Described by Dostoevsky as 'the pinnacle of the art of the fantastic' Pushkin's short story of 1834 has never ceased to cast its spell and here we have the version directed by and starring the formidable duo of Yakov Protazanov and Ivan Mozzhukhin.
Although Yvgeny Slavinski's camera is static we are treated to dissolves, split screen and flashbacks whilst the sets are stupendous, courtesy of no less than three art directors graciously supplied by the king of designers Alexander Benois.
Pushkin describes his leading character Hermann as 'having the profile of Napoleon and the soul of Mephistopheles'. As luck would have it Mozzhukhin resembles the former and being a simply superlative actor, depicts the latter admirably. His is a performance of immense psychological depth. Also very taking is Vera Orlova as Lizaveta who is used shamelessly by Hermann to gain admittance to the home of the aged Countess so that he might learn the secret of the cards.
The eternal question is whether the image of the dead Countess we see in the closing scenes of the film is a ghost wreaking revenge or a figment of imagination in the mind of a man who has sown the seed of his own destruction. That of course is down to the individual viewer.
Despite an initially slow pace which tests one patience the film gradually gains momentum and becomes utterly gripping. It not only gives us in the person of Hermann a morality tale of the curse of obsessive greed but also depicts a hedonistic and privileged way of life that would soon be swept away by the tidal wave of revolution.
Although Yvgeny Slavinski's camera is static we are treated to dissolves, split screen and flashbacks whilst the sets are stupendous, courtesy of no less than three art directors graciously supplied by the king of designers Alexander Benois.
Pushkin describes his leading character Hermann as 'having the profile of Napoleon and the soul of Mephistopheles'. As luck would have it Mozzhukhin resembles the former and being a simply superlative actor, depicts the latter admirably. His is a performance of immense psychological depth. Also very taking is Vera Orlova as Lizaveta who is used shamelessly by Hermann to gain admittance to the home of the aged Countess so that he might learn the secret of the cards.
The eternal question is whether the image of the dead Countess we see in the closing scenes of the film is a ghost wreaking revenge or a figment of imagination in the mind of a man who has sown the seed of his own destruction. That of course is down to the individual viewer.
Despite an initially slow pace which tests one patience the film gradually gains momentum and becomes utterly gripping. It not only gives us in the person of Hermann a morality tale of the curse of obsessive greed but also depicts a hedonistic and privileged way of life that would soon be swept away by the tidal wave of revolution.