Robinson Crusoe (1964)

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Movie
Original title The strange and unique adventures of Robinson Crusoe from York, recounted by himself
Country of production Germany , France
original language French
Publishing year 1964
Rod
Director Jean Sacha
script Jean-Claude Carrière
Pierre Raynal
Jacques Sommet
production Henry Deutschmeister
music Robert Mellin
Gian Piero Reverberi
Georges Van Parys
camera Quinto Albicocco
cut Borys Lewin
Hélène Plemiannikov
occupation

The strange and unique adventures of Robinson Crusoe from York, reported by himself , is the title of the work, which is mostly run as Robinson Crusoe , is an adventure four-part series from 1964. It was produced by Jean Sacha for ZDF based on the classic novel by Daniel Defoe . The Franco-German production was shot in black and white and established the series of four-part adventures that are considered successful.

Together with Jean-Claude Carrière, production manager Walter Ulbrich created the script for the four-part series under the pseudonym Eugen von Metz .

The series made the main actor Robert Hoffmann known nationwide. For his role he received a fee of DM 2,000.

action

The Englishman Robinson Crusoe stranded after a shipwreck in 1697 as the only survivor on an island in the Caribbean Sea, on which he would spend about six years. He learns to make fires, to keep cattle and to make tools. From the wreckage of his ship "Esmeralda" he has recovered weapons, utensils, food and a dog. He builds a cave for his accommodation. In the course of his stay, he met cannibal indians who regularly visit the island to kill and consume prisoners. Crusoe frees one of the victims, with whom he becomes friends more and more after initial distrust. “Friday”, as he calls the native after the current day of the week, later stands by him against pirates who have hijacked an incoming ship with which Crusoe finally leaves the island again. Crusoe initially only let his beard grow out to look superior to Friday. Robinson was on the island for 6 years, 2 months and 19 days.

A narrator describes the action from the background as Crusoe looking back in the first person perspective, calling natives "savages".

The film begins with the shipwreck and deals with the history of the journey in flashbacks, first in Crusoe's hometown York, where he breaks off a professional training after entering a mysterious room with treasures from all over the world at a Mr. Woolseley's. It turns out that Wooseley was present at the bogus execution of Anne Bonny . This awakens the thirst for adventure in the young Crusoe. Another flashback shows a voyage during which Crusoe is captured by Bedouins on the West African coast and sold as a slave. On his escape, he gets his owner's money into his hands, with which he himself begins a slave trade, which leads to a trip to the Caribbean and ultimately to the shipwreck.

The film ends with Crusoe dictating the story in his home in England Friday, and at the end the exact position of the island is given: 11 degrees north latitude and 22 degrees longitude west of Cape Saint Augustino.

music

A separate film music was composed for the German, French and English versions, each of which is included on the double CD Adventure Classic (see media ). The music for the German and French versions was written by Georges van Parys , for the English version by Robert Mellin and Gian Piero Reverberi . The reason for using different musical versions is that the BBC cut the series into 13 parts and the original music did not fit into this concept. The English cover story also appeared on a single in 1969 . Arrangements of English music were released on CD in 1991 and 1997.

Others

  • The shooting of the exterior shots for Robinson's island and the landscapes that take place in Brazil and Arabia all took place on Gran Canaria near Playa del Inglés , Maspalomas and inland near Tejeda . The recordings for England were shot in Normandy .
  • Due to the entertainment demands and the main target group, assumed to be ignorant of the subject, the film shows several logical errors, anachronisms and breaks in authenticity. The spokesman mentions that after Robinson Crusoe's stay on the island for three years, the English king was executed, which was not the case at the time.
  • The actor Fabian Cevallos who plays "Friday" comes from Ecuador .

media

Film music
  • Robinson Crusoé , 2 EP, Petit Menestrel ALB 405 (music and dialogue; France)
  • The Man From UNCLE - Cult TV Classics , 1 CD, Silva Screen FILMCD 712 (Great Britain)
  • The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Original Television Soundtrack , 1 CD, Silva Screen FILMCD 705 (Great Britain 1990, 1997 (New Expanded CD Release))
  • Adventure classic - original music from the legendary TV four-part series , 2 CDs, BSC Music / Cine Soundz Prudence 398.6619.2 (Germany 2001)
DVD
  • Robinson Crusoe (2 DVDs), Concorde Home Entertainment, 2006
literature
  • Oliver Kellner and Ulf Marek: Seewolf & Co. - The great adventure four-part series by ZDF , Schwarzkopf and Schwarzkopf, ISBN 3896026321

Web links