Brennende Acker, Der (1922)

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Willy Haas (writer)
Arthur Rosen (writer)

Release Date:

20 November 1922 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Das Drama eines Ehrgeizigen

Plot:

When farmer Rog dies, his son Peter stays, but Johannes can not be satisfied with such a condition (and...

Plot Keywords:

Weather | Suicide | Morality | Peasant | Revenge

Cast

Eugen Klöpfer	...	Peter Rog
Vladimir Gajdarov	...	Johannes Rog
Werner Krauss	...	Der alte Rog / Old Rog
Eduard von Winterstein	...	Graf Rudenburg / Count Rudenburg
Stella Arbenina	...	Helga, Rudenburgs zweite Frau / Helga, Rudenburg's 2nd wife
Lya De Putti	...	Gerda, Rudenburgs Tochter / Gerda, Rudenburg's daughter
Alfred Abel	...	Ludwig von Lellewel
Grete Diercks	...	Maria
Olga Engl
Elsa Wagner	...	Magda
Emilia Unda	...	Alte Magd / Old maid
Leonie Taliansky	...	Gerdas Zofe / Gerda's maid
Albert Patry
Magnus Stifter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hellmuth Bergmann	...	Kutscher
Hans Bernecker
Gustav Botz	...	Professor Butkin
Harry Frank
Leonhard Haskel	...	Pferdehändler
Georg John	...	Großknecht / Head farm-hand
Adolf Klein
Emilie Kurz
Robert Leffler	...	Diener
Rolf Prasch
Eugen Rex	...	Ackerkäufer

Also Known As:

Burning Soil

Runtime:

Germany:110 min (restored version) | USA:98 min

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Bornstedter Feld, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Arte

Trivia:

This movie was considered lost for a long time. In 1978 an almost complete print was found in the estate of an Italian priest who had organised screenings in mental hospitals. See also Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La (1928).

Murnau's Version Of The Prodigal Son

Another masterpiece by Murnau, dark and moody, very little romance, mostly the dark side of life reflected in the greed and ambition of a prodigal son who arrives home too late to say goodbye to his dying father. Instead of obeying his father's last wishes, to marry his childhood friend and work the farm, Johannes wants to rise above his station in life, and he doesn't care who he has to walk over to get there. There is positive restoration by the end of the film that is rather jarring, but this seems to be a favorite theme of Murnau's. Instead of restoration with the father, as in the biblical story of the prodigal son, we see the genuine restoration of the two brothers, and forgiveness. We're not quite sure if the two brothers in the bible story ever truly reconcile, but in Murnau's story it is clearly evident.

If you are someone who enjoys Murnau's films definitely see The Burning Soil. Interesting story, good acting, overall good condition of the surviving film.