The Pit ( 1915 ) is a silent film drama , allegedly directed by Mikhail Martov , an adaptation of the novel of the same name by A. Kuprin . V. Vishnevsky allegedly indicates Kuprin as well as the author of the film script [1] , however, according to other information, Kuprin after watching the film stated: “The script was not written by me, but the transfer of thoughts was done well. The boring morality about the horror of “love” without love is revealed quite vividly ” [2] . The film has not survived.
| Pit | |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama |
| Producer | Mikhail Martov |
| In the main cast | Maria Goricheva (Lyuba) Alexander Vyrubov (Likhonin) M. Iritskaya (Eugene) Georgian (Manka) Sergey Tsenin (Platonov) Petrokovskaya-Dergach (Anna Markovna) |
| Film company | "Russian Cinematic Partnership" V.V. Funke |
| Duration | 4 series, 19 hours, 8000 m. |
| A country |  Russian empire |
| Tongue | |
| Year | 1915 |
Content
Creation History
B. Likhachev, describing the state of the Russian film industry in 1913, wrote: on the screen only after the revolution. " [3] Based on this, V. Korotky concludes that "the shooting <...> may have begun as far back as 1913". [four]
However, in the newspaper "Responses of the Caucasus" (Armavir, Kuban region) there is an announcement that from May 9, 1916, the 3rd and 4th series (10 parts) of the movie "Pit" in to lead by A.I. Kuprin.
Duration
V. Vishnevsky reports that the footage of the film is unknown. [1] In 1918, an advertisement appeared in the Kinogazet, where it was reported that “the picture after the length of the footage is divided into 4 series, each of which consists of 5 parts. The length of the entire tape is 8000 meters. ” [4] However, this is probably a strongly rounded value, because even the number of parts was rounded, since, according to Vishnevsky, it was 19 parts. [1] Thus, the exact footage of the film is unknown.
Ban
Z. Peregudova on the basis of archival sources reports the following information about the ban on the film:
Much more serious was the case with another film, staged in 1915 on the work of Kuprin “The Pit”. The film has not yet reached the local authorities for its permission and demonstration, and the Ministry of the Interior has already received a petition signed by the “fathers and mothers of their children” without a date and return address. The petition stated that Vasily Funke shot the picture “The Pit” based on Kuprin’s novel “just in case” in triplicate “with a pronounced life of prostitutes in the institution”. The authors of the petition reported that it was supposed to resolve the picture in Moscow; In view of the fact that “the cinema is the best and favorite entertainment of teenagers and children, and the picture“ The Pit ”of Kuprin is solid depravity - we humbly ask to pay attention to the picture and not allow our children to be so terrified that they watch“ The Pit ”.”
With a petition for permission, Kuprin himself applied, who argued that the film did not show “all the sharpness of the original” of the story, and therefore the picture “cannot be harmful to the youth”, that the film “was instructive and touching”. Therefore, he asks to release this tape, which will be one "of the means in the fight against prostitution." Simultaneously with the petition, the Russian Cinematic Association applied. On his behalf, Managing Director L.I. Pirogov wrote: “We have recognized literary works only as well-known writers as material for the drama, moreover, those that were recognized by the Academy of Sciences, the Russian reading public and abroad. Our choice was on the writer A.I. Kuprin: honored in Russia, published by a family magazine such as Niva, translated into all European languages and, finally, won the Academy of Sciences Award, A.I. Kuprin just met all three of these basic conditions. The Russian cinematic partnership staged his famous novel “The Pit”, especially since she met an enlightened attitude to herself from the Moscow prosecutor’s office. ” Pirogov believed that “the picture cannot adversely affect youth, but just the opposite - it will bring enormous benefits to society because it will be a necessary warning to save many girls who go to the big city to earn money”. However, the Department’s response was negative. The picture “The Pit” was not allowed to be shown.- Z. Peregudova “Political Investigation of Russia” p. 330-331
Rental
The first episode <...> Yama, which has been banned for a long time <...>, has already been shown in many provincial cinematographs.
- Kinogazeta, January 1918 [4]
Criticism
Dramatization, due to smoothing <...> unacceptable from the outside <...> episodes of the story, loses all meaning and turns into a series of boring and decent scenes that even the storyline can hardly be restored with. A major flaw should be considered the insertion of minor episodes of the story, which do not add anything to the action and impede the understanding of the play <...> There is no pornographic element, but the production is devoid of any cultural and artistic significance.
- Film Bulletin, 1918 [4]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Vishnevsky Ven. Feature films of pre-revolutionary Russia (1907-1917). - M .: Goskinoizdat, 1945. - p. 83.
- ↑ Young Leninets - N29 (6970) July 18, 2000
- ↑ Likhachev B. Cinema in Russia (1907-1913). - L .: Academia, 1927. - p. 130.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Korotky V. Directed and operators of Russian feature films (1897-1921). - M .: Institute of Cinema, 2009. - p. 232.