The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Vožd Karađorđe

1911 DramaHistory 62 minutes (2004 restoration) Directed by Ilija Stanojević 'Čiča'

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About The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Vožd Karađorđe

The film follows Karađorđe Petrović from childhood through the First Serbian Uprising of 1804–1813 and on to his death in 1817. Milorad Petrović plays the rebel leader. Ilija Stanojević directed and also appears.

Cast & crew

More about The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Vožd Karađorđe

Svetozar Botorić produced and distributed the Pathé picture. Louis de Beery photographed it. It was shot in August and September 1911. The press premiere was at the Hotel Paris in Belgrade on 23 October 1911 (10 October Old Style). King Peter saw it the same day at the Old Palace. Sources include a play by Miloš Cvetić and the folk poem The Start of the Revolt Against the Dahias. English Wikipedia now lists the running time as unclear. An earlier account gives an original length near 90 minutes, or more than 1,800 meters, and a 62-minute restoration.

Themes

  • A life from childhood to 1817
  • The 1804 uprising
  • A leader played by a stage actor
  • Karađorđe
  • First Serbian Uprising
  • 1804
  • 1817
  • Belgrade
  • Milorad Petrović

Background

A 1911 Belgrade biography of the leader of the First Serbian Uprising, made while veterans of that era were still in living memory.

In film history

English Wikipedia calls it the first feature released in Serbia and the Balkans.

Making

Botorić had Stanojević stage the life of Karađorđe with Petrović, a stage actor, in the lead, using Pathé's camera crew.

Look

Louis de Beery photographed the biographical scenes for Pathé.

Preservation

Treated as lost after the 1928 American screening. Found in Vienna in 2003. The 2004 restoration runs 62 minutes, shorter than the original negative of more than 1,800 meters. Digitally restored again in 2011.

Notes

  • It is the first feature released in Serbia and the Balkans.
  • Teodora Arsenović, Jovan Antonijević, Dobrica Milutinović, and Vitomir Bogić are in the cast.
  • After a 1925 re-release it was shown to Serbian immigrants in the United States in 1928 and then dropped from sight.
  • Aleksandar Erdeljanović and Radoslav Zelenović found it in the Austrian Film Archives in Vienna on 16 July 2003.
  • The public return screening was at the National Theatre on 14 February 2004, the 200th anniversary of the uprising. A digital restoration followed in 2011.

Scenes

  • The film carries Karađorđe from the 1804 rising to his death in 1817.

Influenced by

  • Miloš Cvetić's play
  • The folk poem The Start of the Revolt Against the Dahias

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (Život i dela besmrtnog vožda Karađorđa (1911).webm)