Not quite Smetana's The Bartered Bride but frei nach Smetana, a movie adaptation by Max Ophüls. This was one of his earliest films, made in 1932. Note date : being Jewish he was forced into exile soon after, so the film didn't get the distribution it should have had. (and all those Czechs in it - though Czech actresses were something Goebbels wasn't hardline on or maybe that's not quite the right word). Plenty of peasant costumes and footage of horse and cart riding, filmed at a time when people still rode horses and carts - an authentic touch. Although it's made as a German film, the stars include the Czech singer Jarmila Novotná who plays Marie (Mařenka) and the German baritone Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender as Hans (Jeník). Not that they have much to sing : this is a film, not a filmed opera.
Watch out for the scene where the real bear escapes ! Can't do that in an opera house. Please note, film can be viewed fullscreen.
No comments:
Post a Comment