The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov
The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov (German: Der Mörder Dimitri Karamasoff) is a 1931 German drama film directed by Erich Engels and Fedor Ozep, starring Fritz Kortner and Anna Sten. It tells the story of a lieutenant who is suspected of having murdered his father. The film is based on motifs from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov.[2] A separate French version The Brothers Karamazov was produced.
The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov | |
---|---|
Directed by | |
Screenplay by |
|
Based on | The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky |
Produced by | Eugene Frenke |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Friedl Behn-Grund |
Edited by |
|
Music by | |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Terra Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | Germany |
Language | German |
Budget | $100,000[1] |
Box office | $2 million[1] |
Cast
- Fritz Kortner as Dimitri Karamasoff
- Anna Sten as Gruschenka
- Fritz Rasp as Smerdjakoff
- Bernhard Minetti as Iwan Karamasoff
- Max Pohl as Fedor Karamasoff
- Hanna Waag as Katja
- Fritz Alberti as Gerichtspräsident
- Werner Hollmann as Der Pole
- Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel as Fenja
Production
The film was produced by Terra Film and shot at the company's Marienfelde Studios in Berlin. Filming took place from 22 October to 24 November 1930.[2] The film's sets were designed by the art directors Heinrich Richter and Victor Trivas.
Reception
The British film critic Raymond Durgnat wrote in a 1993 article about Ozep for Film Dope: "The Karamazov film is a tour de force of stylistic eclecticism: expressionist acting (Kortner), dynamic angles, Russian editing, marathon tracking shots. It's a real showpiece of formalism geared to psycho-lyrical ends, exactly as Eisenstein intended, except that Dostoievskian soul-torments replace Leninist collectivism to which the 'official' montage-masters tuned their lyres."[3]
References
- "NEWS OF THE SCREEN: Warners Seek to Settle Dispute With Cagney—Garbo film, 'Conquest,' Opens Here Today Of Local Origin Role for Cary Grant Warners Borrow Bellamy". New York Times. 4 November 1937. p. 28.
- "Der Mörder Dimitri Karamasoff". Filmportal.de (in German). Deutsches Filminstitut. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- MacKenzie, Scott (2003). "Soviet Expansionism: Fedor Ozep's Transnational Cinema" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Film Studies. Film Studies Association of Canada. 12 (2): 97. doi:10.3138/cjfs.12.1.92. ISSN 0847-5911.