''Father Sergius'' (Russian: Отец Сергий, translit. Otets Sergiy) is a 1918

Soviet Russian The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

directed by

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (russian: Яков Александрович Протазанов; 4 February ( O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of ...

and Alexandre Volkoff. It is based on the 1911 posthumously published story of the same name by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

. This was the first film version of the story, as the depiction of priests was not permitted in the film industry of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

until after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

in 1917.

Ivan Mosjoukine Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin ( rus, Иван Ильич Мозжухин, p=ɪˈvan ɨˈlʲjitɕ mɐˈʑːʉxʲɪn; —18 January 1939), usually billed using the French transliteration Ivan Mosjoukine, was a Russian silent film actor. Career in R ...

plays the title role. ''Father Sergius'' was screened in the United Kingdom in 1920 and 1927.

Plot summary

During the reign of Russian Tsar Nicholas I, Prince Kasatsky discovers that his fiancée has an affair with the Tsar. He decides to break his engagement and retires to a convent where he tries to reach holiness.

Reception

A review in ''The Bioscope'', from the time of the film's screening in the United Kingdom in 1920, was critical of the technical qualities of the film, but commented on Moskoujine's "remarkable emotional acting", stating that the film's "emotional power and sincerity will be recognised by every spectator".

Cast

as Prince Kasatsky, later Father Sergius *Olga Kondorova as Countess Korotkova *V. Dzheneyeva as Maria - her daughter *

Vladimir Gajdarov Vladimir Georgievich Gajdarov (Russian: Владимир Георгиевич Гайдаров; 25 July 1893 – 17 November 1978) was a Russian film actor and star of Russian and German silent cinema. Filmography *''Father Sergius'' (1917), as N ...

as Tsar Nicholas I *Nikolai Panov as Kasatsky's father *

Natalya Lisenko Natalya Andrianovna Lisenko (russian: Наталья Андриановна Лисенко, 10 August 1884 – 7 October 1969), also known as Nathalie Lissenko, was a Russians, Russian actress who was active during the silent era. Biography Nata ...

as Widow of the merchant Makovkin *Iona Talanov as Merchant * Vera Orlova as Merchant's daughter *Pyotr Baksheyev *Polikarp Pavlov *

Nicolas Rimsky Nicolas Rimsky (russian: Николай Алекса́ндрович Римский; born Nikolai Alexandrovich Kurmashov; 18 February 1886 – 5 September 1941) was a Russian-French film actor, director and writer. He was born in Moscow, Russia. ...

References

External links

* * Russian silent feature films Russian black-and-white films Films set in the 19th century Films set in the Russian Empire Films of the Russian Empire Films based on works by Leo Tolstoy Films directed by Yakov Protazanov Films directed by Alexandre Volkoff Articles containing video clips Soviet silent feature films Soviet black-and-white films Films about Orthodoxy Cultural depictions of Nicholas I of Russia Films about infidelity 1910s Russian-language films {{1910s-USSR-film-stub