard Quine with Peter Sellers in a triple role. The novel of the same name (1894) by Anthony Hope served as a literary model . Henry Mancini provided the film music . It was Quine's last film before he passed away in 1989.
action
The king of the Balkan state of Ruritania , Rudolf IV. Dies at the age of eighty in a balloon accident . General Sapt and his nephew Fritz travel to London , where Crown Prince Rudolf V leads the life of a playboy. The half-brother of the different king, Michael, considers himself better suited to succeed the king on the throne and sends an assassin to London to secure the first place in the line of succession. The taxi driver Sydney Frewin, half-brother Rudolf V, saves him from the assassin. Frewin is now supposed to act as a doppelganger of the real Crown Prince because he looks amazingly similar to him .
Rudolf is kidnapped and taken to the Zenda fortress. Frewin continues to play the role of the prince and falls in love with the princess Flavia, Rudolf's fiancée. After a number of entanglements, assassinations and intrigues, Frewin and Rudolf V survive all adventures and make the following decision: Frewin becomes king and marries Flavia and Rudolf continues his exciting London party life.
production
The exterior shots of the film were shot in Austria . A. in downtown Vienna and at the train station Karnabrunn of the Korneuburg-Hohenau local railway . By Matt Paintings of the specialist Albert Whitlock gave the impression of a situated in the mountains small state. The train seen in the film consists of adapted wagons of the former Imperial and Royal State Railways and the Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn , as well as the locomotive 17c 372 of the former Southern Railway Company . The aerial shots for the balloon ride at the beginning of the film were made in the area of Krems an der Donau , in the background you can see Göttweig Abbey several times . The film was also shot at Kreuzenstein Castle , in the Klosterneuburg St. Martins Church and in or in front of the Salzburg Cathedral . Anif Castle and Laxenburg Park also served as film locations. The former imperial Schönbrunn Palace and its park served as the location for the scenes set in the ruritan royal palace.
One of the 2nd unit directors was Viktor Tourjansky .
criticism
"Remake of the cheerful adventure novel, filmed several times, which, however, drags along rather wearily due to the lack of comical punch lines."
The New York Times was ambivalent in its criticism: The film was not worth seeing in itself, except for Sellers' performance, which saved the film.
Web links
- The Prisoner of Zenda in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Prisoner of Zenda at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. filmscoremonthly.com
- ↑ The Prisoner of Zenda. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Review in the New York Times (English)