The Merchant of Venice (1923)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The merchant of Venice |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1923 |
| length | 123 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Peter Paul Felner |
| script | Peter Paul Felner based on the comedy of the same name by William Shakespeare |
| production | Peter Paul Felner |
| music | Michael Krausz |
| camera |
Axel Graatkjær Rudolph Maté |
| cut | Peter Paul Felner |
| occupation | |
| |
The Merchant of Venice is a German silent film from 1923 based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare . Werner Krauss as Shylock and Henny Porten and Harry Liedtke played the leading roles .
action
The Venetian merchant Antonio is in dire financial straits. In order to help his friend Bassanio, who is courting the heiress Portia, he goes to the Jewish moneylender Shylock to borrow money from him. If Antonio cannot repay the debt, the agreement is between the two men, Shylock can cut a pound of meat from Antonio's body.
In fact, the merchant cannot settle his debt because the ships awaiting him with the precious goods have not arrived in Venice. And so Shylock insists on his right, which he wants to enforce in court. With a trick Portias disguised as a lawyer "Balthasar" stands up to Shylock, she wants to achieve Antonio's integrity. You manage to win across the board, and Shylock has to give in.
Production notes
The Merchant of Venice was shot in mid-1923 and was censored on August 31, 1923. The premiere took place on October 13, 1923 in the Mozart Hall in Berlin. The length was 2806 meters on eight acts. The film was released for the youth.
The exterior shots were made in Venice , where the Italian Sergio Mari assisted director Felner in the crowd scenes.
The film structures come from Hermann Warm . Eugen Kürschner was production and recording manager.
criticism
Wiens Neue Freie Presse reported in its edition of February 5, 1924: “If this work was made into a film, there was a risk that the basic idea of the work would suffer and damage due to the coarsening of the plot and the inevitable renunciation of Shakespeare's exuberantly rich palette of spiritual nuances and motivations could be falsified by a banal mixture of carnival game and horror drama. But Peter Paul Felner knew how to avoid this danger. The deviations of his film plot from Shakespeare's drama in no way signify an insult to majesty against the genius of the poet and are entirely justified from the point of view of film dramaturgy. (...) Henny Porten as Porzia is as gracious as one could wish for ... (...) The main actress in this film, however, is Venezia itself, the lagoon city with its shimmering marble palaces ... (...) So this film receives the reflection of twofold beauty its worth: the beauty of Shakespeare's work and the beauty of Venice. And even if it gives only a hint of both miracles, even this faint reflection is rich and bright enough to lift this film up above all dozen products. It's just a shame that it's downplayed at such a galloping pace. "
“If you got your film material from world literature, Shakespeare's“ Merchant of Venice ”was one of those works that are least suitable for filming. This Shakespeare tragedy of humanity is absolutely tied to the word. The film “Merchant of Venice” (PP Felner 1923) was just an instructive play of light about the fun-loving carnival and Shylock's gloomy Venice ghetto. Henny Porten as Porzia was better than it was in a long time, Harry Liedtke as Bassanio was not very strong, Werner Krauss as Shylock in his old conception of the stage. "
Web links
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The merchant of Venice at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ^ "The Merchant of Venice". In: Neue Freie Presse , February 5, 1924, p. 16 (online at ANNO ).