Synopsis
Foreword: “The Kidnapping of the Maidens” is not just a tour de force. Its creators understood that in addition to bang-bangs and horse trotters, viewers also look for people in the stories they see. And the people in the movie are not portrayed singularly, but reveal themselves through the tensions, desires and actions they make towards each other – rules of good screenwriting practice, sadly too little heeded in movies of the time. (cinepub.ro)
Directed by: Dinu Cocea
Script: Eugen Barbu, Mihai Opriş, Dinu Cocea
Cast: Emanoil Petruț, Marga Barbu, George Constantin, Toma Caragiu, Olga Tudorache, Gheorghe Ionescu Gion, Florin Scărlătescu, Tanți Cocea, Alexandru Giugaru, Colea Răutu, Marian Hudac, Mihai Pălădescu, Ileana Gurgulescu, Jean Constantin, Elena Caragiu, Draga Olteanu Matei, Telly Barbu, Aimée Iacobescu, Lucia Boga, Marin Moraru, Constantin Guriță, Ernest Maftei
Producer: Bucharest Film Studios
Cinematography by: George Voicu
Edited by: Adina Codrescu
Sound: Siliu Camil
Music: Mircea Istrate
Year: 1968
Category: Feature film
Genre: Adventure, History
Duration: 87 minutes
53,933 – Cinepub viewers
PLOT SUMMARY
At the beginning of the 19th century, through a tacit agreement with Mrs. Haricleea (Olga Tudorache), who wants to unseat her husband from the throne, the gangs of Pazvanoglu (George Constantin), Pasha of Vidin, ruthlessly attack villages, kidnapping girls. Haricleea sends her son to a monastery, but Amza’s (Emanoil Petruț) hajduks kidnap him in exchange for a halt to the looting. While the hajduks are chasing a nobleman, who wants to flee the country with his fortune, Pazvanoglu attacks again. In turn, the hajduks, aided by Anița (Marga Barbu), break into the Pasha’s palace and free the girls. In the chaos, Hariclea’s son is killed.
AWARDS:
- 1971 – ACIN – Best Actress Award (Marga Barbu)
- 1971 – ACIN – Screenplay Award (Eugen Barbu)
- 1971 – ACIN – Costume Design Award (Hortensia Georgescu)
CRITICAL REVIEWS:
“In the areas surrounding the «national epic» a production is developing which, without renouncing educational values, emphasizes entertainment and takes up the methods of the film of cloak and dagger, coloring it with national dyes. The most significant title is «The Outlaws», a very popular series, telling the story of the bravery of the Wallachian «pardaillani», musketeers in yachts and vigilantes on their own, who “take from the rich to give to the poor”, put the fear of the rich in the hands of the poor, and then retire to the woods, leaving behind legends, women’s crying eyes, echoes of their parties with the pipers and their philosophy of the time of rest: «let everyone live, only we must not die!»” – Ecaterina Oproiu
“The Kidnapping of the Maidens” triggers an incursion of the hajduks into the underground of the Turkish fortress, while the confrontation between Amza and Pazvanoglu reaches its climax. The second episode of «The Outlaws» (in which Besoiu arbitrarily passes the role to Petruț) takes the form of a court intrigue dominated by the lust for gold and the thirst for greatness. Cocea and Barbu hesitate in their films between the formula of the cloak and dagger and that of the popular comedy full of snobbish and witty remarks. In this case, they prefer a picturesque tableau of manners, a pretext for religious processions and puppet panoramas, ancient wedding customs and rites of passage to Mohammedanism, visits to the palaces of Hangerli and the Pashas of Vidin. Unlike the first part, the movie no longer contains drama, just adventures. What’s worse is that it’s endowed with dialog of crypto-literary ambition in which even a reigning idiot nebbish expresses himself thus: «He is not my father! In me his blood does not hatch… » The presence of Olga Tudorache is remarkable. The movie brought 5,300,000 spectators.” – Tudor Caranfil
Film critic and journalist Călin Căliman has characterized the films in this series of hajduks as having an “attractive and well-articulated plot”, folkloric motifs and picturesque characters. Anița, played by Marga Barbu, is compared by the critic to a “marchioness of the hajduks” by analogy with the “marchioness of angels”, a famous French film character of the time.
“It’s clear that in the case of «The Kidnapping of the Maidens», the production budget was utilized with forethought and not smashed into megalomaniacal delirium. It’s pulpy like Robert Aldrich’s films, it takes into account the tragic and dramatic mores of the universal canon and, perhaps most importantly, along with «The Eruption» (1957, dir. Liviu Ciulei), about which I wrote here, it invites a study of sexuality represented in local film.” – Emil Vasilache (cinepub.ro)
“For one reason or another, the movie reminded me of the much-awarded Egyptian director Youssef Chahine; see, for example, ‘Earth’ (1969) and I think you’ll understand why.” – Emil Vasilache (cinepub.ro)
TRIVIA:
- The film was a great success among the spectators, having been seen by almost 5 and a half million people in Romanian cinemas, as shown by a situation of the number of spectators recorded by Romanian films from the date of premiere until 31.12.2007, compiled by the National Center of Cinematography.
- Actress Marga Barbu graduated from the Bucharest Theater Institute in 1950. She made her film debut in 1953 (“Nepoții gornistului”, directed by Dinu Negreanu), but became known in particular for her roles as Anița in “The Outlaws” series and Agatha Slătineanu in the “Mărgelatu” series, as well as for her composition role in “Miss Aurica” (directed by Șerban Marinescu, 1986), for which she was awarded the ACIN Prize.
- At the beginning of the 1980s, Dinu Cocea came into conflict with the communist authorities of the time after they completely censored his movie “Pe apa sâmbetei”, considered subversive for the regime, as it dealt with the serious mistakes of the responsible parties during the communist years in connection with the construction of a dam on the Argeș river. Dinu Cocea’s fall from grace occurred entirely after his wife Elena and daughter Ioana left the country at the end of 1981. There followed long series of demands for family reunification and contradictory discussions with the authorities, including threats of protests and hunger strikes by the director – who was kicked out of everywhere and banned from appearing in public – culminating in the intervention of international human rights authorities. Dinu Cocea was finally given the go-ahead to leave Romania for good, settling in Paris in 1986, where he worked in French television and the press. After the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, he returned to his homeland, took part in various cultural events and, after a hard struggle with the new authorities, in 2007 he also recovered a property confiscated by the communists (a valuable house in the center of the capital).
LINES:
“Heathens… tell Pazvanoglu that if he ever sets foot in Wallachia again, I swear on the souls of my dead that he will perish by my hand.” – Amza (Emanoil Petruț)
“You wait for the plague on your heads and then say, ‘The Lord has given!'” – Amza (Emanoil Petruț)
“I needed a hajduk… I found an hajduk!” – Anița (Marga Barbu)
“Even Napoleon never thought he would be what he is today!” – Maillard (Mihai Pălădescu)
“Hazard… in this world you can acquire anything.” – Pazvanoglu (George Constantin)
“Cut, hang, take! The only words that I learned.” – King Hangerli (Gheorghe Ionescu Gion)
“You feed your serfs and animals badly in Wallachia!” – Mrs. Haricleea (Olga Tudorache)
“Stop worshiping. Believe first!” – Mrs. Haricleea (Olga Tudorache)
“I feel that this land doesn’t want us. We think we are strong because we have the power. A delusion!” – King Hangerli (Gheorghe Ionescu Gion)
“And as for the warriors of the boyars… leave them to me, Your Highness! I’ll find them and give them to you in atonement.” – Mrs. Haricleea (Olga Tudorache)
“Kill, Lord, the usurper! Give him a fitting death and save me!” – Hrisanti (Marian Hudac)
“Be brother to the devil till you cross the bridge.” – Maillard (Mihai Pălădescu)
“The devil with whom I became brother is a woman!” – Pazvanoglu (George Constantin)
“My reign was short and short-lived. The country is a desert. My luck – a well without water.” – King Hangerli (George Ionescu Gion)
“My vengeance has grown thirsty.” – King Hangerli (Gheorghe Ionescu Gion)
“Easter and Christmas are over for you. Now the Mohammedan religion begins.(…) Your name from now on will be Mustafa” – Man in the service of Passover
“Death forgives no one.” – Mrs. Haricleea (Olga Tudorache)
“Death always comes too soon, My Lord. Pray.” – Mrs. Haricleea (Olga Tudorache)
ARTICLES:
- The Kidnapping of the Maidens (1968) – istoriafilmuluiromanesc.ro
- Folkloric motifs and picturesque characters in the movie “The Kidnapping of the Maidens” – tvr.ro
- Marga Barbu, a “marchioness of the hajduks” in the movie “The Kidnapping of the Maidens” – jurnalul.ro
- Dinu Cocea – the father of the Romanian hiaduk movies – independentaromana.ro
- Behind the scenes of cinematography. How director Dinu Cocea, a former lieutenant colonel in the Home Office, fell into the disgrace of the communist regime – adevarul.ro
- A personality a day: actress Tanți Cocea – agerpres.ro