''Pilate and Others'' () 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

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 "P ...

, based on the 1967 novel ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' () is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940. A censored version, with several chapters cut by editors, was published posthumously in ''Moscow (magazine), Moscow'' magazine in ...

'' by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

writer

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

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

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The film has the subtitle ''Ein Film für Karfreitag'' () because it was released on March 29, 1972, on the eve of

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. It was also shown at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

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 Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

but he had rejected both of them. After reading ''The Master and Margarita'', he decided to use

dialogues in his film. Shooting took place in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, among the ruins of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. Wajda used the platform from which

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

held his speeches when he was addressing the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

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, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

, called Woland here, goes to the city of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the 1930s to deal with the corrupt lucky ones, bureaucrats and profiteers from the

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

era; a second one describing the internal struggle fought by

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

before, during and after the conviction and execution of Yeshua Ha Nozri (Jesus from Nazareth); and a third telling the story of the love between the master, an unnamed writer in Moscow during the 1930s and his beloved Margarita, who 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 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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

Differences from the novel

The biblical story of the novel is situated in

, but Wajda transferred it to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the present time. Levi Matvei is a modern TV reporter who makes reports from

Golgotha Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

; 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 , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers, These stations are derived from the im ...

on streets of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Cast

Wojciech Pszoniak Wojciech Zygmunt Pszoniak (Polish: ; 2 May 1942 – 19 October 2020) was a Polish film actor, film and theatre actor as well as theatre director and pedagogue. He received international recognition for portraying Moritz Welt in Andrzej Wajda's dra ...

as Yeshua Ha-Nozri *

Jan Kreczmar Jan Kreczmar (6 May 1908 in Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its ...

Daniel Olbrychski Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish people, Polish film actor, film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is bes ...

as Levi Matvei * Andrzej Łapicki as Aphranius * Marek Perepeczko as Marcus *

Jerzy Zelnik Jerzy Zelnik (born 14 September 1945) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1963. He was awarded the Badge of Merit in Culture (1997) and Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2007). Sel ...

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 grandmaste ...

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD) was the High Priest of Israel during the first century. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John indicate he was an organizer of ...

as reporter

Soundtrack

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

–

Matthäus-Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a ''Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of the G ...

Other screen adaptations of ''The Master and Margarita''

* Aleksandar Petrović – ''Il Maestro e Margherita'' – 1972 (film) *Vladimir Vasilyev and Boris Yermolaev – ''Fuete'' – 1986 (film) * Maciej Wojtyszko – ''

Mistrz i Małgorzata {{disambig Mistrz is Polish for "Master" and can refer to: * The Master (2005 film) * The Champion (2020 film) ...

'' – 1988 (TV series) *Aleksandr Dzekun – ''Master i Margarita'' – 1989 (TV series) *Andras Szirtes – ''Forradalom Után'' – 1990 (film) *

Paul Bryers Paul Bryers (born 1 August 1955 in Liverpool) is a British film director, screenwriter and fiction author. Biography Paul Bryers studied Modern history, politics and economy at the University of Southampton. Later he joined the Daily Mirror� ...

– '' Incident in Judaea'' – 1991 (TV film) *Oldřich Daněk – ''Pilát Pontský, onoho dne'' – 1991 (film) * Yuri Kara – ''Master i Margarita'' – 1994 (film) *Sergey Desnitsky – ''Master i Margarita'' – 1996 (film) *

Vladimir Bortko Vladimir Vladimirovich Bortko (; 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 awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia. Biography Bort ...

– '' Master i Margarita'' – 2005 (TV series) *Ibolya Fekete – ''A Mester és Margarita'' – 2005 (film) *Giovanni Brancale – ''Il Maestro e Margherita'' – 2008 (film) * Scott Steindorff – ''The Master and Margarita'' – 2012 (film) *Rinat Timerkaev – ''Master i Margarita'' – 2012 (animated film)

References

External links

* {{The Master and Margarita 1972 television films Films based on The Master and Margarita German drama television films Films directed by Andrzej Wajda 1972 drama films Portrayals of Jesus on television 1970s German-language films ZDF original programming Films set in Moscow German-language drama films