Elective Affinities (film)

Elective Affinities
The film was shot at Schloss Rossewitz
Directed by	Siegfried Kühn
Screenplay by	Siegfried Kühn
Based on	Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Produced by	Bernd Gerwien
Cinematography	Claus Neumann
Edited by	Helga Krause Renate Bade
Music by	Karl-Ernst Sasse
Production company	DEFA
Release date	27 August 1974 (1974-08-27)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	East Germany
Language	German

Elective Affinities (German : Die Wahlverwandtschaften) is a 1974 East German drama film directed by Siegfried Kühn. It follows the dynamics which ensue when a couple invite two other people. The film is based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1809 novel Elective Affinities . It was released by the DEFA film studio on 27 August 1974. ^[1]

Cast

• Beata Tyszkiewicz as Charlotte
• Hilmar Thate as Eduard
• Magda Vasary as Ottilie
• Gerry Wolff as the Captain
• Horst Schulze as Mittler
• Christine Schorn as Baroness
• Volkmar Kleinert as Count
• Jana Plichtová as Luciane
• Nico Turoff as gardener
• Jost Braun as architect

Reception

The journal Film-Dienst wrote: "In the historical scenography and in the dialogue, the film misses the issues of the original work; shortenings and tightenings occasionally make the developments incomprehensible. What in Goethe is presented as a clash of moral and natural laws, appears in the film as a questioning of norms, moral and ethics of civil marriage. For literature fans still a remarkable contribution." ^[2]

References

1. "Die Wahlverwandtschaften". Filmportal.de (in German). Deutsches Filminstitut . Retrieved 2015-07-04.
2. "Wahlverwandtschaften (1974)". Lexikon des internationalen Films (in German). Retrieved 2015-07-04. Im historischen Dekor und im Dialog verfehlt der Film die Problematik der Vorlage; Verkürzungen und Straffungen führen bisweilen zur Unverständlichkeit des Ablaufs. Was bei Goethe als Zusammenprall von Sitten- und Naturgesetz dargestellt ist, erscheint im Film als ein Infragestellen von Norm, Moral und Ethik der bürgerlichen Ehe. Für Literaturfreunde dennoch ein bemerkenswerter Beitrag.

External links

• Elective Affinities at IMDb