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 onThe Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Produced byEugene Frenke
Starring
CinematographyFriedl Behn-Grund
Edited by
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byTerra Film
Release date
  • 6 February 1931 (1931-02-06)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman
Budget$100,000[1]
Box office$2 million[1]

Cast

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Production

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b "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.
  2. ^ a b "Der Mörder Dimitri Karamasoff". Filmportal.de (in German). Deutsches Filminstitut. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  3. ^ MacKenzie, Scott (2003). "Soviet Expansionism: Fedor Ozep's Transnational Cinema" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Film Studies. 12 (2). Film Studies Association of Canada: 97. doi:10.3138/cjfs.12.1.92. ISSN 0847-5911.
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