Quo vadis? (1951)
Quo vadis? (Original title: Quo Vadis , German Where are you going? ) Is a monumental film by Mervyn LeRoy for MGM from 1951. It is based on the novel Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz , the title of which is based on the Christian tradition of the encounter between Christ and his disciple Simon Peter picks up at the gates of Rome ( Quo vadis? ). The film premiered on November 8, 1951 in the United States; the German premiere took place on August 13, 1954. The film tells the story of the Roman general Marcus Vinicius , who returns to Rome from the war and falls in love with the Christian hostage Lygia . Dramatic highlights are the fire in Rome and the persecution of Christians by Emperor Nero .
action
In 64 after Christ , the Roman commander Marcus Vinicius returns with his troops victorious from Britain back to Rome. At the gates of the city he received orders from Emperor Nero to set up camp and wait. Marcus doesn't see this, especially since his people are exhausted from the exertion and want to go home. He drives to the Kaiser alone in his car. He meets him in a round in which Nero is singing a song he wrote himself and Petronius , the “arbiter elegantiae”, the expert in questions of taste, asks for his judgment. Petronius occupies a special position in the imperator's court, he is the only one who can "openly" criticize the emperor without having to reckon with consequences from the emperor and his henchmen. Marcus now learns the reason for the delay from the emperor: the people are to be offered “ panem et circenses ”, bread and games - for this a later invasion of the troops would be just the thing. Nero asks Marcus for understanding, to wait for the legions from Asia and Africa, which could only be a matter of hours, and then to march into Rome together, triumphant. Only now can Petronius - he is Marcus' uncle - greet his nephew properly and send him to the house of General Plautius to spend the night . There he meets the Lygian hostage Lygia, who was raised as a daughter by Plautius and his wife. He falls in love with Lygia and tries to get her from Nero in recognition of his victories. In the general's house he also met a certain Paul from Tarsus . What Marcus does not yet know is that Plautius, his family and Lygia are followers of the Christian religion .
Marcus' entry with his legions is a splendid event. For the subsequent feast, Lygia is forcibly picked up; the emperor gave them to Marcus. Poppaea , Nero's wife, doesn't like to see that, because she has her own eye on the handsome officer. After the celebration, Lygia is supposed to be brought to Petronius' house, but never arrives. Ursus, their gigantic protector, frees them and hides them in the community. She stays gone. Marcus looks for her and learns from the Greek Chilo about the secret meetings of Christians in the catacombs . Marcus also goes there with him and the wrestler Kroton and finally discovers them among those present. He wants to take her with him by force, but Ursus foils that, knocks Marcus down and kills Croton. Then Ursus brings the unconscious Marcus to a Christian house, where Lygia, among others, nurses him to health. When he comes to, he wants to release Lygia. He believes Lygia and the general's family hate him because he is (still) a loyal soldier to the Emperor. Just as Marcus is about to leave, Lygia confesses that she loves him. Marcus is ready to accept Lygia's faith pro forma; Lygia rejects this, however, because he does not yet understand the Christian faith and certainly does not live according to it. Again Lygia and Marcus get into a conflict, Marcus does not understand that he and Christ have an "equal" place in Lygia's heart. In the midst of this controversy, Paul arrives. He too tries to explain the point of view of Lygia and her beliefs to Marcus. But Marcus sees in Paul an enemy of Rome and threatens him with the sword. In a fit of anger, Marcus tears the crucifix from the wall in front of Lygias and Paul and breaks it.
In the meantime, Nero has the fixed idea to burn old Rome for the sake of art and the creation of a new epic and to have a new city built with his name "Neropolis" in its place. So it happens, Rome is on fire and the deranged emperor sings to it: “Flames, eat it up, like in a fiery furnace!” The population has no understanding for the crazy ideas of their ruler and tries to storm the palace. Nero, on the other hand, cowardly and full of fear for his life, needs someone to blame for the fire disaster. Nero calls on his closest circle of advisers, including Seneca, Petronius and Tigellinus, to appear before the people of Rome on his behalf and to make them "promises". Nero even demands of Tigellinus that he should admit that he had set Rome on fire. Poppaea suggests the Christians as guilty; that way she would get rid of her rival with Marcus and save Nero. Petronius, however, warns Nero not to blame Christians for the fire in Rome; he refers him to the “judgment of history” that posterity would pass on him: “Judge these Christians - and before the eyes of history you judge yourself yourself! ”Nero weighs down and replies:“ When I'm done with these Christians, history won't even know whether they ever existed! ”By decree, Nero declares the Christians to be guilty of the fire in Rome, and the prisons are soon gone full of Christians, including Lygia. Marcus has since fallen out of favor because he had left the imperator's court without permission when he heard of the fire in Rome. In a spectacular chariot race against two butchers from the Praetorian Guard, however, he is able to get rid of them and, drawn by the chase, reaches the blazing city. Although he manages to find Lygia and her family, the Praetorians block all relevant escape routes to the outskirts. Finally he opens an access to the sewer system in order to save at least part of the population, but he can no longer prevent Lygia and her family from being arrested by the Praetorian Guard. Shortly afterwards, while trying to get Lygia out of the dungeon, he too is arrested by Tigellinus.
After the fire, the apostle Peter left Rome. On the way, however, Jesus appears to him and Peter says to him: “Quo vadis domine?” - “Where are you going, Lord?” Jesus replies that he is going to Rome to be crucified a second time. This is how Peter recognizes that he should actually be with his church in Rome, and he repents.
Petronius has since decided to kill himself, on the one hand to forestall Nero, on the other hand because he has come to the realization that he himself is complicit in the events. As he himself admits, instead of acting when he could, he liked to play the selfish and amused cynic. He invites his best friends and tells them about it. Before her eyes he lets his doctor cut open his wrists. His beloved slave Eunice takes the knife and commits love of him also suicide . As he dies, Petronius dictates one last letter to Nero, in which he settles accounts with the emperor with the request that he may continue to murder and destroy, but that he should stop singing, with which he hits Nero at his most sensitive point. He makes Seneca promise to deliver the letter personally to the Emperor. Before that he sent a message to the Roman general Galba with the request to free Rome from the tyrant.
In the amphitheater , the Christians are thrown , crucified and burned to wild lions . The returned Peter is also arrested and crucified. However, he is crucified upside down because in his condemnation he expresses that to die like his master is more than he deserves. Poppaea has come up with something special for Lygia: she is tied to a stake and a wild bull is let loose on her. Ursus is to defend them. Next to Poppaea tied to a pillar, Marcus has to watch the gruesome spectacle from the imperial box. And again Ursus is the savior: he defeats the bull with his bare hands and breaks his neck. The audience rages, they are enthusiastic and with the shout “Thumbs up!” They call for mercy for the two of them. Nero's numerous advisors also join the will of the people of Rome. But this lowers his thumb, although he had previously said that he would release her, Ursus would defeat the bull. But before his soldiers can kill Lygia and Ursus, Marcus' soldiers suddenly storm the arena under the leadership of the Tribune Nerva. Marcus is able to free himself and announces to the people that Nero is the real culprit in the fire of Rome, at the same time he announces that General Galba is on his way to Rome to replace Nero as emperor and emperor. Nero and Poppaea flee to the palace, the armies of the designated successor Nero Galba are already on their way to Rome. While the soldiers are marching into Rome, Nero strangles Poppaea, whom he blames for everything because she advised him to use the Christians as scapegoats, and then commits suicide with the help of his former lover Acte . But Marcus and Lygia, who got married in prison, are free and move to Sicily on Marcus' estate.
background
production
Mervyn LeRoy shot the fourth and most lavish version of Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel with his film. For financial reasons (including cheaper extras for the crowd scenes), the shooting did not take place in Hollywood, but in the Italian Cinecittà studios near Rome. 29 main actors, 110 speaking roles, 30,000 extras, 250 horses, 85 pigeons, 63 lions, seven bulls and two cheetahs were called up. 180 km of film footage was finally shortened to 4,550 m. 150,000 props and 115 decorations were used. The backdrops and much more were used years later for the sandal films that were so popular at the time .
Arthur Hornblow Jr. was originally supposed to produce the film and John Huston to direct.
Even Anthony Mann was involved in directing, his name was not listed in the credits.
Film music
Miklós Rózsa had a contract with MGM in the 1950s and was particularly successful with compositions for sandals and historical films. His masterpiece in this genre is the music for Ben Hur , for which he received his third Oscar in 1959. He also wrote the film music for King of Kings , another Christ film, Julius Caesar , Sodom and Gomorrha , El Cid , Ivanhoe , The Heir apparent and The Knights of the Round Table . The moviegoers usually recognized his typical style after the first few bars. The score for Quo Vadis? was one of the first to appear on record and sold with great success. At an event in London in 1977 he was annoyed that the music to Quo Vadis had been mixed too quietly in some cases.
Cast
- For Peter Ustinov , portraying Nero was the start of a brilliant career. MGM had hesitated for a year to give him the role, despite convincing screen tests. The 30 year old seemed too young. “If you wait any longer, I'll be too old. Nero died at the age of 31 ” , he is said to have told producer Sam Zimbalist by telegram, whereupon he got the role.
- In this film Bud Spencer has his first extra role as a member of the Praetorian Guard of Emperor Nero.
- Sophia Loren made her film debut as an extra: a cheering Roman woman on the triumphal procession.
- Elizabeth Taylor has been considered for the role of Lygia and is believed to have an undisclosed extra role as a Christian in the arena.
- Gregory Peck was supposed to play the Marcus Vinicius.
- Buddy Baer , who plays the giant bodyguard Ursus, was the brother of the famous heavyweight boxer Max Baer and in the 1940s was number one in the world rankings in heavyweight boxing. He challenged world champion Joe Louis twice , but lost both times.
Historical facts
- Nero dies at the end of the film. In fact, he only died four years after the historical events shown.
- The model of Nero's “New Rome” used in the film incorrectly shows the Pantheon , which was only built fifty years after Nero's death. It is a model originally made by Italo Gismondi for Mussolini's Augustus exhibition of 1937, which shows a Rome that was idealized for propaganda reasons and partly invented at the time of Constantine .
- The predator fights and the execution of the Christians take place in a stone amphitheater with high seats inside Rome. In fact, however, the construction of the Colosseum did not begin until after Nero's death under Emperor Vespasian in AD 72. The building was only completed under his son Titus in AD 81.
- Whether such severe persecution of Christians really took place in Nero's time is discussed in recent research.
- The film shows soldiers playing chess . In fact, the game didn't come to Europe until the 7th century.
- During the fire, Nero sings about the fire from the roof of his palace. The area of the palatine, on which the imperial palace also stood, fell into flames shortly after the fire broke out, whereupon Nero had his famous “ Golden House ” built. Researchers today deny that Nero really sang about the fire. The emperor is said not even to have been in Rome at the time.
- During the storming of his palace, Nero strangles his wife, in whom he sees the author of the revolt. However, Poppaea died in 65 as a result of a kick by Nero (who was probably given her not with intent to kill, but in a fit of rage - see also Suetonius , Tacitus and Cassius Dio ).
- Marcus and his 14th Legion, who had just returned from Britain, must have put down the Boudicca uprising there . This is made clear by statements from him and other characters in the course of the film, for example, at dinner with Lygia's family, he talks about fighting the barbarians with a battle strategy like the Macedonian phalanx . The same tactic was used in the decisive battle during Boudicca's uprising in AD 61.
synchronization
The German synchronized editing was created in 1954 in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer synchronization studio in Berlin .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Marcus Vinicius | Robert Taylor | Hans Nielsen |
| Lygia | Deborah Kerr | Edith Schneider |
| Emperor Nero | Peter Ustinov | Alfred Balthoff |
| Petronius | Leo Genn | Friedrich Joloff |
| Poppea | Patricia Laffan | Eleanor Noelle |
| Peter | Finlay Currie | Franz Weber |
| Paul | Abraham Sofaer | Paul Wagner |
| Plautius | Felix Aylmer | Walter Werner |
| Flavius | Roberto Ottaviano | Horst Niendorf |
| Tigellinus | Ralph Truman | Siegfried Schürenberg |
| Ursus | Buddy Baer | Franz Nicklisch |
| Acte | Rosalie Crutchley | Marion Degler |
| Seneca | Nicholas Hannen | Wolf Martini |
Awards
Without ultimately receiving one of the coveted prizes, he was nominated for an Oscar in the following categories in 1952 :
- Best movie
- Best Supporting Actor ( Leo Genn ),
- Best Supporting Actor ( Peter Ustinov ),
- Best production image in a color film
- Best camera in a color film
- Best costume design in a color film
- Best cut
- Best Music in a Drama or Comedy ( Miklós Rózsa )
Peter Ustinov received the Golden Globe in 1952 for his portrayal of Nero , as did Robert Surtees and William V. Skall for color photography. The film was also nominated in the Best Drama category.
Reviews
“Colorful American monumental film. […] Sensational entertainment on a grand scale, partly at the expense of good taste. Reservations about sadistic scenes and a lack of awe of martyrdom. "
“Despite enormously elaborate buildings, breakneck chariot races, burning Rome and numerous bloody circus fights, the film is only worth remembering because of an exquisite depiction of the effeminate Nero by Peter Ustinov. Of the other actors only Leo Genn was able to pull himself out of the affair as Petronius, while Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr and others either corresponded to the primitiveness of the film or, if used completely wrongly, were senselessly worn out. "
“Elaborate film ham [...]. Mixture of studio and real scenery or mood; brilliant show values, epic style. (Rating: 3 stars, very good) "
“The drama of the persecution of Christians turned into a colossal show. The acting is drowned in the roar of lions and fanfare. "
“That in all this pomp, neither the story nor the acting was lost, borders on a miracle. The enormous success of Quo vadis is mainly thanks to the experienced director LeRoy, who had special effects, the crowds and the leading actors equally well under control. "
Other films
The first films were made in the silent film era; the most important of these is the Italian film adaptation from 1913 by Enrico Guazzoni . Other films were made in 1985 as a television series (with Klaus Maria Brandauer as Nero) and in 2001 as another monumental film (director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz ).
Video publishing
- Quo vadis? Warner Home Video 2000 - VHS cassette;
- Quo vadis? Warner Home Video 2008 - DVD (Special Edition or Ultimate Collector's Edition), Blu-ray Disc.
Soundtrack
- Miklós Rózsa : Quo Vadis. The Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack . Artemis 2001, audio carrier no. ART-F 008 - New recording of the film music by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of the composer from 1977, missing passages for the CD release added from the original soundtrack recording. There is also a new recording with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under Erich Kunzel . In 2012 the complete soundtrack was re-recorded by the Prague City Orchestra and released as a double CD.
literature
- Henryk Sienkiewicz : Quo vadis? . (Original title: Quo vadis? ). Based on the translation by J. Bolinski, revised and given a follow-up and remarks by Marga and Roland Erb. Complete edition. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv), Munich 2000, ISBN 3-423-12825-9 .
- Marcus Junkelmann: Hollywood's dream of Rome: “Gladiator” and the tradition of monumental films. von Zabern, Mainz 2004, ISBN 3-8053-2905-9 .
- Ruth Scodel, Anja Bettenworth: Whither Quo Vadis? Sienkiewicz's Novel in Film and Television . Wiley, New York 2008, ISBN 978-1-405-18385-7 .
Web links
- Quo vadis? in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Quo vadis? atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Quo Vadis with detailed table of contents, production history and analysis of historical facts on Peplumania.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marcus Junkelmann: Hollywood's Dream of Rome. P. 282.
- ↑ Victor Plahte Tschudi: Plaster Empires: Italo Gismondi's model of Rome. In: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians , 71.2012 / 3, pp. 386-403.
- ↑ Thomas Bräutigam : Lexicon of film and television synchronization. More than 2000 films and series with their German voice actors etc. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-289-X , p. 297.
- ↑ 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958. Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism, 3rd edition, Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 344.
- ↑ Wolfram Tichy, Liz-Anne Bawden et al .: rororo Filmlexikon. Volume 2: Films K – S (OT: The Oxford Companion to Film ). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1978, ISBN 3-499-16229-6 , p. 537.
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier , Berndt Schulz Lexicon "Films on TV" (extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 661.
- ^ Peter W. Engelmeier: 100 years of cinema. Augustus Verlag 1994.