The universe of Henrik Senkiewicz. A look by Mr. Cecil Blount deMille Cecil Blount deMille took up the script, which was essentially a substantially adapted and revised version of Henryk Senkiewicz’s Kamo Grödeshi. The names of the main characters were changed, participation in the plot of Nero was significantly reduced, and the participation of the Apostle Peter was minimized. I will say more, a great connoisseur of religious subjects Blount deMille told a story of very difficult love and deceit. The lines of Nero’s madness and the suffering of Christians here are optional, although very colorfully emphasized.
This is the story of the Empress’s unrequited love for the young and stately prefect, which will end with an unexpected revenge, the victim of which will be innocent Christians. Another thematic part of the tape is associated with the love of the prefect for a Christian woman who is ready to die for the sake of her faith.
To my taste, the film turned out multi-layered, with several centers of attraction. We encounter the passionate heroine Claudette Colbert. Most of the scenes with her are related to hidden sexual aggression, unshared by a crude passion, the source of which is a woman. We can also observe the straightforward hero Frederick March, who suddenly finds himself in love with sensuality and readiness to make quick irreparable decisions. Perfect romantic figure. We meet the pampered and idle Nero. For Charles Laughton, this role was a success. He perfectly showed a bored exalted type. Against their background, the straight-forward heroine of Elissa Lundy fell out a little, but here the whole thing is in her overly stereotyped game. The actress played simply and unpretentiously just indicating the principled character.
Blount deMille did not strive for visual similarity with the previous screen adaptations of Senkiewicz. He calmly used close-ups and numerous extras seeking to informatively saturate each frame. The film was very visually informative. The oppression of Christians is very accurately expressed in the scenes of waiting for a little girl and an old man to enter the arena. Nero playing the harp against the backdrop of burning Rome expresses the madness of power. The erotic component is perfectly embodied by the scene of Claudette Colbert taking a bath. Despite the fact that the viewer will never see her naked - the footage turned out very frank. And it should also be borne in mind that the result of the conversation will be undressing and joining another woman. In general, all costumes Claudette and her entourage came out very successful, experimental and extremely erotic.
The last twenty minutes of the tape are remembered for a long time. I have never seen such an accurate depiction of gladiator fights. DeMille did indeed show "spectacles." The crowd watches as dwarfs with torches and spears fight women armed with swords. Then the lions eat the people (Senkiewicz wrote). The bull fights the man. A monkey approaches a naked woman tied to a pole. The fight of two men on fists, whose knuckles are tied with thorns. Crocodiles going to a tied woman. DeMille does not aestheticize or condemn violence, he simply captures the spirit of the time. All the more valuable is the final.
In almost all the film adaptations of "Camo Grudeshi" was not sufficiently highlighted the reason why the successful Roman adopted Christianity. And the very line with love for a Christian woman was blurred - after all, according to the book, the hero could get it by force. DeMille did not translate the idea of Senkiewicz on the screen word for word. He just changed the story a little. The hero goes through a lot, accepting the fate of a Christian through love. Love for an ordinary woman. But it was very accurate. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16).
10 out of 10