Opium (1919)

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Movie
Original title opium
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1919
length 121 (1919) 96 (today's version) minutes
Rod
Director Robert Reinert
script Robert Reinert
production Robert Reinert for Monumental-Filmwerke (Munich)
music I. Polchuk
camera Helmar Lerski
occupation

Opium is a German silent film drama by Robert Reinert , published in 1919, starring Eduard von Winterstein , Werner Krauss and Conrad Veidt .

action

Towards the end of his research stay in China, during which he intensively investigated the effects of the drug opium , Professor Gesellius found out about Nung-Tschang, the owner of an opium den, who allegedly had a particularly effective variety of the drug in his range. Once there, the Chinese tells the European the following story: Nung-Chang's wife once had a secret affair with a European and gave birth to an illegitimate child. Beside himself with anger, Nung-Tschang murdered his wife and took the child with him. The European adulterer was abused by him as a human test subject in order to research the effects of his special opium on him.

Gesellius then meets the young Chinese woman Sin. She pleads with the professor to free her from Nung-Chang's clutches. Only later is the opium researcher supposed to find out that this is the child whose mother Nung-Tschang had killed in his jealous fit. Gesellius takes Sin in and leaves China with her head over heels. But Nung-Tschang has also left his home country and is hot on their heels. When he enters the clinic that the professor has just opened, he has to believe that his story is repeated in a dramatic way, because once again a European has stolen his wife, and this time also Sin, whom he regards as his property and pledge. Nung-Tschang has no qualms about seeking revenge. He knows the fatal effects of his opium mixture and wants to make Gesellius addictive and dependent - just as he once did with Sin's father.

Professor Gesellius' life seems to have been turned upside down since his return home. Nothing is like it was before. His wife Maria has been unfaithful to him and that with his favorite student Richard Armstrong of all people. Then Richard's father, who was believed to be lost for a long time, appears. This is completely dependent on opium and is housed under a false name by the professor in his clinic. When his father meets Armstrong Sin, who works here as a nurse Magdalena, he recognizes the girl he had once fathered with Nung-Chang's wife. Richard Armstrong is seriously injured in a staged riding accident and dies a little later from the consequences. Gesellius' wife Maria claims that she helped a little in the accident. In truth, however, her jealous husband promoted his favorite student to the afterlife. No longer in control of his senses, Prof. Gesellius dies of the drug that he had devoted his life to researching and that he always wanted to warn against misuse.

Production notes

Opium was shot at the end of World War I and was censored in December 1918. The film, which was banned from young people, was premiered at a screening in Düsseldorf on January 29, 1919. The mass start was the following month in Berlin's marble house . The Austrian version of the six-act act was seen in Vienna from September 26, 1919. Because of its great topicality, the film was a great success with the public in 1918/19.

The music for illustration was written by the Russian-Jewish band leader, violinist and composer Isaak Polischuk , who was born in Kiev .

19-year-old Sybill Morel made her film debut with the enigmatic Sin.

Reviews

“It is with pleasure to note that Robert Reinert has managed to create a film with his monumental film" Opium "that can be regarded as a masterpiece of German film art and that has no foreign competition to shy away from. A logically structured action is presented in a tasteful way in a first-class way using the most imaginative use of all film possibilities. (...) It is an extremely rich, multi-branched plot that is made even more colorful by the phantasies of the opium dreams, the great scenes in China and India and the horrors in the jungles. Nevertheless, a sure thread runs through the whole plot and a special note of this film is that the artistically elegant line has been carefully preserved everywhere, which is particularly noticeable in the sensitive images in the opium dreams. The actors were put in the right place with great skill, especially by Winterstein as Professor Gesellius and Hanna Ralph as Maria have carried out their beautiful tasks with great success. ""

- Heinz Schmid-Dimsch in Der Film, No. 2 from January 11, 1919

“In essence, a well thought-out and precisely executed action, the accessories effective down to the smallest detail, built up at great expense, of perfect technology and never boring. At the same time, an educational film that wants to warn us urgently of the terrible consequences of that disruptive poison. Here we take a look into the vice caves of India and China, there we see magnificent Indian festivals with great crowd scenes, there again the kings of the animal world in unsurpassable naturalness. (...) The dream fantasies of the opium smoker gave the director the opportunity to prove the technical perfection of our devices in some wonderful scenes in which there was a lot of nudity - Hanna Ralph as the woman from "society" thirsting for love, who neglected by the husband whose favorite pupil throws in his arms and endures terrible anguish; Eduard von Winterstein as a professor who really loves his wife dearly, the conflicts between work and love for despair, and who seeks oblivion in the opium intoxication; Sybill Morel as the unhappy opium girl Sin, later as Sister Magdalena, who is devoted to her Savior in almost dog-like love; Werner Krauss as the opium cave owner Nung-Tschang who had been cheated of his love and avenged himself for it on every European; Conrad Veidt as the professor's favorite student - they are all true to life, excellently drawn figures in mask and representation, which one will not easily forget. ""

- Photo Stage No. 5, from February 1, 1919

“The German film market is richer by another monumental film work and thus by a piece of work that characterizes and increases its importance for the world market. Because this "opium" Robert Reinert is an international entity in terms of style and size. Not just because his action takes place in China, England and India ... but because the non-European images seem to be truly Asian ... because the care of the director was able to encourage performance that is well above average ... because photography With their peculiar technology they produced pictures that have not yet been seen in Germany and that should also be a novelty for other countries ... "."

- CB in the film, no.7 of February 15, 1919

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ other sources cite January 7, 1919 in Munich
  2. ↑ on this, which is also known on record labels as “J. Shura Polischuk ”appeared, cf. Article by user 'formiggini' at grammophon-platten.de (Nov 08 2014); A year earlier, Polischuk had already edited the background music for the silent film "Inge Tolmein's Last Night of Love".

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