''Death and the Dervish'' (

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

: ''Derviš i smrt'',

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: ''Дервиш и смрт'') is a 1974 Yugoslav film directed by Zdravko Velimirović based on the novel of the same name by Meša Selimović. The film won the Silver Arena (second best film) and four Golden Arena awards at the 1974

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival () is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in the summer, in July or Aug ...

, the Yugoslav national film awards festival. It was Yugoslavia's submission to the

47th Academy Awards The 47th Academy Awards were presented Tuesday, April 8, 1975, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best films of 1974. The ceremonies were presided over by Bob Hope, Shirley MacLaine, Sammy Davis Jr., an ...

for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

The elder of the

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

order of dervishes is deeply shaken by the arrest and execution of his innocent brother. In retaliation, the dervish manages to overthrow the ruling individuals, hoping to establish justice himself. The old administration, in which only personalities changed but not the spirit of governance, will shatter his illusions and crush his humanity.

Cast

Voja Mirić Vojislav "Voja" Mirić ( sr-Cyrl, Воја Мирић; 7 April 1933 – 23 April 2019) was a Serbian television and film actor most noted for his role as Ahmed Nurudin in the 1974 Yugoslav movie '' Dervis i smrt'' (popularly known as ''Death an ...

as Ahmed Nurudin (the dervish) *

Boris Dvornik Boris Dvornik (; 16 April 1939 – 24 March 2008) was a Croatian actor. Biography Born in Split to the family of a carpenter, Dvornik discovered acting talent at an early age, while performing in children's plays. After studying to become an el ...

as Hasan Dželebdžija * Bata Živojinović as Muselim * Faruk Begolli as Mula Jusuf * Veljko Mandić as Kara Zaim * Olivera Katarina as Kadinica *

Pavle Vuisić Pavle "Paja" Vuisić ( sr-cyr, Павле "Паја" Вуисић; 10 July 1926 – 1 October 1988) was a Serbian and Yugoslav actor, known as one of the most recognizable faces of former Yugoslav cinema. Biography He was born in Cetinje as Pavl ...

as Muftija * Abdurahman Šalja as Tatarin * Špela Rozin as Dubrovčanka * Branko Pleša as kadija * Rejhan Demirdžić as Malik * Dragomir Felba as Hadži Sinanudin * Ljuba Kovačević as runaway * Ranko Gučevac as Muselim's servant * Ivan Jonaš as jailer * Janez Vrhovec as Dubrovčanin * Rastislav Jović as stalker

Awards

1974 Pula Film Festival

* Golden Arena for Best Director ( Zdravko Velimirović) * Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actor ( Abdurahman Šalja) * Golden Arena for Best Cinematography ( Nenad Jovičić) * Golden Arena for Best Production Design ( Vlastimir Gavrik) * Silver Arena for second best film (Zdravko Velimirović)

Legacy

The Yugoslav Film Archive, in accordance with its authorities under the Law on Cultural Heritage, declared one hundred Serbian feature films (1911-1999) as

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

of great importance on December 28, 2016. ''Death and the Dervish'' is also included in this list. The restored version of the film premiered on February 3, 2024 as part of the A1 Kinoteka project.

References

External links

* 1974 films Yugoslav drama films 1974 drama films Serbo-Croatian-language films Films directed by Zdravko Velimirović Films set in Sarajevo Films scored by Zoran Hristić {{DEFAULTSORT:Dervish and Death, The Films based on Serbian novels