''Resurrection'' is a 1909 American silent

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

made by the

Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to Filmmaking, film production an ...

. It is based on

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's 1899 novel ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

''. Adapted for the screen by

Frank E. Woods Frank E. Woods (1860 – May 1, 1939) was an American screenwriter of the silent era. He wrote for 90 films from 1908 to 1925. He first became a writer with the Biograph Company. Woods was also a pioneering film reviewer. As a writer, his contrib ...

, it was directed by

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

and stars several pioneering legends of American cinema such as Arthur V. Johnson,

Florence Lawrence Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was long thought to be the first film act ...

, Marion Leonard,

Owen Moore Owen Moore (12 December 1886 – 9 June 1939) was an Irish people, Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937. Early life and career Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. A ...

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

, and Linda Arvidson, who was Griffith's first wife.

Cast

* Arthur V. Johnson - Prince Dmitri *

- Katusha * Marion Leonard - A Prisoner *

- At Court/At Prison *

- At Court/A Guard/At Inn * Clara T. Bracy - * Charles Avery

Plot

The subject opens with the return home of Prince Dimitri. who meets the maid Katusha. a little peasant girl, and is instantly charmed with her beauty. Young, artless and innocent, as pretty as a rose, she unwittingly fascinates the prince. His noble bearing likewise impresses her, and his little attentions flatter her, until at length she is unable to resist his advances. The poor girl is meted the usual fate. An alliance is out of the question. The disparity of their ranks even forbids it. and soon the prince must cast her aside. Five years later we find that the girl, who is now a loathsome sight, has learned the bitter lesson of the eternal truth, "The wages of sin is death." It is death to the soul at all events. She has gone down to the lowest depths and is arrested in a low Russian tavern. As she is carried to the tribunal she passes Prince Dimitri, who now sees the terrible result of his sins. He grows repentant and attempts to plead her cause before the jury, but they are a callous lot and pay no attention to the arguments for nor against, and by force of habit vote to send her to Siberia. She is dragged out to the pen of detention and herded with a lot of poor unfortunates, who scarcely bear any resemblance to human beings. The repentant prince determines to give up his life to right the wrong he has done, and visits her here with a view of turning her now vicious nature, handing her a copy of the Bible. She does not recognize him at first, but when she does she flies into fury, beating his body and face with her fists and the book. He leaves her and she sits moodily on the bench with the book on her lap. Shortly she turns its pages and her eyes fall on the passage (John 11:25), "And Jesus said unto her. I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall be live." In an instant her whole being changes. There is hope for her salvation, and she reads on. The guards arrive and we next see her with the poor unfortunates trudging over the snow-clad steppes toward the goal from whence few return. She becomes the ministering angel, sharing her comforts with them. The prince, meanwhile, has secured her pardon and hastens after her. Giving her the welcome notice, he begs her to return with him as his wife. However, she prefers to work out her salvation helping those poor souls to whom a kindness is an indescribable blessing, and bidding him farewell, she renounces the world for the path of duty, so we leave her kneeling on the snow at the foot of the Holy Cross.The Moving Picture World (Jan-Jun 1909) p. 642
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References

External links

*
''Resurrection''
available for free download a
Internet Archive
{{Authority control 1909 films 1909 drama films 1909 short films 1900s American films American black-and-white films Articles containing video clips Biograph Company films Films based on Resurrection Short films directed by D. W. Griffith Films set in Russia Films with screenplays by Frank E. Woods Silent American drama short films Surviving American silent films