Pilate and Others (german: Pilatus und andere - Ein Film für Karfreitag) is a 1972 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

, based on the 1967 novel '' The Master and Margarita'' by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

writer

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

, although it focuses on the parts of the novel set in biblical

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The film has the subtitle ''Ein Film für Karfreitag'' ( en, The Film for

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...

) because it was released on March 29, 1972, on the eve of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

. It was also shown at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

on February 15, 2006, when director Andrzej Wajda received an Honorary Golden Bear.

Background

Andrzej Wajda had already received two scripts from Warsaw to make a movie about the Passion but he had rejected both of them. When he had read The Master and Margarita, he decided to use Mikhail Bulgakov’s dialogues for his film. The shootings were done in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, on the ruines of the Derde Rijk. Wajda used the platform, from which

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

held his speeches when he was addressing the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in Nuremberg.

Story

In the novel The Master and Margarita by the Russian author

, on which the film is based, three story lines are interwoven: a satirical story line in which

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

, called Woland here, goes to the city of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in the 30s to deal in hilarious manner with the corrupt lucky ones, bureaucrats and profiteers from the

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

era, a second one describing the internal struggle fought by

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

before, during and after the conviction and execution of Yeshua Ha Nozri (Jesus from Nazareth), and a third one telling the story of the love between the master, an unnamed writer in Moscow during the 30s and his beloved Margarita, which goes to the extreme to save her master. The master has written a novel about Pontius Pilate, and is addressed by the authorities because this was an issue which in the officially atheistic

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

was taboo. The film ''Pilate and Others'' only tells the biblical story of the novel: the story of

and Yeshua Ha Nozri (Jesus from Nazareth),

Differences from the novel

The biblical story of the novel is situated in Jersjalajim, but Wajda transferred it to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in the present time. Levi Matvei is a modern TV

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

who makes reports from

Golgotha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early medie ...

; Yeshua Ha-Nozri passes

Way of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

on streets of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Cast

* Wojciech Pszoniak as Yeshua Ha-Nozri *

Jan Kreczmar Jan Kreczmar (6 May 1908 in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Po ...

* Daniel Olbrychski as Levi Matvei * Andrzej Lapicki as Aphranius *

Marek Perepeczko Marek Perepeczko (3 April 1942 – 17 November 2005Data śmierci według poprawionej informacji żony Agnieszka Fitkau-Perepeczko, Agnieszki Fitkau-Perepeczko. TVN ''Rozmowy w toku'', 2007.01.25.) was a popular Polish movie and theatrical actor. ...

as Marcus * Jerzy Zelnik as Judah of Kiriaf *

Vladek Sheybal Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992) was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions. He was well known for his portrayal of the chess grandmast ...

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

as reporter

Soundtrack

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

- Matthäus-Passion

Other screen adaptations of The Master and Margarita

*Giovanni Brancale - Il Maestro e Margherita - 2008 (film) *

Vladimir Bortko Vladimir Vladimirovich Bortko (russian: Владимир Владимирович Бортко; born 7 May 1946) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, producer and politician. He was a member of the State Duma between 2011 and 2021, and was aw ...

- Master i Margarita - 2005 (TV series) *Ibolya Fekete - A Mester és Margarita - 2005 (film) *Sergey Desnitsky - Master i Margarita - 1996 (film) *

Yuri Kara Yuri Viktorovich Kara (Russian: Юрий Викторович Кара), born on 12 November 1954 in Stalino, is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Yuri Kara was born on 12 November 1954 in the Stalino, which is now c ...

- Master i Margarita - 1994 (film) * Paul Bryers - Incident in Judea - 1991 (tv-film) *Oldřich Daněk - Pilát Pontský, onoho dne - 1991 (film) *Andras Szirtes - Forradalom Után - 1990 (film) *Aleksandr Dzekun - Master i Margarita - 1989 (tv-reeks) * Maciej Wojtyszko - Mistrz i Małgorzata - 1988 (TV series) *Vladimir Vasilyev and Boris Yermolaev - Fuete - 1986 (film) * Aleksandar Petrović - Il Maestro e Margherita - 1972 (speelfilm) ;To be expected: *

Scott Steindorff Robert Scott Steindorff is an American television and film producer, executive producer and film consultant. Early life and education Steindorff was born in Minnesota and then moved to Arizona during his childhood. He attended Arizona State Uni ...

- The Master and Margarita - 2012 (film) *Rinat Timerkaev - Master i Margarita - 2012 (animation film)

References

External links

* * {{The Master and Margarita 1972 films Films based on works by Mikhail Bulgakov German television films Films directed by Andrzej Wajda 1972 drama films Films based on Russian novels Portrayals of Jesus on television 1970s German-language films