The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov

The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov is a 1931 German drama film directed by Erich Engels and Fedor Ozep, starring Fritz Kortner and Anna Sten. It tells the story of a lieutenant who is suspected of having murdered his father. The film is based on motifs from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. A French version The Brothers Karamazov was produced separately.

Cast

Fritz Kortner as Dimitri Karamasoff
Anna Sten as Gruschenka
Fritz Rasp as Smerdjakoff
Bernhard Minetti as Iwan Karamasoff
Max Pohl as Fedor Karamasoff
Hanna Waag as Katja
Fritz Alberti as Gerichtspräsident
Werner Hollmann as Der Pole
Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel as Fenja

Production

The film was produced by Terra Film and shot at the company's Marienfelde Studios in Berlin. Filming took place from 22 October to 24 November 1930. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Heinrich Richter and Victor Trivas.

Reception

The British film critic Raymond Durgnat wrote in a 1993 article about Ozep for Film Dope: "The Karamazov film is a tour de force of stylistic eclecticism: expressionist acting, dynamic angles, Russian editing, marathon tracking shots. It's a real showpiece of formalism geared to psycho-lyrical ends, exactly as Eisenstein intended, except that Dostoievskian soul-torments replace Leninist collectivism to which the 'official' montage-masters tuned their lyres."