The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades (DVD) (*)

~~$28.99~~ $22.97

Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
91 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Black & White
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1949 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Thorold Dickinson

Written By:
Rodney Ackland
Arthur Boys

Actors:
Anton Walbrook ..... Capt. Herman Suvorin
Edith Evans ..... The Old Countess Ranevskaya
Yvonne Mitchell ..... Lizaveta Ivanova
Ronald Howard ..... Andrei
Mary Jerrold ..... Old Varvarushka
Anthony Dawson ..... Fyodor
Miles Malleson ..... Tchybukin
Michael Medwin ..... Hovaisky
Athene Seyler ..... Princess Ivashin
Ivor Barnard ..... Bookseller
Maroussia Dimitrevitch ..... Gypsy singer
Violetta Elvin ..... Gypsy dancer
Pauline Tennant ..... Young countess
Jacqueline Clarke ..... Milliner's assistant
Josef Ramart ..... Countess' lover (as Yusef Ramart)

Synopsis:

Based upon a short ghost story by celebrated Russian author Alexander Pushkin, The Queen Of Spades is legendary filmmaker Thorold Dickinson's most accomplished piece of work. Hailed by Martin Scorsese as an absolute masterpiece, The Queen Of Spades, stands up as a groundbreaking and unique example of the golden age of British filmmaking. Surreal, emotionally intense and genuinely creepy, The Queen Of Spades is an unforgettable experience that feasts the eyes with strange symbolism and haunts the mind with unease. Starring Anton Walbrook (The Red Shoes) and Dame Edith Evans (Scrooge, Tom Jones) it remains an atmospheric and macabre classic like no other. An army officer has become obsessed with playing cards. Convinced that an elderly countess possesses the secret of winning every game, the young officer's obsession leads him into a satanic world of madness, mayhem and murder where death is only the beginning.

A supernatural tale based on a short story by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, this is the portrayal of a poor Captain in the Russian army in the nineteenth Century. His comrades in arms play cards nightly, but he cannot afford to join them until one night he dreams that he has gained from a mysterious aging countess her secret for winning at faro--a secret which legend has it she has sold her soul to obtain. This story has been filmed at least a dozen times, but this is by far the best version. Eight of the versions were silent films and another version was done as recently as 1965. A period piece, the settings and costumes are superb.

An elderly countess strikes a bargain with the devil and exchanges her soul for the ability to always win at cards. An army officer, who is also a fanatic about cards, murders her for the secret, then finds himself haunted by the woman's spirit.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 26 February, 2010.

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