The Elixirs of the Devil (1976)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The elixirs of the devil |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 113 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Manfred Purzer |
| script | Manfred Purzer |
| production |
Luggi Waldleitner , Ilse Kubaschewski |
| music | Hans-Martin Majewski |
| camera | Charly Steinberger |
| cut | Wolfgang Schacht |
| occupation | |
and Herbert Fux , Bruno W. Pantel , Ellen Umlauf , Robert Naegele | |
The Elixirs of the Devil is a German feature film by Manfred Purzer from 1976 with Dieter Laser , Sylvia Manas and Horst Frank . It is based on motifs from ETA Hoffmann 's novel of the same name .
action
Immediately after the young monk Medardus was appointed curator of the reliquary chamber by the prior of the Capuchin monastery in Bamberg , Leonardus, he found a strange estate of Saint Anthony: a wine bottle. According to legend, this bottle is said to contain the devil's elixirs. Medardus succumbs to his own urge to use these elixirs to fulfill his greatest wish in life: to become an important preacher. The young baroness Aurelie has meanwhile fallen in love with the friar and confesses her feelings to him in the confessional. The prior learns of this looming romance and decides to send Medardus on a trip to the Pope in Rome so that he can get the pretty noblewoman out of his head. In the Vatican he is to bring a message from the prior to the Holy Father.
The trip to the Eternal City becomes a journey of horror for Medardus. On this agonizing pilgrimage he meets his second self, the result of his dealings with the devil's elixirs. This alter ego embodies the dark side of the monk, who clings to Medardus' heels like a shadow. Soon the German Capuchin monk was charged with terrible crimes. The criminologists, however, have doubts as to whether the devout Catholic is actually to be held responsible for it and consider the version of the sinister doppelganger to be possible. Soon a strange stranger, a certain Peter Schönfeld, becomes his companion and savior in need. With the hunter in the neck, the barber always succeeds in changing the appearance of Medardus to such an extent that he can no longer be recognized. Once Medardus even manages to escape the gallows rope.
Arriving in Rome, Medardus, who gradually begins to believe himself in his moral guilt, begins to undergo an inner purification. He wants to repent and, like the flagellants at one time, beats his back bloody in an act of self-mortification and goes to the poor districts of the city in order to have a beneficial effect there. This soon earned the German fellow believer the reputation of a saint. He is called "Il santo", the saint. The Dominican Order sees its influence in the Holy See endangered - one of their representatives whispers to the Pope that Medardus only wants to humiliate himself "in order to be exalted" - and lures Medardus into a trap in order to get rid of him in a devious way. The Dominican Father even had Father Cyrill murdered in order to blame Medardus for the outrage. Then the Dominican begins to torture the Capuchin in a dungeon in order to extract an inaccurate confession of his crimes. While the poor are cheering Medardus out on the streets, the Dominican accuses the brother-in-faith of inciting the mob and wanting to damage the position of the Pope, possibly only to seek the highest church office himself.
Medardus is to be convicted in a moral court and eliminated by an execution. The Dominicans want to surrender Medardus to death by fire at the last minute, when Peter Schönfeld intervenes again as Medardus' savior, frees him and guides the Capuchin monk safely back to Bamberg. There he witnessed an acceptance ceremony during which Aurelie entered the Cistercian monastery as a nun. In front of the altar of the monastery church, the consciousness drama of the young Medardus reaches a ghostly climax, because his demonic second self is planning no less than the murder of the monk's only true love ...
Production notes
The Elixirs of the Devil was created in spring / mid-1976 in cooperation with the Bavarian Radio in southern Germany and was premiered on November 4, 1976.
The film structures were designed by Peter Rothe , the costumes by Charlotte Flemming . Erwin Lange was responsible for the special effects. Eva Ebner assisted director Purzer.
Acting veteran Rudolf Fernau gave his farewell performance in a movie here.
Reviews
“As a director, Purzer ... approached this model with remarkable self-confidence and technical skill. He resolved the scenes with a sure taste, led his actors with a firm hand, always had the emotions under control and set catchy accents of tension. The suggestive acting charisma of Dieter Laser in the main role then carries the film slightly over plot jumps and verve supports the charm of the double role. "
"The film adaptation reduces the novel by ETA Hoffmann to the most important stages of the plot, remains one-dimensional and lacks the boldness of the multi-layered original."
Web links
- The Devil's Elixirs in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The elixirs of the devil at filmportal.de (with photo gallery)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Devil's Elixirs. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed January 3, 2017 .