A Vilna Legend Directed by Zygmunt Turkow (1924 Credits)
Public Exhibition Formats: 35mm, 16mm |
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Synopsis
Few reminders are left of the vibrant Yiddish theatrical world that flourished in Warsaw in the 1920s. This film is one of them. Jewish producers were preeminent in the interwar Polish film industry but, due to the pervasive antisemitism of the early '20s, they shied away from films dealing with Jewish themes. It was not until 1924 that amateurs, Henryk Bojm and Leo Forbert, adapted a Peretz Hirshbein play for the screen. Ambitiously mounted, professionally cast, it was one of the most successful Jewish cinematic efforts undertaken up to that time.
An even more elaborate version of the same story, also titled Tkies-kaf was made by Henryk Szaro in Warsaw in 1937 (also starring Zygmunt Turkow). However in 1933, a group of Yiddish actors decided to give the original silent film gem a new lease on life. They added an audible narration and several new scenes (those in the tavern) which gave dramatic justification to the narrative form. Adapted like this, the film had a brief revival before lapsing back into obscurity.
A precursor to the 1937 classic, The Dybbuk, A Vilna Legend features the same classic tale of frustrated love and destiny and the breaking/fulfillment of vows. A yeshiva student and an orphan girl who are deeply in love face eternal separation even though their parents promised them to each other before birth. Only the prophet Elijah's miraculous intervention allows their parents to fulfill their vow and the couple their love.
Selected Screenings
Medias Central European Film Festival (2014)
Montreal International Yiddish Theatre Festival (2011)
Toronto Jewish Film Festival (2004)
New York Jewish Film Festival (2004)
Stockholm Jewish Film Festival (2004)
Jerusalem International Film Festival (2003)
Washington DC Jewish Film Festival (2003)
Barbican Center for the Arts, London (1996)
NCJF Film Restoration
Preservation and restoration was made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation in memory of Gladys & Saul Gwirtzman, Women's Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film and Television, and by Claire & Albert Schussler in honor of their parents Celia & Jacob Grossman and Ida & Harry Schussler.
Credits
1924 Silent Production - Poland Cast |
1933 Sound Production - USA Cast |
1980, 2002 Restorations © The National Center for Jewish Film
Executive Director Sharon Pucker Rivo
Associate Director Miriam Saul Krant
Technical Director Rich Pontius
Translator David Fishman
Title Animation Frame Shop
Laboratory Cinema Arts, Inc.
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Also with Zygmunt Turkow
Also Directed by George Roland
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