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A THROW OF DICE (Prapancha Pash)
Franz Osten, Germany/UK, 1929; 80 min. NY Premiere. |
Synopsis:
The digitally restored Indian silent classic of Franz Osten's stunningly beautiful 'A Throw of Dice' from 1929, features a new soundtrack score by British Asian composer Nitin Sawhney performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Based on the pivotal gambling episode from the Mahabharata 'A Throw of Dice' is the story of Ranjit and the nefarious Sohan, two kings with a passion for gambling and the same woman, Sunita. The film is the third in Osten's Indian trilogy that started with the acclaimed "Light of Asia" of 1926, and features the great Indian film pioneer Himansu Rai (as King Sohan), who along with his wife Devika Rani, trained at the German studio UFA in the early years of Indian cinema. With Charu Roy, Seeta Devi. |
Director: Franz Osten Ostermayr in Munich in 1876, Franz Osten trained to be a photographer like his father and was also an actor. In 1907, he founded a traveling cinema -"Original Physograph Company" with his brother Peter Ostermayr, who later established the predecessor to Bavaria Film Studios, today one of Germany's largest film studios.
Before World War One broke out Osten directed his first feature Erna Valeska (1911) After the war he made peasant dramas like The War of the Oxen and Chain of Guilt for EMELKA in Munich. Franz Osten's silent films tell a variety of Indian stories. The Light of Asia (1926) dealt with the life of Buddha. Shiraz (1928) dramatizes the events that led to the construction of the Taj Mahal. A Throw of Dice (1929) was based on myths and legends drawn from the Indian epic Mahabharata. His 1936 movie, Achhut Kanya (Untouchable Girl) starred Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani and was a pioneering film dealing with social justice in India. |
Screening Venue:
The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Friday, November 7 at 6 PM.
Tickets for Jazz at Lincoln Center
Tribeca Cinemas 1. Saturday, November 8 at 9 PM.
Tickets for Tribeca Cinemas
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