The Power of Darkness | |
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Directed by | Conrad Wiene |
Written by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | |
Music by | Willy Schmidt-Gentner |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Bayerische Film |
Release date |
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Running time | 72 minutes |
Country | Germany |
Languages |
The Power of Darkness (German:Die Macht der Finsternis) is a 1924 German silent drama film directed by Conrad Wiene and starring Petr Sharov, Mariya Germanova and Maria Kryshanovskaya. It is an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's play The Power of Darkness . [1]
It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich.
Robert Wiene was a German film director, screenwriter and producer, active during the silent era. He is widely-known for directing the landmark 1920 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and a succession of other expressionist films. Wiene also directed a variety of other films of varying styles and genres. Following the Nazi rise to power in Germany, Wiene, who was of Jewish descent, fled into exile.
Raskolnikow is a 1923 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene. The film is an adaptation of the 1866 novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Lehmann's Honeymoon is a 1916 German silent comedy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Guido Herzfeld, Christel Lorenz, and Arnold Rieck. In order to persuade a daydreaming Professor of Greek History to marry his cousin, his family dress themselves up as Ancient Greeks.
Life Is a Dream is a 1917 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Emil Jannings, Bruno Decarli and Maria Fein. A young aristocrat meets a man and marries him, but soon discovers he is a monster. After his death she grows increasingly mad, until a revolutionary new cure is attempted which makes her believe that the whole episode was simply a dream.
The Man in the Mirror is a 1917 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Maria Fein, Bruno Decarli and Emil Rameau.
Panic in the House of Ardon is a 1920 German silent crime film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Stella Harf, Max Kronert and Paul Mederow. The film was finished by August 1920, but did not have its premiere until July 1921. It also had several alternative titles including Die Welteroberer. A crime syndicate attempts to discover the scientific secrets of the chemical company Ardon. The film was made in the Expressionist style that had been used for Wiene's earlier hit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. It features the popular detective Stuart Webbs, closely modeled on Sherlock Holmes.
A Woman's Revenge is a 1921 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Vera Karalli, Franz Egenieff and Olga Engl. In order to punish her cold, brutal aristocratic husband for murdering her lover, a woman becomes a common prostitute to shame him. The film received largely negative reviews.
The Infernal Power is a 1922 German silent film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Thea Kasten, Emil Lind and Ossip Runitsch. The film is now a lost film, and virtually nothing is known of its plot or genre.
The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning is a 1923 German silent fantasy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Werner Krauss, Lia Eibenschütz, and Ossip Runitsch. A doll maker in Kiangning, China crafts a puppet which he is convinced is lifelike. He takes it to exhibit at a public event, but is outraged to find an even more convincing and beautiful doll there. It is in fact a real woman pretending to be a doll, but he becomes so obsessed he attempts to steal her and the film ends with her rescue and his tragic death.
The Woman on the Rack is a 1928 German silent drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Lili Damita, Vladimir Gajdarov, and Johannes Riemann. It was also known by the alternative title A Scandal in Paris. It was based on a British play by Edward Hemmerde and Francis Neilson. The wife of a British aristocratic politician, who is neglected by her husband, resists an attempt to break them up. When her husband discovers what he mistakenly believes to be a dalliance with another man he begins divorce proceedings. Eventually the truth comes out and the couple reconcile. The film was not considered one of Wiene's greatest achievements, but he was praised for directing with his usual competence while Damita's performance as Lady Admaston was hailed.
Leontine's Husbands is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Claire Rommer, Georg Alexander and Carl Walther Meyer. It was based on a play by Alfred Capus. A French dancer works her way through a series of husbands, spending their money. The film received poor reviews from critics, who expected better from the director.
The Great Adventuress is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Lili Damita, Georg Alexander, and Fred Solm. Much of the film's funding came from Britain. Location shooting took place in Paris, Calais and London. The film's plot was criticised by reviews for lacking clarity.
The Night of Queen Isabeau is a 1920 German silent historical drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Fern Andra, Fritz Kortner, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski and Elsa Wagner. The film depicts the marriage between the mad Charles VI of France and his wife Queen Isabeau. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. The film is now considered a lost film, but contemporary reviews praised Wiene's direction. The story revolves around insanity, a common theme in his films.
The Guardsman is a 1925 Austrian silent comedy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Alfred Abel, María Corda and Anton Edthofer. The film was shot at the Schönbrunn Studios in Vienna. It was based on the play Testőr by Ferenc Molnár and in 1931 remade as a movie by Sidney Franklin.
Folly of Love is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Maria Jacobini, Jack Trevor and Betty Astor. While several of Wiene's previous films had met with mixed responses, Folly of Love was universally praised by critics. The film was made at the Marienfelde Studios of Terra Film. It was Wiene's last silent film. His next work was the 1930 sound film The Other.
I.N.R.I. is a 1923 German silent religious epic film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Gregori Chmara, Henny Porten, and Asta Nielsen. The film is a retelling of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was based on a 1905 novel by Peter Rosegger. It was reissued in 1933 in the United States with an added music track and narration as Crown of Thorns.
The Prosecutor Hallers is a 1930 French drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Jean-Max, Colette Darfeuil and Suzanne Delmas. It was the French-language version of the German film The Other based on the play Der Andere by Paul Lindau. The two films were made at the same studio in Berlin, with Wiene beginning work on the French version immediately after finishing the German film.
Typhoon is a 1933 German drama film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Liane Haid, Viktor de Kowa and Valéry Inkijinoff. It was based on the 1911 play Typhoon by the Hungarian writer Melchior Lengyel. It was the last German film made by Wiene, who had been a leading director of German silent cinema.
A Night in Venice is a 1934 German-Hungarian operetta film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Tino Pattiera, Tina Eilers and Ludwig Stössel. It is loosely based on the 1883 operetta Eine Nacht in Venedig by Johann Strauss II.
Ultimatum is a 1938 French historical drama film directed by Robert Wiene and Robert Siodmak and starring Dita Parlo, Erich von Stroheim and Abel Jacquin. The film's plot is set in 1914 against the backdrop of the July Crisis between the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the beginning of the First World War. It focuses on the relationship between a Serbian officer and his Austrian-born wife and their involvement in espionage between the countries.