Judith of Bethulien
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Judith of Bethulien |
| Original title | Judith of Bethulia |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1914 |
| length | 61 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | David Wark Griffith |
| script | DW Griffith Grace Pierce Frank E. Woods based on the collection of poems Judith and Holfernes (1862) by Thomas Bailey Aldrich |
| production | American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. |
| camera | Billy Bitzer |
| cut | James Smith |
| occupation | |
and in extras roles later stars like Lionel Barrymore , Antonio Moreno and Elmo Lincoln (later silent film Tarzan) | |
Judith von Bethulien is an American monumental silent film from 1914 by David Wark Griffith with Blanche Sweet in the title role and Henry B. Walthall as her adversary Holofernes. The film is based on the published 1862 play Judith of Bethulia by Thomas Bailey Aldrich .
action
The story is taken from the Old Testament book of Judith .
The Assyrian troops of King Nebuchadnezzar besieged the Jewish city of Bethulia and bombarded it from all sides with the greatest violence. The population fears nothing more than the merciless violence of the attackers and is gradually worn down by the constant shelling and increasing hunger. Nevertheless, the resistance holds up and the city walls are not bursting. Bethulien's captive officers are subjected to cruel torture by the men of the brutal commanding General Holofernes . After 40 days the besieged seem to have reached the end of their will to resist.
Then the widow Judith, driven by a vision, devises a plan to end the devastating war with a trick in her own way. The young woman disguises herself as a dancing harem girl and goes into the enemy camp, accompanied only by a house slave. Here, in the lion's den, she asks for an audience with Holofernes. In the tent she ensnares the general, who quickly succumbs to her temptations, using all the rules of female seduction. Downright obscured by her infatuations and the pouring wine, Holofernes falls into an intoxicating sleep while Judith cuts off his head with one blow. So she returns to her own family and is celebrated as a heroine when the Assyrian army is shocked and, in the truest sense of the word, goes headless.
Production notes
Judith von Bethulien is considered one of the first monumental films in Hollywood and is also DW Griffith's first large-scale production. Filming took place from November 1912 to March 1913 and the cost of production was $ 40,000. The first showing in the USA is documented for March 8, 1914, but the film is said to have been shown for the first time on January 29, 1914 at the Kammerlichtspiele on Potsdamer Platz (Berlin). Here he had 41 subtitles. An abundance of German specialist publications and daily newspapers (including Der Kinematograph , Die Lichtbild-Bühne, Hamburger Fremdblatt, Kinobriefe, Berliner Börsen-Courier, Deutsche Kino-Rundschau) were devoted to this film event in 1914. Performances in Spain and Austria-Hungary are also documented for 1914. In January 1920, Judith von Bethulien was again shown in German cinemas ( Berliner Sportpalast ).
Other Griffith stars such as Mae Marsh , Robert Harron and the two Gish sisters Lillian and Dorothy play major supporting roles in Judith von Bethulien . For some inexplicable reason, leading actress Blanche Sweet was relabelled “Daphne Wayne” in the German and Austrian versions from 1914. Walthall was heralded as "Maurice Barrymore".
The film was the first American four-act act and Griffith's "most complex project to date". After the completion of this monumental strip, Griffith left his previous employer, the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company , in 1913 , went into business for himself and in the same year began filming his most famous and lavish early work, The Birth of a Nation , which was not to be released in American cinemas until 1915 .
Reviews
“'Judith von Bethulien' is a tremendous work of poetry made with sensitivity and greatness and reproduced with historical fidelity. Ancient Judea, the life and beginnings of its people, is described in detail, as the book, tradition, and fantasy do not convey to us in the remotest measure. Completely new charms and never-before-imagined impressions received like from the living picture of 'Judith von Bethulien'. The way of fighting of the ancients, the siege of Bethulia, the famine and the encirclement that weighs on the population, but also the oriental, sensual camp life of Holofernes, the enticing, charming dances of the dancers from the temple of Nin are drawn in a stylish and unique way. The figure of Holfernes, a hybrid between wild tyrants and magnanimous kindness, is wonderfully portrayed […] The main interest, however, revolves around the figure of Judith… She captivates from the first moment with her balanced beauty and personable nature. [...] The struggle of the woman in love and of those who want to liberate a people, sacrificing their person for the good of their fellow men, is played out in a wonderful way. [...] The staging of this colossal work is a masterly one. Sophisticated down to the smallest detail, it offers truly great services. This makes the film a spectacle of very sensational value, which lacks any hint of the usual sentimentality of cinema drama, but in which great art predominates and which is a piece of cultural history. "
“'Quo Vadis' and 'Cabiria' had given America a taste for the big productions; it wasn't long before de Mille specialized in this genre. And the Romance influence also determined Griffith to shoot 'Judith of Bethulia' and then 'Birth of a Nation'. "
“The film is a tightly constructed reproduction of the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes and is told in four different episodes. The huge budget overrun that this film required led to a break with the biographer. "
"Semi-biblical melodrama in Griffith's most Victorian style."
Web links
- Judith von Bethulien at The German Early Cinema Database
- Judith von Bethulien in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Judith of Bethulia on IMDB
- ↑ cf. Judith von Bethulien on The German Early Cinema Database.
- ↑ Bucher's Encyclopedia of Films, p. 314, Frankfurt a. M. 1977
- ↑ Cinematographische Rundschau of November 15, 1914. p. 43
- ^ Georges Sadoul : History of the cinematic art . Vienna 1957, p. 124 f.
- ↑ Bucher's Encyclopedia of Films, p. 314, Frankfurt a. M. 1977
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide . New York, 7th Edition, 1989, p. 546