“The picture The Idiot, which is the latest release from the firm's own film studio, should be regarded as an illustration of Dostoyevsky's work of the same name. As experience of naturalistic theatre has shown, Dostoevskii, whose every line amounts to a profound psychological observation, is unsuited for the stage, and any dramatic adaptation of his novels should be seen as no more than an illustration of his work. This is what the Moscow Arts Theatre had in mind when staging The Brothers Karamazov, and this is what the firm has in mind in releasing The Idiot. All that could possibly have been done to give a true representation of the characters has been done. From the technical point of view the picture is irreproachable. “
Source : Sine Fono, 1910, No. 6, 11-1912 publié dans Testimoni silenziosi, Film russi 1908-1919, Edizioni Biblioteka Dell’imagine, 1989
“The following pictures were filmed in Krylatskoye this summer: The Pedlars, based on the folk-song by Nekrasov, Second Youth, based on the theatre production, Vadim and Masquerade adapted for screen from Lermontov, The Queen of Spades from the work by Pushkin, and The Idiot from the Dostoevskii novel. These works have not been dramatized in full. The most effective scenes from them were selected, without too much thought being given to the sense link between them, probably in the hope that the viewers are bound to be familiar with such popular works of Russian literature. The pictures were filmed entirely in Krylatskoye without any final shots in the Moscow workshop with its sunbaked windows, since we had everything there that was needed: a forest, a river, a meadow and fields, as well as buildings of all kinds and styles, from the poorest peasant hovel up to and including grand summer houses. The only shortcoming of filming in such conditions was that we were constantly surrounded by curious onlookers: the cameraman and actors only had to appear so¬mewhere for all sorts of folk to start gathering round. Cinema discipline, however, was maintained. The gathering of the curious took place behind the camera. During the actual filming they would quietly share their impressions; it was only during the most intensely emotional moments that the audience could not restrain it¬self and gave voice to both their delight and their outrage. The actors likewise gave voice to their feelings, and the stronger these feelings were the louder they burst forth from the breast of the performer. “
Source A. Khanzhonkov. 1937-1 Pervye gody ruskoi kinematografii (First years of Russian cinema), Moscow, 1937, extrait publié dans Testimoni silenziosi, Film russi 1908-1919, Edizioni Biblioteka Dell’imagine, 1989
