Departure of a Grand Old Man

Departure of a Grand Old Man (Russian: Уход великого старца, translit. Ukhod velikovo startza) is a 1912 Russian silent film about the last days of Leo Tolstoy, directed by Yakov Protazanov and Elizaveta Thiman. It was actress Olga Petrova's first silent film.

Plot

The film depicts a group of peasants who come to the home of Leo Tolstoy to ask for land. We see the old sage attempting to help the peasants while his wife, Sofia Andreevna, is counting money and quarreling. Overwhelmed, Tolstoy is driven to the edge of suicide. It ends with Tolstoy on his death bed being visited by Christ. The film was banned because of the negative portrayal of Tolstoy's wife Sofia Tolstaya, who threatened to sue the filmmakers for libel.^[1]

Cast

• Olga Petrova as Sofia Tolstaya
• Vladimir Shaternikov as Leo Tolstoy
• Leo Tolstoy as himself (from documentary footage made by A. Drankov)
• Mikhail Tamarov as Vladimir Chertkov
• Elizaveta Thiman as Alexandra Lvovna Tolstaya

References

1. ^ Kenez, Peter. Cinema and Soviet Society: 1917-1953. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Citations

• Kenez, Peter. Cinema and Soviet Society: 1917-1953. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

External links

• Departure of a Grand Old Man at the Internet Movie Database