The Aztec Treasure (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The treasure of the Aztecs |
| Original title | The treasure of the Aztecs / Les mercenaires du Rio Grande / I violenti di Rio Bravo |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany , France , Italy |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1965 |
| length | 101 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Siodmak |
| script |
Georg Marischka Ladislas Fodor Robert A. Stemmle , Paul Jarrico; Robert Siodmak |
| production |
CCC-Film , Berlin Artur Brauner Franco London Films, Paris Serena Film, Rome in collaboration with Ratko Drasević for Avala Film, Belgrade |
| music | Erwin Halletz |
| camera | Siegfried Hold |
| cut | Walter Wischniewsky |
| occupation | |
| |
The Treasure of the Aztecs is a film based on the novel Waldröschen by Karl May ( Karl May film ). The premiere took place on March 4, 1965 in the "Savoy", Düsseldorf .
The film is continued in The Pyramid of the Sun God (1965). It is the only Karl May film that has received a foreign film award.
content
In Mexico in 1864, that of Emperor Napoléon III ruled . appointed Archduke Maximilian of Austria against the will of the people. Commissioned by the American President Abraham Lincoln to deliver a secret message, the German doctor Karl Sternau is on his way to meet the rebel Benito Juárez . On his way he meets the Swabian cuckoo clock representative Andreas Hasenpfeffer , who bails him out of a conflict with the unauthorized captain Verdoja and also finds support from Lieutenant Potoca . On their way to Juarez, they meet Sternau's old friend Frank Wilson, known as the “Donnerpfeil”, and help him free two girls traveling alone from the hands of the Chichimek Indians . One of the girls is the last Aztec princess Karja .
Sternau brings Benito Juarez into contact with the large landowner Count Don Fernando de Rodriganda y Sevilla , who wants to provide him with the necessary funds to fight the French. His son, the young Count Don Alfonso , who fell for the fiery Josefa , betrayed his father, who was fatally wounded in a duel with the believer Don Alfonsos, because of considerable gambling debts. With the last of his strength, he disinherits his son and appoints Doctor Sternau as executor of the will, which the calculating Josefa does not like at all. She asks Don Alfonso to feign love for Princess Karja in order to get to the hidden “treasure of the Aztecs”, which is guarded by Karja's grandfather Flathouani .
The captain Verdoja appears at Count Rodriganda's hacienda and molests the administrator's daughter, but is expelled from the army by Benito Juarez, who has come as a surprise because of his misconduct. He swears revenge for Juarez and Doctor Sternau. The latter is captured by French soldiers on a scouting ride and unceremoniously sentenced by Marshal Bazaine to 20 years imprisonment on Devil's Island . With the help of his friends Hasenpfeffer and Donnerpfeil, Sternau managed to escape, which, however, was observed by ex-captain Verdoja. Then there is a duel between Sternau and Verdoja. In the process, Sternau steps on a loose stone and stumbles as a result. He falls down a slope and remains unconscious. A secret door opens in the rock and Flathouani appears. He thinks Sternau has found access to his treasure. He wants to kill him, but Karja asks for the life of Sternau, who saved her. End - to be continued in the next film ...
background
For the second time after Der Schut , Lex Barker plays in a Karl May film without Winnetou . The German press was promptly not particularly enthusiastic about the film, even though it had more Karl May motifs than some of the other Karl May films.
Producer Artur Brauner abandoned his original plan to shoot the film on location in Mexico and chose Yugoslavia, where most of the Karl May films were made. Only a few scenes from the documentary Panamericana - Dream Road of the World were then incorporated. The archaeological buildings shown in the opening credits come from Teotihuacán , the Zapotec Monte Albán , and the two Mayan cities of Uxmal and Chichen Itza , but not from the Aztecs .
Shooting began on August 31, 1964 at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, where the scenes in Don Fernando's villa were shot. This was followed by two weeks of CCC film in studios. On September 12th they flew to Dubrovnik , where the headquarters were in Yugoslavia. The recordings began on September 14th on Orjen . Bad weather delayed filming and Rik Battaglia had to fly to Munich for treatment on October 20th because of a rash. He returned on October 28th, and from November 3rd to 5th he shot the interior of the pyramid and the treasure grotto in the studios of the Yugoslav film company Avala. Lex Barker could now fulfill other obligations.
On November 14th, the rest of the team flew to Titograd , where production designer Otto Pischinger had converted a small mountain into an Aztec pyramid. The shooting dragged on here until December 5th due to the bad weather. On that day they arrived in Belgrade , where a huge natural landscape had been built in the Avala studio complex, in which the remaining recordings were made until December 17th. On December 21st and 22nd, the rest of the scenes were shot in the studios in Berlin, including the duel between Count Fernando and Embarez on a meadow behind the studio.
The remaining outdoor shots with Lex Barker were made from January 15 to 29, 1965 in Spain in the vicinity of Barcelona and Lerida on the sidelines of the filming of the CCC film Hell of Manitoba . Artur Brauner had already decided before filming began that the extensive production should only come onto the market as a two-part series.
Reviews
“A triumvirate of authors with a tried and tested design format created a bizarre, dazzling scenario that was turned into a rousing film by Siodmak's internationally experienced director. Here the filigree work of the decor becomes the most important success factor. The camera work by Siegfried Hold is impressive and outstanding in its nuances. One of the most remarkable films in the seemingly inexhaustible Karl May series. "
“Lex Barker and Rik Battaglia are the good and bad heroes, while Juarez always walks around with a top hat in the midst of his Indians. Aside from his Hollywood routine, director Siodmak contributes nothing to the success of the film. Only the sequel will bring the adventure to an end - but one isn't even looking forward to it. "
“The screenwriters could learn a lot from their peers, the writers of three-penny serial novels. Without any sense of dramaturgy, they string adventure after adventure, and Dr. Sternau stumbles into it like a dud. "
“Elaborately staged, thematically but flat film adaptation of two Karl May novels [...]. According to the usual recipe, broadly played battle scenes are loosened up with effortful cheerfulness without this kind of "show entertainment" really gaining profile. "
“Lex Barker rides for Germany - in a moderate adventure film. Karl May readers will be disappointed. Atrocities have been avoided [...]. "
Award
- “ Honorable Mention ” at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival (ČSSR).
media
- VHS : The Aztec Treasure
- Music : Wild West - Hot Orient - Karl May film music 1936–1968 - Bear Family Records BCD 16413 HL - 8 CDs with 192 pages of film book
Web links
- The treasure of the Aztecs in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The treasure of the Aztecs in the German dubbing index
- The treasure of the Aztecs at Filmportal.de
- Sound carrier with the film music
- Comparison of the cut versions FSK 16 - ZDF of The Treasure of the Aztecs at Schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Aztec Treasure. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association, Munich, Review No. 116/1965