''Namus'' ( hy, Նամուս, meaning "

honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

") is a 1925 silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

Hamo Beknazarian Hamo Beknazarian ( hy, Համո Բեկնազարյան; russian: Амбарцум Бек-Назаров; 19 May 1891 – 27 April 1965), also known as Hamo Bek-Nazarov or Amo Bek-Nazarian, was a Soviet Armenian film director, actor and screenwrit ...

, based on Alexander Shirvanzade's 1885 novel of the same name, which denounces the despotic rites and customs of

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

families. It is widely recognized as the first

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

History

Background

The

Armenfilm Armenfilm (russian: Арменфильм; hy, Արմենֆիլմ), also known as Hayfilm ( hy, Հայֆիլմ), is an Armenian film studio located in Yerevan. The studio was founded on 16 April 1923 as a production unit of the Soviet State Cinem ...

studio was founded two years later, on 16 April 1923 as the State Cinema Organisation.

, who was an actor prior to the 1917 Revolution, became actively involved in directing films after the Bolsheviks took over. ''Namus'' became his first notable work as a director.

Production and reaction

''Namus'' was first premiered in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

's Nairi Theatre on 13 April 1926. On 3 October of the same year, the film was presented in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. A poster in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1926 called ''Namus'' the "biggest blockbuster of the season". When asked about the film,

said "I wanted to set the power of custom in the pillory, that stupid force of the concept of "father's honor". The film had incredible success and brought Beknazarian to fame in the Soviet Union, which helped him in his later works, making him the founder of Armenian cinematography.

Restoration

The first attempt to restore the film was made in the 1960s, when it was voiced. In 2005 ''Namus'' was digitally restored by Franco-German network

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

. This version was first shown in Cinéma Le Balzac in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in November 2005 and then in

Moscow Cinema Moscow Cinema ( hy, Մոսկվա կինոթատրոն ''Moskva kinotatron''), is a cinema hall in the Armenian capital Yerevan, located at the Charles Aznavour Square, adjacent to Abovyan Street. History and structure The cinema was opened in 19 ...

in April 2010.

Plot

The story is set in the

city of Shemakhi, which was a provincial town in

pre-revolutionary Russia 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. The ...

. The love story involves Seyran, a son of a

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

, who secretly meets with Susan, to whom he is engaged. The Armenian customs didn't tolerate this and strictly prohibited such behavior. When a neighbor catches them during one of their secret meetings, rumors of their actions spread around the neighborhood and her family decides to marry her to another man, in order to restore the family's honor. They choose Rustam, a rich merchant, for Susan to marry. Seyran slanders Susan by saying that he owns her. Rustam kills Susan, considered himself disgraced by Seyran's actions. At the end, Seyran commits suicide upon hearing about his lover's death.

Cast

Hovhannes Abelian Hovhannes Harutyuni Abelian ( hy, Հովհաննես Աբելյան, October 23, 1865, Shamakhi, Baku Governorate, Russian Empire - July 1, 1936, Yerevan, Soviet Armenia) was an Armenian actor, People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (1925). Bio ...

as Barkhudar * Hasmik as Mariam *

Olga Maysurian Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...

( hy) as Gyulnaz *

Hrachia Nersisyan Hrachia Nersisyan ( hy, Հրաչյա Ներսիսյան, 24 November 1895 – 6 November 1961) was a Soviet-Armenian film actor. He was honoured with title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1956. Nersisyan was born in Nicomedia, Ottoman Empir ...

as Rustam *

Avet Avetisian Avet ( hy, Ավետ) is an Armenian male given name. Notable people with this name include: * Avet Avetisyan (1897-1971), Armenian actor * Avet Barseghyan, Armenian songwriter and TV host * Avet Ter-Gabrielyan (1899–1983), Armenian violinist a ...

( hy, ru) as Hayrapet *

Nina Manucharyan Nina Manucharyan ( hy, Նինա Մանուչարյան, 17 February 1885 - 3 September 1972) was an Armenian film actress. Filmography * ''Namus'' (1925) * '' Shor and Shorshor'' (1926) * ''The Slave'' (1927) * '' Zare'' (1927) * ''Evil Spirit'' ...

as Shpanik * Samvel Mkhrtchian ( hy) as Seyran * Maria Shahbutian-Tatieva as Susan *

Hambartsum Khachanyan Hambartsum Misaki Khachanyan ( hy, Համբարձում Միսակի Խաչանյան, 13 February 1894 - 30 June 1944) was an Armenian film actor. Filmography * 1940 - Nazar the Brave * 1939 - Sevani dzknorsnere * 1935 - Pepo * 1932 - Meksika ...

as Badal * Levon Aleksanian as Susambar * Gayane Beknazarian ( :hy: Գայանե Բեկնազարյան) as Sanam *

Amasi Martirosyan Amasi Martirosyan ( hy, Ամասի Պետրոսի Մարտիրոսյան) was an Armenian film director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Filmography As actor *''Namus'' (1925) as Smbat *'' Zare'' (1927) as Zurba *''Khaspush'' (1928) as Mull ...

as Smbat * Mikayel Garagash ( hy) as shopkeeper * Husik Muradian ( hy) as dancing child * Elizaveta Adamian as Mariam's friend * Tigran Shamirkhanian ( hy) as a

Zurna The zurna (Armenian language, Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Classical Armenian, Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian language, Albanian: surle/surla; Persian language, Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian language, Macedonian: з ...

blower *

Armen Gulakian Armen may refer to: * the ''Armani'', a tribe of the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia ** sometimes associated with the Name of Armenia *Armen (name), including a list of people with the name Places *Armen, Albania, a town in southern Albania *Ar M ...

( hy) in episodes * Pahare ( hy) as pub owner

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0017195, title=Namus 1925 films Soviet silent feature films Armenian black-and-white films Soviet black-and-white films Films based on Armenian novels Films set in Azerbaijan Soviet-era Armenian films Armenfilm films Soviet drama films 1925 drama films 1926 drama films 1926 films Armenian silent feature films Silent drama films