Jump to content

The Great King

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 69.183.41.223 (talk) at 02:45, 1 November 2010 (References). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Great King
Directed byVeit Harlan
Written byVeit Harlan
Gerhard Menzel
Hans Rehberg
StarringOtto Gebühr
CinematographyBruno Mondi
Edited byFriedrich Karl von Puttkamer
Release date
  • 3 March 1942 (1942-03-03)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film Germany
LanguageGerman

The Great King (Template:Lang-de) is a 1942 German drama film directed by Veit Harlan and starring Otto Gebühr.[1] It depicts the life of Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786. It received the rare "Film of the Nation" distinction.[2]

The film is a depiction of the Führerprinzip, with the analogy to Hitler being so clear that Hitler sent a print to Mussolini, and Goebbels warning against the drawing of the comparison in print, in particular because the pessimistic mood that opens the film.[3] After a sergeant gives an unauthorized order, the king orders him promoted and punished; his decision to desert after this results in his death, because no disobedience is justified.[2]

Goebbels also regarded as it instructing that their current sufferings would strengthen them.[4]

Goebbels had some difficulty with the Army High Command over this film, because it depicted the king left in a lurch by his general, and complained that the army felt that any depiction, however historical, reflected badly on them.[2]

Cast

References

  1. ^ "New York Times: The Great King". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  2. ^ a b c Erwin Leiser, Nazi Cinema p116 ISBN 0-02-570230-0
  3. ^ Erwin Leiser, Nazi Cinema p113-4 ISBN 0-02-570230-0
  4. ^ Cinzia Romani, Tainted Goddesses: Female Film Stars of the Third Reich p93 ISBN 0-9627613-1-1