The Queen of Spades
Pikovaya dama
Russia
1916
63 Min
Black and White
1.33:1
Silent
Synopsis
While hosting a game of cards one night, Narumov tells his friends a story about his grandmother, a Countess. As a young woman, she had once incurred an enormous gambling debt, which she was able to erase by learning a secret that guaranteed that she could win by playing her cards in a certain order. One of Narumov’s friends, German, has never gambled, but he is intrigued by the story about the Countess and her secret. He soon becomes obsessed with learning this secret from her, and he starts by courting her young ward Lizaveta, hoping to use her to gain access to the Countess. —IMDb
Director
Yakov Protazanov
Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (Russian: Яков Александрович Протазанов) (January 23 (O.S. February 4), 1881 – August 8, 1945) was Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia.
In the period from 1911 to 1918 he directed some 80 features, including The Queen of Spades (1916) and Father Sergius (1917), which have been acclaimed as his masterpieces. Ivan Mozhukhin starred in many of his early films.
After the Russian Revolution Protazanov resolved to stay in Europe but returned to USSR in 1923. The following year, he produced Aelita, arguably the first Soviet movie and the first film on space travel.
In 1928, he directed the White Eagle, with Vsevolod Meyerhold and Vasili Kachalov. The Three Million Trial (1926) and St. Jorgen’s Day (1930) launched the film careers of two outstanding Soviet actors, Igor Ilyinsky and Mikhail Zharov.
His last acclaimed feature was a screen version of Alexander Ostrovsky’s… read more
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