The "Queen of Spades," from 1916 is a very interesting film, worth more than the lack of attention which it has received. The film revolves around a young man named German (Ivan Mozzhukhin,) who becomes obsessed about learning a magical secret on how to consistently win at cards. He seeks to learn this secret from an elderly countess who learned about this in her youth. Eventually, he gains this knowledge after killing the countess, but at a cost to his sanity and inner peace.
"Queen of Spades," stands out to me for many reasons. Foremost, the film was released before the Russian Revolution, making it one of the few surviving Russian full-length films from that era. Because of this, the viewer has the opportunity to glimpse aspects of Russian aristocracy without elements of Soviet propaganda which bashes the bourgeois; which makes this a rare look into pre-Soviet Russia.
As for the editing and pacing of the film, I would argue that it is very ahead of its time. Not being an expert on films of the 1910s, I have very little to compare it too, but I can say that this film is very on par with films of the early 20s. The cross dissolves in this film, as well as the double exposures during the insanity scenes work very well. I also enjoyed with film because of its effective uses of flashbacks and changes of juxtaposition.
The acting in the film is nothing worth bragging about, but it isn't bad either. Without a doubt, the best performance in the film is done by the film's lead Ivan Mozzhukhin who emotes pretty well, and his expressions after he loses his mind are fairly impressive. The rest of the cast do their job well, but not great.
The greatness in this film lays in its ability to tell the story, (which it is certainly an interesting story,) as well as its ahead of its time editing.
I've only seen this film available online and I know of no online stores which sell it. The internet's version of this film is pretty good however, and comes with a well done sound track.
I highly recommend this film for those who love early silents, especially if they like films which include elements of horror.
"Queen of Spades," stands out to me for many reasons. Foremost, the film was released before the Russian Revolution, making it one of the few surviving Russian full-length films from that era. Because of this, the viewer has the opportunity to glimpse aspects of Russian aristocracy without elements of Soviet propaganda which bashes the bourgeois; which makes this a rare look into pre-Soviet Russia.
As for the editing and pacing of the film, I would argue that it is very ahead of its time. Not being an expert on films of the 1910s, I have very little to compare it too, but I can say that this film is very on par with films of the early 20s. The cross dissolves in this film, as well as the double exposures during the insanity scenes work very well. I also enjoyed with film because of its effective uses of flashbacks and changes of juxtaposition.
The acting in the film is nothing worth bragging about, but it isn't bad either. Without a doubt, the best performance in the film is done by the film's lead Ivan Mozzhukhin who emotes pretty well, and his expressions after he loses his mind are fairly impressive. The rest of the cast do their job well, but not great.
The greatness in this film lays in its ability to tell the story, (which it is certainly an interesting story,) as well as its ahead of its time editing.
I've only seen this film available online and I know of no online stores which sell it. The internet's version of this film is pretty good however, and comes with a well done sound track.
I highly recommend this film for those who love early silents, especially if they like films which include elements of horror.