Rasmus Breistein (November 16, 1890 – October 16, 1976) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

film director.Sundholm, John et al. ''Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema''. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, p. 88.

Life

Breistein was born in

Åsane Åsane is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the northern part of the city, north of the city centre. Åsane is connected to downtown Bergen by the E16/ E39 highway. The E16 highway continues on t ...

in the city of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He was a farmer's son and learned to play fiddle in his youth, playing for dances at weddings in

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

.''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': Rasmus Breistein.
/ref> Later in life, in addition to directing films, he also performed on the

Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than ...

. When the Norwegian Theater opened in 1913, he started acting at the theater. He became engaged with the new medium of film after seeing

Peter Lykke-Seest Peter Lykke-Seest (26 September 1868 – 4 February 1948) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, playwright, non-fiction writer, script writer and film director. He was born in Christiania as a son of wholesaler Jens Peter Seest and Caroline Christ ...

's productions, and he decided to produce films in a completely different way. His first film was '' Fante-Anne'' (Gypsy Anne, 1920). In an interview he stated that "the film was the beginning of something, a Norwegian production with a more national character." This marked the beginning of the Norwegian heyday of the silent film age. Breistein is considered the most important Norwegian filmmaker of the silent film era. During the period known as the "national breakthrough" in Norwegian film (1920–1930), he directed five feature films: ''Fante-Anne'' (Gypsy Anne, 1920), ''Felix'' (1921), ''

Jomfru Trofast ''Jomfru Trofast'' (Miss Faithful) is a Norwegian film from 1921 based on a folk play with a script by Vilhelm Krag.Krag, Vilhelm. 1906. ''Jomfru Trofast: folkekomedie i 4 akter''. Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Company.Waldekranz, Rune. 1985. ''Filmens h ...

'' (Miss Faithful, 1921), ''

Brudeferden i Hardanger ''Brudeferden i Hardanger'' ( no, The bridal procession in Hardanger}) is a 1926 Norwegian silent drama film directed by Rasmus Breistein, starring Aase Bye. The script was written by Breistein, based on the novel ''Marit Skjølte'', by Kris ...

'' (The Bridal Procession in Hardanger, 1926), and '' Kristine Valdresdatter'' (1930). With these films, he challenged Swedish films' former position of power and pleased both critics and audiences. After audio films were invented, Breistein solidified his reputation as a director of the popular films ''

Ungen ''Ungen'' (The Child or The Kid) is a Norwegian drama film from 1938 directed by Rasmus Breistein. The lead roles are played by Eva Sletto, Harald Heide Steen, and Ragnhild Hald. It is a film adaptation of Oskar Braaten's 1911 play ''Ungen: folkel ...

'' (The Child, 1938) and ''

Trysil-Knut ''Trysil-Knut'' is a Norwegian film from 1942. Rasmus Breistein directed this skiing melodrama during the German occupation of Norway. It tells the story of the legendary skier Knut from Trysil, an ardent patriot at the beginning of the 1800s w ...

'' (Knut from Trysil, 1942). The documentary films '' Jorden rundt på to timer'' (Around the World in Two Hours, 1949) and ''

Tirich Mir til topps ''Tirich Mir til topps'' (To the Top of Tirich Mir) is a Norwegian documentary film directed by Rasmus Breistein. It describes an expedition to the peak Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush in 1950. The summit was reached on July 23, and it was the fo ...

'' (To the Top of

Tirich Mir Tirich Mir (also spelled Terich Mir, Terichmir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas– Karakoram range, at above sea level. It is located in the Chitral ...

, 1952) are classics in the history of Norwegian documentary film. He died in Hollywood, and his urn was brought to Norway and placed in Bryn Church in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

Films directed

*1952: ''Tirich Mir til topps'' (To the Top of Tirich Mir) *1949: '' Jorden rundt på to timer'' (Around the World in Two Hours) *1943: ''

Den nye lægen ''Den nye lægen'' ( en, The New Doctor}) is a 1943 Norwegian drama film directed by Rasmus Breistein, starring Jon Lennart Mjøen. The film is based on a play by Bjarne Viggo Holbæk-Hansen. Cast * Eva Lunde as Rigmor, hans datter * Erna Sch ...

'' (The New Doctor) *1942: ''

'' (Knut from Trysil) *1941: ''Gullfjellet'' (Gold Mountain) *1939: ''

Hu Dagmar ''Hu Dagmar'' (Wow, Dagmar) is a Norwegian drama comedy film from 1939 directed by Rasmus Breistein. It is based on Ove Ansteinsson's play ''Hu Dagmar''. Breistein and Ansteinsson also wrote the film's script together. The film stars Randi Heide ...

'' (Dagmar) *1938: ''

'' (The Child) *1934: ''Liv'' (Life) *1932: ''Skjærgårdsflirt'' (Skerry Flirtation) *1930: '' Kristine Valdresdatter'' *1926: ''Brudeferden i Hardanger'' (The Bridal Procession in Hardanger) *1921: '' Felix'' *1921: ''

'' (Miss Faithful) *1920: '' Fante-Anne'' (Gypsy Anne)

Awards

* 1961: Aamot Statuette

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Breistein, Rasmus Norwegian film directors Mass media people from Bergen 1890 births 1976 deaths