The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov

The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov (German: Der Mörder Dimitri Karamasoff) is a 1931 German drama film directed by Erich Engels and Fedor Ozep, starring Fritz Kortner and Anna Sten. It tells the story of a lieutenant who is suspected of having murdered his father. The film is based on motifs from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov.^[2] A French version The Brothers Karamazov was produced separately.

The Murderer Dimitri Karamazov
Directed by	Erich Engels Fedor Ozep
Screenplay by	Erich Engels Leonhard Frank Fedor Ozep Victor Trivas
Based on	The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Produced by	Eugene Frenke
Starring	Fritz Kortner Anna Sten Fritz Rasp
Cinematography	Friedl Behn-Grund
Edited by	Fedor Ozep Hans von Passavant
Music by	Karol Rathaus Kurt Schröder
Production company	Terra Film
Distributed by	Terra Film
Release date	6 February 1931 (1931-02-06)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German
Budget	$100,000[1]
Box office	$2 million[1]

Cast

• Fritz Kortner as Dimitri Karamasoff
• Anna Sten as Gruschenka
• Fritz Rasp as Smerdjakoff
• Bernhard Minetti as Iwan Karamasoff
• Max Pohl as Fedor Karamasoff
• Hanna Waag as Katja
• Fritz Alberti as Gerichtspräsident
• Werner Hollmann as Der Pole
• Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel as Fenja

Production

The film was produced by Terra Film and shot at the company's Marienfelde Studios in Berlin. Filming took place from 22 October to 24 November 1930.^[2] The film's sets were designed by the art directors Heinrich Richter and Victor Trivas.

Reception

The British film critic Raymond Durgnat wrote in a 1993 article about Ozep for Film Dope: "The Karamazov film is a tour de force of stylistic eclecticism: expressionist acting (Kortner), dynamic angles, Russian editing, marathon tracking shots. It's a real showpiece of formalism geared to psycho-lyrical ends, exactly as Eisenstein intended, except that Dostoievskian soul-torments replace Leninist collectivism to which the 'official' montage-masters tuned their lyres."^[3]