Father Sergius (1917)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Father Sergius |
| Original title | Отец Сергий (Otez Sergi) |
| Country of production | Russia |
| original language | Russian |
| Publishing year | 1918 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Yakov Protasanov |
| script | Alexander Volkov based on the short story of the same name by Lev Tolstoy |
| production | Iosif Yermolev |
| camera |
Fedot Burgasov Nikolai Rudakow Stanislaw Sebel |
| occupation | |
| |
Father Sergius is a 1918 Russian silent film drama directed by Jakow Protasanov and starring Ivan Mosschuchin , based on a story by Lev Tolstoy .
action
The focus of the story is the eventful life of the young Prince Kasatzki, the offspring of a highly respected family in 19th century Tsarist Russia. His loyalty belongs entirely to Tsar Nicholas, while his love belongs to the beautiful Maria Korotkowa. Little does he suspect that the young woman is also his ruler's mistress. As a result of this unhappy love, the nobleman loses his military rank, has to give up his position as guard officer of the tsar and then retires as a priest to a monastery. There he takes the name Father Sergius. But here, too, he is driven by inner unrest, he says, he cannot find peace of mind in the face of too great secular influences. And so Sergius escapes the order and retires to a remote hermitage, where he becomes an ascetic hermit.
Six years later: A cheerful company of different people crosses its paths - among them the worldly and lust-oriented Makowkina. For her, the attractive man with the self-chosen hermit existence is a challenge, and so she tries to seduce him with a trick in which she portrays herself as a helpless, freezing female who begs for warm clothing and shelter for the night. Sergius thinks he sees the temptation of the devil in her. Kasatzki threatens to succumb to this fleshly lust and to succumb to female temptations, and so the nobleman hacks off a finger in a rush of determined resistance. The Makowkina is appalled at this drastic, bloody gesture, recognizes her frivolous behavior towards this deeply pious man and asks his forgiveness.
A year later: The Makowkina has also changed through this experience and retired to a monastery. Kasatzki, alias Father Sergius, soon seems to have found his inner peace, and while the idlers and day thieves mock him in his sincerity and piety, the peasants in the area revere him like a saint. But again the inner restlessness grips him and he flees from the police, who are still looking for him. Father Sergius remains a driven man until he is finally caught and banished to Siberia by the state.
Production notes
The film, which had been in planning since 1915 and was made during the turning point in 1917, was considered the most commercially successful screen production of the tsarist cinema - although it was made after the fall of the tsar in February 1917 . As Kay Less writes in his Protasanov biography, this is his "artistically most remarkable film".
The shooting time took place exactly between the February Revolution and the October Revolution of 1917, i.e. in the extremely short time between tsarist rule and Bolshevism in Russia Georgi Lwows and Alexander Kerenskis . The shooting took place from March to October 1917. “Producer Yermoliev was of the opinion that the historical moment was not suitable for the performance, and so this film was only released in May 1918, that is, during the Soviet regime. But it belongs to the pre-revolutionary era and is even its artistic climax in the field of film. "
The buildings come from Alexander Loschakow and Vladimir Balljusek .
The exact date of the first performance in Germany is currently unknown, but Father Sergius probably started in 1918. In Austria-Hungary, which like Germany had been at war with Russia since 1914, the film under the title Father Sergius was shown during the First World War on March 22, 1918.
criticism
“The director Protasanow and the screenwriter Volkov took the literary source seriously, they were not only concerned with the cinematic reproduction of the fable and the atmosphere of the Tolstoic story, but also wanted to express their spirit and ideal goals. The moral decay of the aristocracy, whose representative is Count Kasazki, was shown very clearly. The tsarist despotism was exposed and the role of the church, the alleged comforter of the suffering, exposed. (...) Protasanov's artistic handwriting has reached a high degree of perfection, especially during assembly ... "
In Paimann's film lists it can be read: "The subject is very dramatic, photos and play excellent. Scenery adapted to the subject matter, splendid in the courtyard and church scenes, simply as a cloister and beggar monk. (A hit.)".
Web links
- Father Sergius in russkoekino.ru (in Russian)
- Father Sergius in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Kay Less : The large personal dictionary of the film . 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 6: N - R. Mary Nolan - Meg Ryan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 346.
- ↑ cf. Jerzy Toeplitz: History of the Film, Volume 1 1895–1928. East Berlin 1972. p. 157
- ↑ cit. n. Toeplitz, ibid.
- ↑ Father Sergius in Paimann's film lists ( memento of the original from March 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
