Cinema
The Queen of Spades
Пиковая дама
Yakov Protazanov · 1916
Synopsis
One evening at cards, an officer tells his friends that his grandmother, a countess, had in her youth paid an enormous gambling debt thanks to the secret of three winning cards. Hermann, a young officer, can think of nothing but this secret. To get close to the old countess, he courts her companion, Lizaveta Ivanovna, and tries to wrest the secret from the old woman. Flashbacks show the countess as a young woman, at the time she learned it.
Context
Produced by Joseph Ermoliev's company, the film was released on 1 April 1916. Ivan Mosjoukine plays Hermann and Vera Orlova Lizaveta; two actresses share the countess, Tamara Duvan as a young woman and Elizaveta Chebuyeva as an old one. Protazanov uses superimpositions, visions and flashbacks. The film survives and was released on DVD in France by Documents cinématographiques.
Who it is for
A silent film of about an hour, best watched after reading Pushkin's story.
Prizes and reception
The film uses a series of techniques that were novel at the time, including superimpositions and flashbacks.