The Queen of Spades | |
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Directed by | Yakov Protazanov |
Written by | Aleksandr Pushkin Yakov Protazanov Fedor Ozep |
Produced by | Joseph N. Ermolieff |
Starring | Ivan Mosjoukine |
Cinematography | Yevgeni Slavinsky |
Music by | Rafal Rozmus |
Release dates |
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Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | Russian Empire |
Languages | Silent film Russian intertitles |
The Queen of Spades (Russian: «Пиковая дама», romanized: Pikovaya dama) is a 1916 film adaptation of the 1834 Aleksandr Pushkin short story of the same name. It is noted for its high production values, directorial technique and psychological depth of acting, especially by Ivan Mosjoukine. It is considered to be one of the best pre-revolutionary Russian films.
The film was the second production of the story, the first being the silent short film adaptation of the Pyotr Tchaikovsky opera by Pyotr Chardynin in 1910. Yakov Protazanov uses a wide combination of narrative, staging and camera techniques, many of which were unusual for that time, including retrospection, visions (prototypes of the stream of consciousness), split screen combination shots, flashbacks, jump cuts, deep focus and deep staging, and dissolves.