Synopsis in German
Die reiche Frau Khromova hat eine eigene Tochter, Musya (Lydia Koreneva), und eine Adpotivtochter, Nata (Vera Kholodnaya). Der Kaufmann Zhurov hat sich in Nata verliebt...
Szenenphoto aus Zhizn za zhizn, © Khanzhonkov & Co
Remarks and general Information in German: "Khanzhankov explained in a 1937 interview what he wanted to achieve with A Life for a Life. âI wanted to stagger the cinema world with a production of great artistic worth, which would immediately place our firmâs reputation at its rightful level... From a whole range of scenarios offered to him, Bauer, our chief director, selected a dramatization of the French novel by Georges Ohnet. All the studioâs technical resources were mobilized for the production, and the main roles were allocated among the best actors in our company... We had no more than one month to spend on the production and all departments set to work at a feverish pace. Bauer liked this sort of urgent âspontaneousâ work and even finished it a few days ahead of the deadline.â [Silent Witnesses, ed. Tsivian et al, London/Pordenone: 1989]
Khanzhankovâs hopes were realized. The Russian film press hailed A Life for a Life as an âartistic treasureâ and âa film that deserves a place alongside the best foreign productions,â although Bauerâs taste for columns was also gently mocked, and it was hinted that perhaps he was trying too hard to imitate foreign models. But all hopes of building on this achievement were swept away in the following year; and in 1919 the most-admired star of Russian cinema, Vera Kholodnaia, died in Odessa. Her vast funeral marked the end of on era." (Milestone Films and Video)
The Moving Picture World gibt in der Rezension des Films A. Arkatatov als Regisseur an. (lhg 2019)
General Information
Zhizn za zhizn is a motion picture produced in the year 1916 as a Russia production. The Film was directed by Jevgenij Bauer, with Vera Kholodnaja, Lidija Korenjeva, Ivan Perestiani, Vitold Polonskij, Olga Rakhmanova, in the leading parts. There are no reviews of Zhizn za zhizn available.Bibliography - Silent Witness, BFI, pg 326;
- Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna 2016, pg 50f