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Carmen

  • 19181918
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
358
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
  • Drama
The tragic story of Don Jose, a Spanish cavalryman, who falls under the spell of a gypsy girl, Carmen, who treats him with both love and contempt and leads him into temptation and thus damna... Read allThe tragic story of Don Jose, a Spanish cavalryman, who falls under the spell of a gypsy girl, Carmen, who treats him with both love and contempt and leads him into temptation and thus damnation.The tragic story of Don Jose, a Spanish cavalryman, who falls under the spell of a gypsy girl, Carmen, who treats him with both love and contempt and leads him into temptation and thus damnation.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
358
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ernst Lubitsch
  • Writers
    • Prosper Mérimée(novel "Carmen")
    • Hanns Kräly
    • Grete Diercks
  • Stars
    • Pola Negri
    • Harry Liedtke
    • Sophie Pagay
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ernst Lubitsch
  • Writers
    • Prosper Mérimée(novel "Carmen")
    • Hanns Kräly
    • Grete Diercks
  • Stars
    • Pola Negri
    • Harry Liedtke
    • Sophie Pagay
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos23

    Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Wilhelm Diegelmann and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Carmen (1918)
    Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Harry Liedtke and Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)
    Pola Negri in Carmen (1918)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Pola Negri
    Pola Negri
    • Carmen, eine Zigaretten-arbeiterinas Carmen, eine Zigaretten-arbeiterin
    Harry Liedtke
    Harry Liedtke
    • José Navarroas José Navarro
    Sophie Pagay
    • José Navarros Mutteras José Navarros Mutter
    Grete Diercks
    • Dolores, José Navarros Brautas Dolores, José Navarros Braut
    Paul Biensfeldt
    • Garcia, Schmuggleras Garcia, Schmuggler
    • (as Paul Biensfeld)
    Paul Conradi
    • Don Cairo, Schmuggleras Don Cairo, Schmuggler
    Max Kronert
    • Remendato, Schmuggleras Remendato, Schmuggler
    Margarete Kupfer
    Margarete Kupfer
    • Carmens Wirtinas Carmens Wirtin
    Leopold von Ledebur
    Leopold von Ledebur
    • Escamillo, ein Stierfechteras Escamillo, ein Stierfechter
    Heinrich Peer
    Heinrich Peer
    • Ein englischer Offizieras Ein englischer Offizier
    Wilhelm Diegelmann
    Wilhelm Diegelmann
    • Ein Gefängniswärteras Ein Gefängniswärter
    Magnus Stifter
    • Leutnant Estebanas Leutnant Esteban
    Victor Janson
    Albert Venohr
    • Director
      • Ernst Lubitsch
    • Writers
      • Prosper Mérimée(novel "Carmen")
      • Hanns Kräly
      • Grete Diercks
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    The tragic story of Don Jose, a Spanish cavalryman, who falls under the spell of a gypsy girl, Carmen, who treats him with both love and contempt and leads him into temptation and thus damnation. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
    • character name as title
    • carmen character
    • one word title
    • femme fatale
    • love
    • 24 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • A mighty marvel of the screen with a multitude of players (1921 Gypsy Blood poster)
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Pola Negri fled the film's press premiere in heavy rain to avoid being caught in a crossfire in street battles between between German strikers and government troops. She wrote in her memoirs, "The streets [of Berlin] were completely deserted. The only sound was the gunfire directly overhead, which crashed through the air with a deafening din. In order not to be hit by a stray bullet, I walked in short steps with my back pressed against the walls of the buildings. By the time I arrived [at the subway station], I was ringing wet." The next day, November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II was deposed as ruler of Germany. The First World War ended two days thereafter.
    • Goofs
      When Carmen is drinking with a soldier in Gibraltar, the seat in which the soldier sits is empty in close up shots.
    • Alternate versions
      The American release, titled "Gyspy Blood", was significantly recut.
    • Connections
      Featured in Die UFA (1992)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    Right Director. Wrong Time?
    Based on everything you know about him and have seen by him, you would think Ernst Lubitsch to the perfect director to give a modern spin to the classic siren-story of "Carmen". Even in his early years, Lubitsch was a filmmaker known for his progressive sarcasm and frivolous flirting, but this film does not have either. Instead, it's one of his dullest films. The narrative being so familiar from operas, films and plays, it would require a thorough remodeling to be interesting. Lubitsch's "Carmen" feels rushed and avoid of imagination. Then again it was made in Germany right before the end of World War I, so perhaps the time wasn't the best for well-thought-out, carefully executed masterpieces.

    The film tells the story of a Spanish soldier (Harry Liedke) who gets promoted and leaves his family to travel to another town. There he meets Carmen (Pola Negri) a gypsy-sinner-woman, who lures him away from the righteous path. There is no return, but never fear, it is the woman whom the society blames for the man's sexual appetite. Strangely, the whole thing is framed as a campfire story in the version that was distributed in the US.

    Though Lubitsch was by 1918 well-rehearsed to direct character driven films, this one looks like an American historical spectacle from the same era, albeit smaller. There are not that many close-ups of the actors, which really hurts the film's chances to develop an erotic feel to it. This is not romantic, not emotional, not anything. Lubitsch would later make his historical films work by giving them an individualistic spin (like Anna Boleyn, 1920), but in "Carmen" the characters get lost in the epoch. The actors can't make anything of the material, and whenever there is a close-up of Pola Negri, you kinda feel that she has been too overtly made up to resemble the ethnicity of the part. It's a bit cringy.
    helpful•0
    0
    • topitimo-829-270459
    • Oct 20, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 8, 1921 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Germany
    • Languages
      • None
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Gypsy Blood
    • Production company
      • Projektions-AG Union (PAGU)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 20 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

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