We Live Again

Director: Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Mamoulian

Overview

We Live Again was based on Tolstoy's Resurrection; the title was changed upon producer Sam Goldwyn's theory that it meant the same thing as Resurrection and was easier to understand. The film was meant as an introductory showcase for Goldwyn's latest discovery, Russian actress Anna Sten. The story, much laundered from the Tolstoy original, depicts the downfall of a peasant girl who is seduced by a Russian prince (Fredric March). The once-callous nobleman tries to make amends for the hurt he has inflicted on the girl, who has wound up in prison for solicitation. The first American version of Resurrection, directed by D. W. Griffith, was made in 1909 and lasted ten minutes.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/03/2015
UPC:	0888574096205
Original Release:	1934
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:22:00
Sales rank:	52,567

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Fredric March	Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov
Anna Sten	Katusha Maslova
C. Aubrey Smith	Prince Kortchagin
Jane Baxter	Missy Kortchagin
Sam Jaffe	Gregory Simonson
Ethel Griffies	Aunt Maria
Gwendolyn Logan	Aunt Sophia
Mary Forbes	Mrs. Kortchagin
Jessie Ralph	Matrona Pavlovna
Leonid Kinskey	Simon Kartinkin
Dale Fuller	Yaphemia Batchkova
Morgan Wallace	Colonel
Davison Clark	Tikhon
Crauford Kent	Lt. Schonbock
Baron Hesse	Kortchagin's Butler
Cecil Cunningham	Theodosia
Jessie Arnold	Korbalova
Edgar Norton	Judge
Michael Visaroff	Judge
Fritzi Ridgeway	Redhead
Newton House	Aunt's Footman
Akin Dobrynin	Aunt's Coachman
Serge Temoff	Specialty Dancer
Halliwell Hobbes	Official
James Marcus	Peasant
Gilbert Clayton	Man in Church
Alex Kandyba	Deacon
Harry Cording	Jailer
John Ince	Official
George Burr MacAnnan	Shaved Prisoner
Jack Kenney	Guard
Theodore Lorch	Guard in Courtyard
Stanley Blystone	Guard in Cell
Budd Fine	Gendarme
Gordon DeMain	Jury Foreman
Harry Myers	Bailiff
Edwin Mordant	Juror
Richard Alexander	Warden
Anders Van Haden	Official
Tom Wilson	Guard
Edward Gargan	Warden's Assistant
Roger Gray	Jailer
Agnes Steele	Prison Matron

Technical Credits

Samuel Goldwyn	Producer
Rouben Mamoulian	Director

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- We Live Again
1. Chapter 1 [1:08]
2. Chapter 2 [1:13]
3. Chapter 3 [1:00]
4. Chapter 4 [3:07]
5. Chapter 5 [1:39]
6. Chapter 6 [3:03]
7. Chapter 7 [2:51]
8. Chapter 8 [5:30]
9. Chapter 9 [6:21]
10. Chapter 10 [4:42]
11. Chapter 11 [3:48]
12. Chapter 12 [2:39]
13. Chapter 13 [5:12]
14. Chapter 14 [2:02]
15. Chapter 15 [5:00]
16. Chapter 16 [3:39]
17. Chapter 17 [1:47]
18. Chapter 18 [3:10]
19. Chapter 19 [4:47]
20. Chapter 20 [4:35]
21. Chapter 21 [4:25]
22. Chapter 22 [3:34]
23. Chapter 23 [2:46]
24. Chapter 24 [3:53]

Menu

Disc #1 -- We Live Again
   Play Movie
   Chapters

Editorial Reviews

The name Anna Sten was something of a Hollywood in-joke for many years, as the Russian actress was given an enormous buildup by Sam Goldwyn, only to bomb in a very visible way. We Live Again was one of her very public flops, and her unfortunate reputation has tarnished that of the film over the years. In truth, both the film and the actress deserve better. We Live Again is certainly not a great adaptation of the classic Tolstoy novel, but as a piece of cinema, it works reasonably well. The story has been greatly condensed and bowdlerized, of course, and is told in strokes that are much too broad. But it's been given a sumptuous production, and while director Rouben Mamoulian is clearly off his form here, he still manages some impressive sequences (such as the lengthy Easter service and the segments involving the czar's ballerinas). Mamoulian may also be the victim of studio interference, as the choppy and awkward editing suggests that his vision did not make it to the screen intact. Sten acquits herself quite well. If she's not the Garbo that Goldwyn desperately wanted, she's also not the horror many have made her out to be. Though prone to overacting, she's also capable of holding things relatively in check, and she does have a definite "look." Fredric March tries hard and has some effective moments, but he's a little on the dull side. Overall, We Live Again is a fairly engrossing costume piece.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler