The Scarlet Letter (1973 film)
Encyclopedia
The Scarlet Letter is a 1973
German film directed by Wim Wenders
. It is an adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne
novel The Scarlet Letter
.
The film stars Senta Berger
as Hester Prynne
, Hans Christian Blech
as Roger Chillingworth, and Lou Castel
as Rev. Dimmesdale.
techniques of exposure.
There are a few brief shots in which one sees a three-masted ship on the ocean in the background. This was not a real ship but was a small model sized correctly for the shot and hung in front of the lens. Only one extra building had to be erected in Galicia for the exterior shooting to hide the large gap between buildings.
As far as the actors were concerned, they were from all over Europe and so all of the dialogue had to be looped afterward. Six or seven different languages were being spoken by the actors. The extras which represent the inhabitants of Salem were all Spaniards.
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
German film directed by Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
. It is an adaptation of the Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
novel The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an...
.
The film stars Senta Berger
Senta Berger
Senta Berger is an Austrian film, stage and television actress, producer and author.Regarded by critics as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, and frequently named as one of the leading German-speaking actresses in polls, Berger has received many award nominations for her acting...
as Hester Prynne
Hester Prynne
Hester Prynne, the young protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, is a woman condemned by her Puritan neighbors. The character has been called "among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature."...
, Hans Christian Blech
Hans Christian Blech
Hans Christian Blech was a German film, stage and television character actor who found success both in his native land and in Hollywood....
as Roger Chillingworth, and Lou Castel
Lou Castel
Lou Castel is a Colombian actor known primarily for his work in Italian films.Born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Castel moved to Europe as a young man. Interested in acting from an early age, he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, but was quickly kicked out. His first movie role was an...
as Rev. Dimmesdale.
Information about the film from the director’s commentary
Wenders explained that the experience of directing this, his second film, was the usual one which occurs with a new director. It is much more difficult and much less successful. One of the biggest problems is that the interior shots were finished first (Normally exteriors are shot first). These were shot at a studio in Köln, Germany. If you notice in the interior shots, the landscape outside the windows does not appear. The windows were covered with a variant of the rice paper you see in traditional Japanese homes. This was done because they did not know what the outside would look like. Care also had to be taken with not showing the environment outside the doors of interior shots. The exteriors which were supposed to resemble Salem, Massachusetts, were shot in Galicia, Spain. The look of the evening shots outdoors utilized the existing day for nightDay for night
Day for night, also known as nuit américaine , is the name for cinematographic techniques used to simulate a night scene; such as using tungsten-balanced rather than daylight-balanced film stock or with special blue filters and also under-exposing the shot to create the illusion of darkness or...
techniques of exposure.
There are a few brief shots in which one sees a three-masted ship on the ocean in the background. This was not a real ship but was a small model sized correctly for the shot and hung in front of the lens. Only one extra building had to be erected in Galicia for the exterior shooting to hide the large gap between buildings.
As far as the actors were concerned, they were from all over Europe and so all of the dialogue had to be looped afterward. Six or seven different languages were being spoken by the actors. The extras which represent the inhabitants of Salem were all Spaniards.
See also
- The Scarlet Letter (film)The Scarlet Letter (film)The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne.The Scarlet Letter in film, may refer to:*The Scarlet Letter , starring Gene Gauntier and Jack Conway...
, a disambiguation page for other film versions of the story