On September 1, 1912, the premiere of the first Romanian historical film took place in Bucharest. It was considered a European masterpiece, being one of the first feature films in the true sense of the word. Furthermore, the film has survived to this day and can still be viewed today.
Scene from the movie “Independence of Romania” 1912 PHOTO wikipedia
On September 1, 1912, at the Eforie cinema in Bucharest, the premiere of the film “Independence of Romania”, the first feature film in the history of Romanian cinema and also the first Romanian historical film, took place. The success of this two-hour film was incredible. For 22 days without interruption, the film ran at the Eforie cinema. After that at “Gloria”, but also at “Castel cu Flori”. The following year, the film ran at “Rahova”, “Basarab”, but also at “Marconi”, “Grădina Blanduziei”, “Arenele Romane” and “Gioconda”. It is an absolute success. Including internationally. The film “Independence of Romania” was also shown in cinemas in France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Germany, Russia and England. It was also seen in the famous Parisian cinemas. “A prodigious work made in Romania by the artists and directors of the Bucharest Art Film Society”, headline of the French magazine “Cine-Journal” in the summer of 1912. For its part, the famous magazine “Figaro” wrote at that time that “the production is dizzying, marking an era in cinematography”. In short, fthe film “Independence of Romania” was the most daring European cinematographic project of that period.
A far too daring idea in a pioneering era of cinematography
“Romanian Independence” aimed to evoke the events of the War of Independence, from the year 1877-1878, which took place only 35 years before the making of the film. It was an ambitious project for the technical possibilities of the time, considering that cinematography was still in its infancy In 1912, the European productions of the time, especially the French, British and Italian ones, focused mainly on love stories or dramas, inspired by famous works, such as “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo or Shakespearean plays with a moderate dynamic, that is, a film lasted a maximum of 45 minutes. Only in the United States, there were films that reached 60 minutes, eloquently, Romanians, although inexperienced in the field of cinema, wanted a longer project more than daring for the time, crazy for some. That is, to make a very dynamic film, with many extras, costumes, fight scenes and lasting two hours. In addition, they were referring to relatively recent events experienced by many among the potential viewers, so the impression of realism had to be high. The idea would have come to the Romanian actor Constantin Nottara. At least that’s what the “Rampa” magazine was revealing since the end of 1911. “Maestrul Nottara is about to do a patriotic work by recreating Romania’s War of Independence, through a film, so that today’s generations will learn the history of the struggles from 1877″, wrote the journalists from that publication.
“Independence of Romania” PHOTO wikipedia
In fact, from the same year a Cinematographic Society of National Theater Actors had already been established, among which were Constantin Nottara, in charge of finding actors for the cast, Petre Liciu-set designer, Aristide Demetriade-director, but also Vasile Toneanu, Nicolae Șoreanu and Iancu Brezean. The company received the name, at that time, “The film of the war for independence”. To make the film, society members asked for money from the Ministry of War. They granted them the requested subsidy, but also financially, to support the film, the Royal House of Romania also got involved. And this under the conditions in which the sovereigns would appear in the film. Leon Popescu would in turn join the production team with a substantial amount. In total, the amount at stake for the making of the film was 400,000 lei. Even with that consistent funding, plus the support of the Romanian Army for the set and the war scenes, making this production was a huge challenge in the era. It required a lot of work on the script, perfect timing for the action scenes, especially since the film materials were expensive and they could not afford endless doubles. In addition, quality equipment had to be brought in, plus people who knew how to operate it. In Romania, they didn’t really exist.
In the throes of production. The army had the last word
Things got complicated especially after the screenwriter and actor Petre Liciu got sick and died. He was considered a man of extraordinary culture, “the most cultured of our actors”, wrote Nicolae Iorga. After writing about half of the script, Petre Liciu suffered a kidney attack and died on April 1, 1912. The script was continued by Constantin Nottara, but also by Aristide Demetriade. The latter, as it appears from the documents of the time, was also the director of the film. However, Demetriade had to blindly listen to the officers of the Romanian Army, for the battle scenes , of the marches, of troop movements were made only by the military delegates, i.e. Captain Tomită Dumitrescu, Lieutenant Colonel Scarlătescu and Lieutenant Aslan. Obviously, soldiers who had actually participated in the battles at Plevna and Grivița were also co-opted at the battle scenes. from 35 years ago Demetriades expressed his displeasure a few times, especially that the cazon style robbed from the verisimilitude of certain scenes, plus some extra soldiers looked directly into the camera.
“Independence of Romania” PHOTO wikipedia
“Better to keep quiet than to have an indecency”Demetriades wrote to Nottara. Filming took place in the Cotroceni district, where the Royal Palace was also located, on a set set, but also in Otopeni – the battle scenes – plus in the field, in Măcin. The name of the operator is quite controversial. Specialists say that the one who operated the camera was the Frenchman Franck Daniau-Johnston, assisted by another, unknown second operator. In fact, Grigore Brezeanu and Leon Popescu, from the production team, went to Paris to bring the operator. plus two “Prevost” cameras. A Frenchwoman, Paula Cambon, allegedly edited the film. The cast of the film included famous actors of the period. N. Bulandra played Colonel Cerchez, Vârgolici played Ion C. Brătianu, Constantin Nottara played Osman Paşa, Aristide Demetriade played Carol I, and his wife, Constanța, played Mrs. Elisabeta. Peneș Curcanul was performed by Aurel Athanasescu, and Rodica by Jeni Metaxa-Doro. There were also incidents. For example, Athanasescu, who played the famous Peneș the Turkey, would have shot himself with a pair of pistols right on the set. However, the incident was not serious, and the actor quickly returned to work.
A patriotic story in which real events intertwine with legends
Filming began in February 1912 and was completed on May 20, 1912. However, the premiere was scheduled for September 1 to allow time for editing and the removal of certain scenes. The reasons were various, from the soldiers who were pretending and actually looking insistently at the camera, or to the acting of the actors which was not to the liking of the director. In any case, the film “Independence of Romania”, in its final version, presented at the premiere at the Eforie cinema, presented the story of the battles fought by the Romanian army in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, with an emphasis on the battles of Grivița and Plevna . The real events were dressed in patriotic legends from Vasile Alecsandri’s poems about Peneș Curcanul and his wife, Rodica, “Cei nua si cu sergentul zece” and many others.
The film begins, by the way, with a village, celebratory party. The village chorus is interrupted by the mobilization order and the characters of Alecsandri’s patriotic poems go to war. Including Peneș. The scenes where the Russians are repulsed and ask for help from the Romanians, the crossing of the Danube and the battles at Plevna and Grivița are captured. Queen Elizabeth is captured dispensing advice and decorations to the wounded, and King Charles I at various glorious moments of the campaign. The film ends with a real parade, organized on May 10, 1912 in Bucharest, in honor of the campaign in Bulgaria. The film has the inaccuracies of the era, but for the time it was considered a great achievement. The name was kept at ANF
