The Independence of Romania
About The Independence of Romania
The picture stages the Romanian war of 1877–1878. A village festival and the romance of Peneș and Rodica give way to mobilization. The army crosses the Danube, fights at Grivița and Plevna, and fills the field hospitals of the Valea Plângerii. Osman Pasha surrenders his sword. The last shots are a newsreel of the 10 May 1912 parade in front of King Carol I.
Cast & crew
More about The Independence of Romania
The English-language record credits Aristide Demetriade as director. The Romanian filmmakers' union page lists Grigore Brezeanu. Writers named on the English page are Petre Liciu, Demetriade, and Constantin I. Nottara; the union page also names Brezeanu and Corneliu Moldovanu. Leon Popescu and Brezeanu are among the producers. Camera credit is given to Frank Daniau-Johnston and, in the same note, to Indigues. Interiors were staged in the courtyard of the lyric theatre. Premiere at the Eforie cinema in Bucharest on 2 September 1912; the filmography date is 1 September 1912. Original running time 120 minutes. Later copies are listed at 90, 75, and about 83 minutes.
Themes
Background
Romania fought with Russia against the Ottoman Empire in 1877–1878. The siege of Plevna and the 1878 Treaty of Berlin are the political frame of the staged scenes. The closing parade is footage of the real army in 1912, not a reconstruction.
Making
In December 1911 the magazine Rampa reported that Nottara was preparing a film of the 1877 war so that people who had not seen the battles could watch them.
Look
Frank Daniau-Johnston is credited, and some accounts name Indigues instead. The battles are wide outdoor shots with large bodies of troops. The camera usually stays fixed.
Preservation
Shorter prints are in circulation. One Romanian note counted about 20 minutes missing from a copy, with two scenes recovered afterward. A version is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Demetriade plays King Carol I. Constantin Nottara plays Osman Pasha. Aurel Athanasescu plays Peneș Curcanul. Constanța Demetriade is also billed.
- Pepi Machauer did makeup and hair.
- Romanian troops were used as the armies in the battle scenes.
- A Romanian archive note says about 20 minutes were missing from one circulating version, including the landing on the Turkish bank and the death of Captain Mărăcineanu. Two scenes, the meeting at Poradim and a stretch of fighting, were found later.
Scenes
- The army crosses the Danube on a temporary bridge.
- The wounded Osman Pasha gives up his sword.
- The film ends on the 10 May 1912 parade filmed weeks before the premiere.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Independence of Romania.webm)