Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 2006 Sommario / Contents

idealized, national-romantic legends about the young nobleman Ladislaus
Hunyadi, who was wrongly accused of betrayal and condemned to death,
were very popular at the time. Another recently discovered fact is that
cinematographer Louis de Beery, who shot most of the earliest Serbian
films, was Hungarian, which explains why an ancient episode from
Hungarian history was chosen for the topic of the first Serbian feature film.
The unusually dark, bloody, and complex story of Ulrich of Cilli and
Ladislaus Hunyadi has a structure which was common at the time,
consisting of dramatic fragments/tableaux.As far as screenwriting and acting
are concerned, the film occasionally reveals a naïve, beginner’s approach,
which gives a “stiff” impression of filmed theatre. Nevertheless, it heralds the
talented, although still inexperienced, team of Stanojevic–De Beery, which
was soon to create the first Serbian film masterpieces, Karadjordje and A
Gypsy Wedding.Their sense of mise-en-scène and composition, as well as
charming “Pathé-like” visual tricks, probably make Ulrich of Cilli and
Ladislaus Hunyadi even more interesting to watch today than at the film’s
first screening, in December 1911. – ALEKSANDAR ERDELJANOVIC
TRKE NA BANJICI [Le corse di Banjica / Races at Banjica]
(Svetozar Botoric, SE 1912)
Regia/dir: ?; f./ph: Louis de Beery; 35mm, 228 m., c.12’ (16 fps),
Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, Beograd / Filmarchiv Austria, Wien. New
35mm safety copy made by combining the original nitrate negative and
nitrate positive from the Reinthaler Collection, Filmarchiv Austria.
Didascalie in serbo / Serbian intertitles.
Il misterioso Louis de Beery, direttore della fotografia, il cui nome di
battesimo – Lajos Zoltan Arpad Pitrolf – che ne indica l’origine
ungherese è stato scoperto solo recentemente, filmò il quarto turno
delle corse di cavalli organizzate dalla società dei cavalieri “Duca
Michele” nell’agosto del 1911. L’occasione fu la visita a Belgrado del
gran principe Giovanni Konstantinovich Romanov, fidanzato e
promesso sposo della principessa Elena Karageorgevich, figlia del re
Pietro I. Alle corse parteciparono “il re Pietro, il principe Alessandro,
il principe Giorgio e la principessa Elena, accompagnata dal fidanzato
Giovanni Romanov, oltre a dignitari di corte, ministri, legati stranieri,
molti visitatori da Belgrado ed anche da fuori, membri di tutti i corpi
dell’esercito”. La prima del film ebbe luogo al Grand Cinema di
Botoric all’hotel “Paris”, il 20 marzo/2 aprile 1912.
Laddove il primo film etnologico serbo (proiettato l’anno scorso a
Sacile), Jedna seoska srpska svadba (Nozze rurali in Serbia), è stato
presentato come un affresco dettagliato di tutti gli eventi importanti di
un tipico matrimonio locale,“Le corse di Banjica”, girato circa 20 giorni
prima, dev’essere considerato un affascinante esempio di film reportage
nel significato attuale del termine.Almeno un altro cameraman sembra
aver ripreso le corse, ma Louis de Beery, con la sua macchina da presa,
è ben più di uno spettatore passivo – ci presenta gli eventi a tutto
campo, allo stesso tempo definendo il suo postulato creativo secondo
cui “le corse di cavalli rappresentano un divertimento sia per gli occhi
che per l’anima”, e paragonando Belgrado e la relativa élite a Parigi.
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Questo film splendidamente composto cattura l’eccitante atmosfera di
un caldo giorno estivo alle corse, con tanto di arrivi e partenze di ospiti
di riguardo, vedute del palco reale, tre corse di cavalli (su cinque),
signore elegantemente vestite, amanti delle corse, scommettitori,
personalità pubbliche e della cultura – tutti sbalorditi dall’occhio della
macchina da presa, il più grande miracolo tecnologico dell’epoca. Solo
ora, circa novant’anni dopo la sua temporanea scomparsa, Races at
Banjica, illuminante e pieno di scene indimenticabili, può trovare un
degno posto nella storia dei documentari cinematografici serbi.
ALEKSANDAR SASA ERDELJANOVIC
The mysterious Louis de Beery, a cinematographer whose given name –
Lajos Zoltan Arpad Pitrolf – was only recently discovered, indicating his
Hungarian origin, filmed the fourth round of the horse races organized by
the “Duke Michael” horsemen’s society in August 1911. The races were held
to honour the visit to Belgrade of the Great Prince John Konstantinovich
Romanov, who was the fiancé and future husband of Princess Helen
Karageorgevich, the daughter of King Peter I.The races were attended “by
King Peter I, Prince Alexander, Prince George, Princess Helen accompanied
by her fiancé John Romanov, court officials, ministers, foreign envoys, a great
number of visitors both from and outside of Belgrade, as well as members
of all the army branches”.The film’s premiere took place in Botoric’s Grand
Cinema in the hotel “Paris”, on 20 March/2 April 1912.
While the first Serbian ethnological film (screened last year in Sacile), A
Serbian Country Wedding, was described as a detailed fresco of all the
important events at a typical Serbian wedding, Races at Banjica, which was
shot some 20 days earlier, must be considered a fascinating example of film
reportage in today’s meaning of the word. At least one more cameraman
appears to have filmed the races, but Louis de Beery with his camera is far
more than just a passive spectator – he gives us the whole scope of events,
at the same time defining his creative postulate that “horse races represent
enjoyment both for the eye and for the soul”, and comparing Belgrade and
its élite with Paris. This splendidly composed film captures the exciting
atmosphere of a hot summer day at the races, including the arrivals and
departures of esteemed guests, views of the royal loge, three horse races
(out of five), ladies in beautiful dresses, race lovers, bookmakers, cultural and
public personalities – all dazed by the eye of camera, the greatest
technological miracle of the time. Only now, nine decades after its
temporary disappearance, can Races at Banjica, inspiring and full of
unforgettable scenes, find its worthy place in the history of Serbian
documentary films. – ALEKSANDAR ERDELJANOVIC
IV. KÁROLY KIRÁLY ÉS ZITA KIRÁLYNÉ ŐFELSÉGEIK
MEGKORONÁZÁSA BUDAPESTEN 1916. ÉVI DECZEMBER
30-ÁN. / IV. KÁROLY MAGYAR KIRÁLLYÁ KORONÁZÁSA
[L’incoronazione del re Carlo IV e della regina Zita / The Coronation
of King Charles IV and Queen Zita] (Kino-Riport filmgyár, Uherfilmgyár,
HU 1917)
Regia/dir: ?; f./ph: Ödön Uher Jr,Aladár Fodor, Jenő Illés, Árpád Virágh,
FUORI QUADRO
OUT OF FRAME