Category:Wandering Jew--cinema (subject)

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Works of cinema related to the Wandering Jew

<Fiction : Wandering Jew (literature) -- Wandering Jew (music) -- Wandering Jew (art)>

Overview

Among the several movies inspired by the character of the Wandering Jew, some were based on Eugene Sue's novel, some on Thurston's play.

To the first group belong the French versions (1904, 1909, 1926), as well as the two Italian versions of 1912 and 1916. All three British versions (1923, 1933, 1947) are instead adaptations of Thurston's play.

The final 1948 Italian version is a very free adaptation of Sue's novel, but offers an original contemporary setting and twist to the familiar story, by making the Wandering Jew a hero of the anti-Fascist resistance.

All the movies on the Wandering Jew focus on, or include as a prologue, the biblical story which sees the protagonist cursed by Jesus for his lack of compassion. With the exception of the first two shorts of 1905 and 1909, they also include a conclusion in which the persecuted Wandering Jew finally finds forgiveness and redemption.

All films on the Wandering Jew were produced in Europe (France, Italy, Great Britain), between 1904 and 1947.

The Wandering Jew as a collective symbol of the Jewish people

Three additional movies refer explicitly to the motif of the Wandering Jew, not as an individual character but as a collective symbol of Israel. Two of them (1921, 1933) used the popularity of the subject to promote a pro-Jewish agenda, aimed to end the "suffering" of the "errant" Jew. The notorious 1940 Nazi film instead exploited the most derogatory elements of the myth, to justify and legitimize the "final solution" as the "proper" way to solve the problem of the "eternal" Jew.

Performing the Wandering Jew (actors)

Among the actors who performed the role are celebrities like Matheson Lang, Conrad Veidt and Vittorio Gassman.


Year Wandering Jew Cinema Country Notes
1904 Georges Méliès Le juif errant (The Wandering Jew / 1904 Méliès), short film France
1909 Charles Krauss La légende du Juif errant (The Legend of the Wandering Jew / 1909 Jasset), short film France
1912 Renzo Fabiani L'ebreo errante (The Wandering Jew / 1912 Roma Film), feature film Italy
1916 Mario Cimarra L'ebreo errante (The Wandering Jew / 1916 Paradisi), feature film Italy
1923 Matheson Lang The Wandering Jew (1923 Elvey), feature film UK
1926 André Marnay Le Juif errant (The Wandering Jew / 1926 Luitz-Morat), feature film France
1933 Conrad Veidt The Wandering Jew (1933 Elvey), feature film UK
1947 Andrew Osborn The Wandering Jew (1947 Barry / @1920 Thurston), British (TV) production (play) UK
1948 Vittorio Gassman L'ebreo errante (The Wandering Jew / 1948 Alessandrini), feature film Italy

External links