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Italy released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Italian ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The story goes that Peter Lorre wanted to star in a film version of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, but was certain that Columbia Pictures chieftain Harry Cohn would turn the project down flat. So Lorre hired a secretary to type up a synopsis of the story in words of one syllable then submitted this simplified resume to Cohn. Enthusiastic over the project, Cohn gave Lorre the go-ahead -- but first he asked 'Tell me -- has this book got a publisher?' Apocryphal story or no, the fact is that Lorre did star in Columbia's Crime and Punishment and in the bargain was directed by the ultra-stylish Josef Von Sternberg. As the arrogant sociopath Raskolnikov, who is convinced that he can get away with the murder of a nasty pawnbroker because he is 'above' such intangibles as a conscience, Lorre is excellent, especially when his bravado is slowly eroded by the gentle but determined Inspector Porfiri (Edward Arnold). Like the aforementioned typed-up synopsis, the film oversimplifies the Dostoyevsky original, concentrating only on the crime, the pangs of guilt, the confession and the arrest: the punishment and its aftermath, so essential to the novel's overall impact, are dispensed with entirely. To make the film even more accessible to a mass audience, the story is subtly updated, though any distinctly 'contemporary' touches such as automobiles, telephones and current slang are studiously avoided. The supporting cast is wildly inconsistent: Mrs. Patrick Campbell is fine in her brief scenes as the vitriolic pawnbroker, but Marian Marsh is all wrong as the streetwalker heroine Sonya. The principal strength of this Crime and Punishment is the fi...Crime and Punishment (1935) ( Crime & Punishment )
L**Y
It's no sin to kill a beetle ...
This is an Italian DVD which plays in English, with Italian subtitles that are easy to switch off. No English subtitles for the hard of hearing, and the only extra is a photo gallery. Great black and white print, although I had to turn the sound up.Dostoyevsky's novel was written in 1866, but this 1935 movie has a contemporary setting, and director Joseph Von Sternberg decided that much of the internalised dialogue and soul searching did not lend itself easily to cinematographic interpretation so he made it into a relatively standard crime drama about a game of cat and mouse between Peter Lorre's idealogical murderer and a determined police inspector. I found that perfectly acceptable, and Lorre articulates very well his character's egotistical justification for killing a heartless and hated money lender who exploits the poor, seeing her as no better than a beetle. However, he is soon plagued by guilt and begins to see that he is not like his idol, Napoleon, but just an ordinary man.Sternberg, who worked with Marlene Dietrich on a number of films, including 'Shanghai Express' and 'The Blue Angel' creates a nightmarish atmosphere with striking use of light and shade as a backdrop to the excellent performances of the main cast. Marian Marsh is not unlike Marlene Dietrich in looks, although more conventionally beautiful and very modern, and she pulls off the difficult task of making her prostitute character both loving and pure of heart.
A**R
Five Stars
dvd excellent working condition
Trustpilot
1 month ago
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