The Arrival from the Darkness

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1921

Production year

1921

Premiere

14 October 1921

Runtime

62 min

Category

film

Genre

fantastic

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Příchozí z temnot

Czech title

Příchozí z temnot

English title

The Arrival from the Darkness

Synopsis

Richard Bor brings his neighbour, the landowner Drazicky, an old book. The latter tries in vain to persuade his wife Dagmar to leave. In the book Drazicky finds the story of the Mystery of the Black Tower and he falls asleep. He goes into the tower and finds an alchemist's laboratory and the body of a man holding instructions describing how he can be revived. Drazicky successfully carries out the experiment and finds out that the man is his ancestor Jesek Drazicky who lived during the time of Rudolf II. He had become the apprentice of the alchemist Borro who had entrusted him with the mystery of the elixir of life. When Jesek's beloved died of the plague, he drank the elixir and put himself to sleep. From Borro's notes Jesek reads of the importance of drinking further draughts of the elixir every three days so that he does not die. Jesek falls in love with Dagmar and wants to have her. Drazicky, however, overhears him and blows up the tower along with all its supplies of the elixir. Jesek takes Dagmar away and Bor and Drazicky follow him. Jesek strangles Bor to death by the river and Drazicky shoots Jesek. At that moment Drazicky wakes up and realises that it had all been a dream. He then discovers from the butler that Bor has died from a stroke.

Note

One of the first Czechoslovak films to be shown abroad. Under the title of Redivivus, it was shown in Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain. Working shots are included in the film How films were made in our country (compiled by Bohumil Veselý, 1954).

During the years 2005–2007 the film was reconstructed by National Film Archive.

Cast

Theodor Pištěk

statkář Bohdan Dražický

Anny Ondráková

statkářova žena Dagmar/Alena

Karel Lamač

Ješek Dražický z Lomu a Střehova, Alenin bratranec, příchozí z temnot

Vladimír Majer

Richard Bor/alchymista Balthazar del Borro

Luigi Hofman

majordomus/Alenin otec

Jan W. Speerger

rytíř z družiny Ješka Dražického

Crew and creators

Screenstory

Karel Hloucha

Screenplay

Jan S. Kolár

Director of Photography

Otto Heller, Otto Hoffmann

Production Designer

Fritz Kraenke

Art Director

Bohuslav Šula

Cooperation

Kurt Lande (fotograf)

Production info

Original Title

Příchozí z temnot

Czech Title

Příchozí z temnot

English Title

The Arrival from the Darkness

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

fantastic

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1921

Production Year

1921

Production specifications

date of censorship 1921
date of censorship 01/1934 (konec povolení k promítání 1939)

Premiere

premiere 14 October 1921 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Lucerna a Alma, Praha)

Production

Rexfilm

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Distribution

Rexfilm

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

62 min

Original length in metres

2 300 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,33

Colour

black & white

Sound

silent

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

without dialogue

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Intertitles languages

Czech

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Nominace

Festival: 33. mezinárodní festival archivních a restaurovaných filmů Il Cinema Ritrovato Boloňa

2019
Boloňa / Italy
Národní filmový archiv