Queen Elizabeth of England
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Queen Elizabeth of England |
| Original title | Les amours de la reine Élisabeth / La pure Élisabeth |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1912 |
| length | approx. 110 (1912), 40, 53 (today's versions) minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Louis Mercanton Henri Desfontaines |
| script | Émile Moreau based on his play of the same name |
| production | Louis Mercanton |
| music | Joseph Carl Breil |
| occupation | |
| |
Queen Elizabeth of England is a French equipment and monumental silent film that shows the life of Elizabeth I , Queen of England. Elizabeth I is also known by the names The Virgin Queen , The Maiden Queen ("The Virgin Queen")
The film dates from 1912 with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role. The internationally hugely successful historical drama is considered the first large-scale production in French cinema history and "depicts the unfortunate love of the British Queen for the Count of Essex."
action
Some scenes - especially those of an amorous nature - from the life of the English Queen (1533–1603) are depicted.
Elizabeth is in a delicate love triangle with the Earl of Essex and the Countess of Nottingham. The Queen gives the earl a ring with the royal seal and promises him, should he ever be in need, that this piece of jewelry will save him if it gets back into her hands. One day the time has come and the Queen and Earl of Essex have fallen out so badly that the Earl is imprisoned in the Tower of London .
In order to save his life, Elizabeth I sends the Countess of Nottingham to ask the unfortunate person to return the signet ring. Only by asking for a favor, the Queen finds, she could save Essex's life. But he also has his pride and, since he feels right, does not want to see his life spared by this kind of grace and therefore just throws the ring away. In doing so, he makes it impossible for his former lover to do anything other than sign his death warrant. The Queen is heartbroken when she learns the Earl's decision, but now has to follow her own laws.
Production notes
Queen Elizabeth of England is believed to have premiered on July 12, 1912 in New York City. In the following month, the monumental film was also shown in her native France and in the motherland of the heroine, Great Britain. The strip was first seen in Austria-Hungary on December 3, 1912. There, La rein Elisabeth was shown in Vienna's elite cinema in front of an invited audience with the title Queen Elisabeth of England . A German premiere cannot be made out.
The American Nickelodeon operator Adolph Zukor bought the film rights for the US market from the French in 1912 for a considerable dollar sum (by the standards of the time). Then he brought the film out in regular movie theaters outside the Nickelodeon business and asked for the impressive sum of 25 cents per ticket. Nevertheless, all seats were always sold out, not least because Zukor left the impression with those interested, who had heard the name Sarah Bernhardt even in the furthest corner of the USA, that the world-famous French artist herself was in this new facility "cinema" would occur. "That was the end of the fair period in American cinema." With his license for “La reine Elisabeth”, Zukor is said to have earned a total of $ 80,000, the basis for his company foundation Famous Players Film Company, the forerunner of Paramount Pictures .
Reviews and reception
“So it was an English [sic!] Company that arranged for Sarah Bernhardt to appear as Queen Elisabeth in a drama written for her by the Parisian playwright Moreau, and the recent cinematographic premiere of this work, which, along with the famous tragedian, is the the most distinguished members of their troops involved was an event in London social life. It should not be concealed that, despite everything, it was a matter of "film drama", ie a series of effective stage sets that were combined with the endeavor to achieve three-dimensional painterly effects to create a colorful sensational piece. "
“There is no doubt that the art of the cinema is increasingly approaching the real and true stage art in its external appearances ... But even more, appearances such as this sensational film prove anew that it is only the film, or more correctly said, the cinematographic representation is possible to make immortal art really immortal and to convey to the great masses at all times what was until now to see and get to know only a limited circle of select people possible. (…) The film breaks the power of this inexorable natural law, it opposes the aging of the mime with a categorical hold; the artist, who once showed his art in the film, will always be preserved for posterity as he lived in the role of the moment. But the performance of the sensational play "Queen Elizabeth of England" proved to us again that true art of representation does not always need words and that profound acting skills can also be fully effective in gestures. "
"Sarah Bernhardt as the divine Sarah is incomparable, but Sarah Bernhardt as the Queen of England - Elisabeth - bears about as much resemblance to the historical queen as a modern torpedo boat that makes its forty nautical miles is to one of Admiral Drake's three-deckers."
“Sarah Bernhardt's most famous film gives only a vague idea of her real acting ability. The representational art of the aging diva is heavily exaggerated, and the film, which was realized according to the concept of the Film d'Art, made no attempt to translate stage traditions into the film. His great success was due to the fact that he was the first to introduce a world-famous phenomenon to a wide audience. "
“Scenes from the life of the queen. Deeply boring today, this film is important in many ways. It's our best shot by Sarah Bernhardt. He was extremely successful all over the world. He made the cinema interesting for all social classes, not just for the mob. He founded the fortune of Adolph Zukor, who bought him cheaply and was able to found Paramount Pictres. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 1: A - C. Erik Aaes - Jack Carson. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 362.
- ↑ For this purpose, the most varied sums are given: Georges Sadoul names in “History of Film Art”, Vienna 1957 on page 109 the sum of $ 20,000, the 1977 published “Bucher's Encyclopedia of Films” on page 637 already $ 28,000, Jerzy Toeplitz increases in his History of the Film, Volume 1, 1895 to 1928 on page 52 the amount to $ 35,000, and Heinrich Fraenkel claims in the volume “Immortal Film. The great chronicle from the Laterna Magica to the sound film ”on page 69, even $ 40,000 had been paid.
- ↑ Sadoul, p. 109
- ↑ Bucher, p. 637
Web links
- Queen Elizabeth of England in the Internet Movie Database (English)