The Marquise of O (1976)
"Die Marquise von O..." (original title)

A German Marquise has to deal with a pregnancy she cannot explain and an infatuated Russian Count.

Director:

Eric Rohmer

Writers:

Eric Rohmer, Heinrich von Kleist (story)

Stars:

Edith Clever, Bruno Ganz, Edda Seippel

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 10 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edith Clever	...	Die Marquise
Bruno Ganz	...	Der Graf
Edda Seippel	...	Die Mutter, Die Obristin
Peter Lühr	...	Der Vater, Der Obrist
Otto Sander	...	Der Bruder, Der Forstmeister
Eduard Linkers	...	Der Arzt
Ruth Drexel	...	Die Hebamme
Bernhard Frey	...	Leopardo
Hesso Huber	...	Der Türsteher
Erich Schachinger	...	Der General
Richard Rogner	...	Der Offizier
Thomas Straus	...	Der Kurier
Volker Prechtel	...	Der Pfarrer
Marion Müller	...	Die Kammerfrau
Heidi Möller	...	Die Kammerfrau

Storyline

During the invasion of a German city by the Russian army, the Marquise of O., the daughter of a German colonel, is attacked by a group of Russian soldiers. A Russian Count comes to her rescue, and falls in love with her. While he is away, she discovers that she is pregnant, though she cannot explain how that happened. Her father repudiates her, and she has to reject the Count while trying to find out who the father of her child is.

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Plot Keywords:

russian | russian army | pregnancy | russian army officer | mother daughter reunion | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Les Films du Losange

Country:

West Germany France

Language:

German

Release Date:

19 May 1976 (France)

Also Known As:

The Marquise of O

Company Credits

Production Co:

Janus Film, Les Films du Losange, Janus Filmproduktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the Colonel throws his gun on the table, the audio is not synchronized with the video.

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Connections

Version of Die Gräfin von Rathenow (1973)

User Reviews

Stupendously poetic and flawless

What can I say about Rohmer? the guy's a cinematic genius. Who else can capture so much reality out of situations that in most directors' hands would be nothing but facile theatricality that exhausts itself in one viewing? Rohmer's best films stand up to endless viewings, in fact, they're so detailed and well thought out, you don't get anything significant out of them until you've watched them many times. The Marquise of O is definitely one of his best. It's his only film that doesn't deal with the love problems of his contemporary French bourgeoisie--his only 'period' film made in the original German language of the book by Heinrich von Kleist it was based on. It is a deceptively simple looking work of pure art. Nuance upon nuance comes pouring forth from every actor as they give the subtlest and greatest performances of their lives under Rohmer's direction. Nothing fancy here on the surface, just a totally authentic look that seems to have stepped right off Goethe's time, as if Rohmer actually went back in time to the 18th century and shot himself a documentary. The film is, among many other things, a very strong criticism of the Christian mores of the period and how easily they can turn from being life-affirming and productively disciplinarian to prejudice and farcical cruelty.