''Departure of a Grand Old Man'' (russian: «Уход великого старца», Ukhod velikovo startza) is a 1912 Russian silent film about the last days of author

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 ...

. The film was 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 Elizaveta Thiman, and was actress Olga Petrova's first film.

Plot

The film depicts a group of peasants who come to the home of

to ask for land. We see the old sage attempting to help the peasants while his wife Sofia Andreevna is counting money and quarreling. Overwhelmed, Tolstoy is driven to the edge of suicide. It ends with Tolstoy on his death bed being visited by Jesus. The film was banned because of the negative portrayal of Tolstoy's wife

Sofia Tolstaya Countess Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (née Behrs; russian: Со́фья Андре́евна Толста́я, sometimes anglicised as ''Sophia Tolstoy''; 22 August 1844 – 4 November 1919), was a Russian diarist, and the wife of Russian writer ...

, who threatened to sue the filmmakers for libel.Peter Kenez, ''Cinema and Soviet Society: 1917-1953'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992)

Cast

* Olga Petrova as Sofia Tolstaya * Vladimir Shaternikov as Leo Tolstoy *

as himself (from documentary footage filmed by A. Drankov) * Mikhail Tamarov as Vladimir Chertkov * Elizaveta Thiman as Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya

References

Citations

*Kenez, Peter, ''Cinema and Soviet Society: 1917-1953'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992)

External links

* 1912 films Russian silent films Russian black-and-white films Films of the Russian Empire Films directed by Yakov Protazanov Works about Leo Tolstoy Cultural depictions of Leo Tolstoy {{1910s-Russia-film-stub