ravished armenia ( film )
film posters and stills from ravished armenia courtesy of the armenian genocide museum - institute .
the evening will consist of a screening of oscar apfel' s ravished armenia (1919), followed by a lecture about the film with author and film historian anthony slide. the evening will also include a book signing of the book, ravished armenia and the story of aurora mardiganian .
ravished armenia, full title ravished armenia; the story of aurora mardiganian, the christian girl, who survived the great massacres is a book written in 1918 by arshaluys (aurora) mardiganian about her experiences in the armenian genocide .
query one: has anyone encountered this black and white “ravished armenia” image in any other contemporary magazine? (not newspapers. )
[ 24 ] urltoken; words = ravished + armenia + ravished the late lindy v. avakian in his “the cross and the crescent” (1965), which is full of photographic reproductions, used a crucifixion still from the “ravished armenia” film on the back cover of his paperback. the source is not given; whether he got it from contemporary ads is not known .
video jacket of an early ‘release’ of the film fragment of “ravished armenia. ” upon inquiry, the original source was not, or could not be disclosed, by the vendor .
the first film about the genocide of armenians was shot in 1918, three years after the bloody events. documentary shots were used in the film of american film director oscar apfel “ravished armenia. armenian survivor aurora (arshaluys) mardiganian, who plays herself in the film, tells about armenian genocide by the ottoman empire .
massis post – abril bookstore’s armenian film society will present a screening of ravished armenia, with a special lecture by film historian, anthony slide and book signing reception on friday, april 1, at abril bookstore in glendale, ca .
ravished armenia is a case example of early re - enactments of human suffering captured on film specifically for the purposes of promoting humanitarian action. but it was not the last time an eyewitness to genocide would be involved in a film about the event .
here are several films that were finished in 2015; they have already been demonstrated in armenia and at different film festivals .
because originals of the initial edition of ravished armenia are not readily available, we present for easy reading, in full, a re - typed version of that foreword as an appendix at the end of this paper. [ 26 ] this foreword certainly adds a more personal face to the “ravished armenia” scenario story .
[ 33 ] aurora mardiganian, ravished armenia (astoria, n. y. : j. c. & a. l. fawcett, 1990) .
in anthony slide’s book there is a copy of the title page of the first edition of the book (freshly re - set in type – not a photo reproduction of the page). it is simply entitled “ravished armenia. ” the subsequent american printing states ‘ravished armenia” or “the auction of souls” (see fig. 12) .
[ 30 ] anthony slide, ravished armenia and the story of aurora mardiganian, filmmakers series no. 57; (lanham, md: scarecrow press, 1997) .
title page of the initial american edition of ravished armenia released late 1918. access to the copy from which this scan was made is courtesy of the apkarian and russell archives .
torchin, l. “ravished armenia: visual media, humanitarian advocacy, and the formation of witnessing publics”. american anthropologist 108. 1 (2006): 214 - 220 .
the first semi - official notice that the film “ravished armenia” was about to be released appeared in the news bulletin of the american committee for armenian and syrian relief in its november 1918 issue (volume 2 no. 6). it reads :
title page and frontispiece photograph from the ‘1918’ (‘first’ edition of “ravished armenia”). access to the copy from which this scan was made is courtesy of the apkarian and russell archives .
filmed without the intervention of major studios, “ravished armenia” was shown in thirteen us states, as well as several latin american countries, france, and great britain. a significant portion of the revenue from the film was donated to survivors of the genocide. sadly, since its initial release most copies of “ravished armenia” have been lost. it was only recently that a fifteen minute segment was found in argentina and spread widely over the internet .
the english edition title page shown above further states formerly printed in america for private distribution only as “ravished armenia. ” but that statement presents yet another problem. the ‘second’ us edition printed in 1919 title page states “ravished armenia” or “auction of souls” etc. (see fig. 12 for the title page to the 1919 us edition. nora waln is credited for her foreword. )
in 1918, the book “ravished armenia” based on her story was published in usa. then, by the plot of this book, the first feature film about the armenian genocide was produced in hollywood, where she came up as a screenwriter and actress .
query two: does anyone know anything more about two possible ‘screenplays’ for “ravished armenia”? is it realistic to entertain a notion that there might be two re - discovered film fragments, one retrieved from some place or other in armenia by eduardo kozanlian and another possibly by richard kloian? they might be somewhat different, or ordered differently and thus could be utilized to reconstruct a bit more of the film. [ 29 ]
a hollywood film based on it was filmed in 1919 under the title auction of souls (which also became to be known as ravished armenia, based on the book it was adapted from). all known complete copies of the film have since been lost, but mardiganian' s account is still in print. [ 1 ]
[ 32 ] while visiting pamela apkarian - russell and her husband christopher russell the subject of the film and book “ravished armenia” came up. this discussion unexpectedly led to our seeing and examining and scanning images from their hitherto unknown to us copy of this rare book .
it is to be hoped that additional fragments, even all of the movie “ravished armenia / auction of souls” will be found. years ago, we embarked on a fruitless effort to track down the film after encountering what seemed an unlikely (and hence enticing) reference to “ravished armenia” made on pg. 545 in volume 2 of richard hovannisian’s the republic of armenia. from versailles to london, 1919 - 1920. as it turned out no film was to be found among the british archival materials referred to. apparently there never was any film with the materials, i. e. it was not ‘lost. ’ undoubtedly, many individuals have sought to locate the film, following many leads. the quest should never end so far as we are concerned .
glendale, ca – abril bookstore’s armenian film society will present a screening of ravished armenia, with a special lecture by film historian, anthony slide and book signing reception on friday, april 1, 2016 at 7: 30pm at abril bookstore – 415 e. broadway, glendale, ca. admission is free. reception to follow .
republic of armenia yerevan 25, alex manukyan 5 tel. 00 37410 570970 fax 00 37412 570007
what emerges from the legacy of ravished armenia is a lesson about the potential for dramatizations of genocide and mass atrocities to both inspire public action and yet continue the dehumanization of victims in a very gendered way .
throughout his various business ventures, including building the world’s largest hotel several times over, investing in film production companies and claiming a stake in the american auto industry, kerkorian gave over $ 1 billion in charity to armenia through the lincy foundation helping to rebuild northern armenia after the devastating 1988 spitak earthquake, renovating cultural institutions and financing the highway connecting armenia to nagorno - karabakh .
let’s back up a few decades - this isn’t the first time a film has been made about the armenian genocide. there’s been “ravished armenia” (1919), “ararat” (2002) and fatih akin’s “the cut” (2014). there was also elia kazan’s classic, “america, america, ” (1963 )
scan of a rare softbound / paperback edition of ravished armenia with aurora mardiganian on it. this is from the ‘1918’ first edition. access to the copy from which this scan was made is courtesy of the apkarian and russell archives .
( 2009) a noventa años de “armenia violada”y “subasta de almas. ” march 4: p. 8 .
we never deliberately sought out a copy of the first edition of the book “ravished armenia. ” this is because we thought we had access to one in the form of a paperback reprint put out in 1990 by fawcett. [ 33 ]
over time, copies of the film were lost, destroyed or deteriorated — not an untypical fate for the films of that era. no known remaining full copy exists today. and the history books on the early silent - film era have mostly ignored “ravished armenia / auction of souls. ” what had been a pioneering movie attended by many influential persons is now mostly ignored. however, it has not fallen into total obscurity: canadian - armenian film - maker atom egoyan and armenian genocide scholars continue to search for missing footage of this landmark film .
the film is now mostly lost; the original film, which was originally nine reels and approximately 90 minutes in length, now exists as a 24 - minute film that was restored and edited by the armenian genocide resource center of northern california. this version is based on a rare surviving reel of the film .
armenia is not one of the most advanced countries in the movie industry and it does not tend to develop. the point is that there is no cinematography law in armenia and it has no state film studio either. the stake is mainly placed on small private studios and on joint production with foreign companies .
the film ravished armenia (known as auction of souls in the uk) starring a real - life refugee aurora madriganian playing her then 16 year old self was released in 1919. it was directed by hollywood figure oscar apfel, produced by colonel william selig, with acasr - ner publicity secretary nora waln as the screenwriter .
“long return (film director shavarsh vardanyan) is a film about love of the french doctor and a girl from artsakh against the background of the karabakh war .
as such, these images in particular are the icon associated with the film .
. he is the host and producer of the arthur lyons film noir festival in palm springs, california, and director - treasurer of the film noir foundation .
fig. 4a fremiet’s “gorille” from l’ art, revue bi - mensuelle illustrée volume 42 (1887) pg. 79; fig. 4b, reproduction of a movie marquee poster entitled “ravished armenia” – perhaps more than one was released. [ 21 ]
while the complete film itself may be missing, the text of the sub - titles survives, along with some stills and fragments of the movie. the armenian genocide museum in yerevan, armenia has an important section of its exhibition devoted to aurora mardiganian, her memoirs and the film .
some time back we bought by mail a vhs video tape copy of the re - discovered 15 minutes - long segment of the film “ravished armenia” from an armenian - run bookstore in los angeles. the case had a color copy of the poster adorning it, along with a write - up stating a bit about the film. notice was given on the back jacket of the remarkable sleuthing of eduardo kozanlian of buenos aires, argentina and his role in retrieving it from some place or other in armenia. [ 12 ] (see fig. 3) .
in what follows, we seek to place some of the “ravished armenia” materials such as the “ravished armenia” movie marquee poster in a more human - interest context, as well as to provide readers with some overlooked citations to the literature relevant to a better understanding of the poster. last but not least, we wish to raise a few questions that readers might be able to answer. there is undoubtedly much information that is available in private hands. it is hoped that this communication will allow some additional insights or materials to emerge .
“ravished armenia” was the first of a number of films of carrying length made or sponsored by the committee (s). regular and irregular news bulletins, magazines, and brochures of varying size were issued. in short, every conceivable approach was invoked. [ 8 ]
parenthetically, the foreword (re - typed) is also published in anthony slide’s work “ravished armenia…” on pgs. 27 - 31. it may again be found re - typed in the 1990 reprinting (not facsimile) by fawcett; in that reprint – the foreword pages are unnumbered .
an amusing anecdote about nora waln in connection with “ravished armenia” appeared in the new - york tribune february 19, 1919 pg. 18. it reads: “miss nora waln is a philadelphia girl. moreover, she is publicity secretary for the committee directing the $ 30, 000, 000 campaign for armenian relief. after giving a newspaper reporter some information about the propaganda film play, “ravished armenia” (she wrote the scenario) a few days ago, miss waln said to the departing young man: “thank thee for coming. ” “thou art some kidder, ” returned the reporter, and would have said more had not h. f. hancock who is handling the film’s publicity dragged him into the hall whispering, “nix, nix; the lady’s a quaker. ”
the film was first screened in london under the title auction of souls and in 1920 was shown twice daily for three weeks at the royal albert hall to obtain support for the protection of national minorities. [ 10 ] this showing of the film, which contains depictions of the flogging of women and their nude crucifixion, was authorized with cuts to five scenes that had been agreed to by the film producers without the film' s formal submission to the british board of film censors, which never certified the film for general viewing in the united kingdom. [ 10 ]
the film “the silence of vardapet (film director vigen chaldranyan) tells about last years of life of komitas, when a composer, who witnessed crimes of 1915, assumed vow of silence .
“the last resident (film director jivan avetisyan) is about the residents of a village, who were dispelled from it as a result of the karabakh war. the film presents human tragedies .
her book - length account, initially titled “ravished armenia: the story of aurora mardiganian — the christian girl who lived through the great massacres, ” was serialized in the hearst newspapers and later published as a book in 1918. there were several editions, with over 300, 000 copies eventually sold .
, survive today. as its film reels perished, so too would the public’s memory of the starving armenians. but hollywood does not soon forget box - office numbers; and the vast success of ravished was still fresh in studio minds when franz werfel’s novel ,
the armenian film society is a monthly event that meets on the first friday of each month at abril bookstore. lead by armen and mary karaoghlanian, the evenings will be composed predominantly of film screenings and discussions, with occasional lectures, workshops, classes, and other types of activities relating to film with an element of armenian culture and / or involvement. the purpose of the film society is to bring together people of all backgrounds and expose them to the rich cinema of armenia, as well as talented filmmakers with an armenian background .
yet another critical reference missing from ms. karlins’ note is an insightful article by leshu torchin entitled “ravished armenia: visual media, humanitarian advocacy, and the formation of witnessing publics” american anthropologist 108, march 2006 pgs. 214 - 220. [ 22 ] dr. torchin states “ravished armenia is a significant case, not for its technical excellence – indeed, it received little more than tepid reviews and its success beyond the ner fundraising campaign is uncertain – but as an example of the convergence of international humanitarian activism and entertainment practices at the turn of the 20 th century” (cf. torchin 2006 pg. 214. )
the american film institute catalog says that “the film’s working titles were ravished armenia and armenia crucified. it may also have been known as an armenian crucifixion (see afi catalog of feature films, 1911 - 1920; f1. 0146). the film opened originally in various cities at $ 10 a seat, the proceeds going to the committee for relief of the near east and the armenian war relief association. sources disagree concerning the scenarist. records from the selig collection credit frederic chopin (sic, read chapin), while publicity pamphlets produced by the armenian war relief association credit both chopin [ chapin ] and nora waln, a member of the committee. shots representing mt. ararat were actually filmed at mt. baldy, ca. ” [ 31 ]
in the early days of cinema, film for humanitarian action was sidelined by the desire to entertain .
in an interview with deadline, esrailian talked about executing the film after kerkorian passed away in 2015 .
it should be noted that the international avrora prize has been set up in armenia and it will be awarded to people, who save human lives .
the book that started the film preservation movement - in case you non - nerds didn' t know .
but having learned again and again that one needs to verify everything, especially in this kind of research, we believe that it should not be taken for granted that crucifixions occurred akin to those with which we are most familiar, namely that of jesus christ. there was more than a little discussion and attention given to the manner of crucifixion versus what is more accurately described as “impalement” in the aftermath of screening the “ravished armenia” film .
mention has been made in an endnote that a digitized copy of the library of congress’ holding (1 st edition 1918) of “ravished armenia” may now be found on the internet. we had never taken the trouble to track down a first edition, however we came across it by chance while visiting some friends. [ 32 ]
initially titled “ravished armenia, ” the movie was later renamed “auction of souls. ” it was, in all likelihood, the first major hollywood picture to portray genocide. either way, it was a pioneering film: to cast a genocide survivor as the lead actress was a rare deed. as a post - ww i film, it challenged conventional mores by containing themes of violence, rape, nudity and mass crucifixion. it also raised the issue of censorship based both on public morals and politics. turkish opposition in later years reinforced the latter .
the court finds it a fact and a question of law that there is nothing in the scenes which make them sacrilegious, obscene, indecent or immoral, or such nature as to tend to debase or corrupt morals. viewing the picture as a whole, the court finds as a fact that it is educational in nature. it is not only a vivid portrayal of the story ravished armenia, but it is also a picture of conditions as they existed in armenia a few months ago. [ 11 ]
ms. karlins’ note on her study of the “ravished armenia” poster published in the journal of the society for armenian studies is based on an original in the armenian library and museum (alma) in watertown, massachusetts donated by retired pharmacist carl zeytoonian. a copy of the poster is reproduced in her paper in black and white. [ 11 ]
though only a fragment of ravished armenia ’s original 8, 000 feet of film still exists, the controversy surrounding its release is well documented. the film premiered in invitation - only venues in both the united states and britain, hosted by philanthropists and politicians with definite agendas. the allies had just won the war and the ottoman war crimes trials were about to get underway in turkey, under pressure from great britain. supporters of the film believed — wrongly, as it turned out — that the dramatic portrayal of the massacres on screen would result in the prosecution of turkish perpetrators for what were called “crimes against humanity” against armenian, greek, and assyrian civilians during the war .
because of the film' s subject matter, distributors often scheduled limited showings of the film to community leaders prior to releasing it to local theaters. still, in some states there were attempts to ban or censor the film. for example, after the pennsylvania state board of censors banned the film, the distributors sued and overturned the state agency decision in court. in reversing the board' s ban, the decision of the judge stated :
cleveland, authority control, cecil b. demille, the squaw man (1914 film), edison manufacturing company
. he has been awarded the william k. everson award for film history by the national board of review. he teaches film history at the university of miami and lives in west palm beach with his wife, lynn .
this study looks at the preservation process: newsreel, television, and color preservation; the often controversial issue of colorization; and commercial film archives. it provides detailed histories of the major players in the preservation battle including the international museum of photography at george eastman house, the american film institute, the museum of modern art, the ucla film and television archive, and the library of congress. this first historical overview of film preservation in the united states is also highly controversial in its exposure and criticism of the politicization of film preservation in recent years, and the rising bureaucracy which has often lost sight of preservation and restoration as the ultimate purpose of film archives .
at the venice film festival this year, turkish - german director fatih akin presented his newest film called “the cut”. the historical drama tells the story of a man who is searching for his children in the aftermath of the armenian genocide. starting in october, the film began its tour of european theaters and will soon make its way to russia and armenia. until then, it’s worth it to remember the few foreign feature films that, one way or another, refer to the tragic events of 1915 .
superior to “ravished armenia”, it can be said that henri verneuil’s “mayrig” was the first serious film that touched upon the events and consequences of the armenian genocide. it’s rather symbolic that henri verneuil (born ashot malakian), chose to address his family’s past only when he was a well - established figure in the world of french cinema. he first approached the topic with a book and then committed the plot to film. since verneuil was somewhat of a legend in the 1980’s, it was no surprise that two renowned actors, claudia cardinale and omar sharif, agreed to star in his film. “mayrig” was first shown to armenian audiences in the early 1990s and was received with much awe and admiration .
like the makers of the promise, the team behind ravished armenia also sought to foster public support by mobilizing celebrities and assembling a cast of respected actors, which included mardiganian herself. william selig bought the rights to produce mardiganian’s story and employed well - known director oscar apfel. though detractors couldn’t pan the film as immediately as their counterparts can now, over twitter, they certainly didn’t keep silent. the british foreign office kept a file of letters from those who believed that the film was explicitly anti - muslim, “a work of fiction” that constituted “an indecent exhibition. ” no doubt these letters — some from prominent political figures — influenced the decision to edit the film and limit its run in british theaters .
indeed! ? the film institute catalog reads: - “viscount bryce’s official report and ex - ambassador henry morgenthau’s official story were additional sources for this film. the book was serialized in the hearst publications. the film and the book are based on true incidents in the life of aurora mardiganian…. ” (for a bit more see also urltoken) .
access to a fair range of newspapers available online through library of congress’ in its chronicling america newspaper archive suggests that the “ravished armenia” image in black and white printed full page at no cost to the committee thanks to some “national advertiser” in the saturday evening post in 1919 did not appear in many papers either serializing or advertising the film. the vast majority of advertisements and articles encountered upon searching this site indicate an unspectacular (to us at least) advertising approach for the film. they usually are rather small ads and have no or little imagery. see fig. 6 for one that does show some pictures .
no mention was made in richard kloian’s write - ups about the involvement of eduardo kozanlian in the discovery of the film fragment. to be more exact, nothing appears in the write - up that he provided us along with the dvd. there was an attractive new cover on the dvd case. included with the dvd as an additional insert, was a copy in color of the “ravished armenia” poster showing the infamous ‘terrible’, ‘unspeakable turk’ abducting a subdued or struggling a girl. [ 15 ]
but regardless of misleading and confused official directives, the film continues to be shown in special screenings around the world by groups who are interested in it precisely because it is about the armenian genocide. in london, the premiere was held in soho — right around the corner from where the british version of ravished armenia was shown almost 100 years ago. in attendance at the recent screening of the promise was a group of distinguished members of the armenian community and celebrities, including george and amal clooney .
the film was released in paris on december 11th 1919, salle gaveau. it was sponsored by the dukess of rohan urltoken
in 1993, auschwitz survivor branko lustig would also win an academy award as the producer for the holocaust film schindler’s list .
we thank the staff of stony brook university libraries for their ongoing and generous help. we again thank pamela apkarian - russell and chris russell and the apkarian and russell archives for having made their copy of the softcover first edition of “ravished armenia” available for scanning. we thank vartan matiossian for having communicated with us years ago on the involvement of eduardo kozanlian on his discovery of fragment of the ‘lost’ “ravished armenia” footage. we thank the university of wisconsin special collections for allowing us access to their collection of their ‘new near east’ materials. we are grateful to the archives staff at swarthmore college for checking on the waln materials. last but not least, we thank john gulbankian, mary k. rodgers and dr. daniel j. tanner for reading the manuscript before submittal .
the entire revenue of the film, 30 million american dollars, was provided to 60 thousand armenian orphans in the middle east .
anthony slide has published over fifty pioneering works on film history, among them the first volumes dealing exclusively with early american cinema, the vitagraph company, and film preservation. in 1990, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by bowling green university .
accomplished what no “successful” film can. it identified the armenian genocide as something much deeper and more significant than a popcorn sob story .
1. this was found on youtube, but given the unofficial nature of the uploader, it may not be the full film with its original soundtrack and / or title cards. however, it gives us a sufficient impression of what the original film was like .
the armenian film society is a monthly event that meets on the first friday of each month at abril bookstore. lead by armen and mary karaoghlanian, the evenings are composed predominantly of film screenings and discussions, with occasional lectures, workshops, classes, and other types of activities relating to film with an element of armenian culture and / or involvement. the purpose of the film society is to bring together people of all backgrounds and expose them to the rich cinema of armenia, as well as talented filmmakers with an armenian background. upcoming screenings include a piece of sky, the river ran red... . also look forward to special lectures and presentations by filmmakers such as erik nazarian, carla garabedian, roger kupelian and many more. armen karaoghlanian is a writer, filmmaker and the co - founder and editor - in - chief of interiors, a film and architecture publication. he currently teaches film studies at woodbury university. mary karaoghlanian works as a producer and production manager for interiors .
interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the armenian genocide .
after witnessing the deaths of her family members who had been brutally murdered in front of her eyes, fourteen years old arshalouys was tortured and ravished by german officers, as well as at harems of turkish officials and kurdish tribesmen .
internationally known director carla garapedian follows the rock band system of a down as they tour europe and the us pointing out the horrors of modern genocide that began in armenia in 1915 up though darfur today .
“don’t tell me the boy was mad – a film by french film director of armenian origin, robert gedikyan, was demonstrated at the festival. the film tells about emotional stresses, anguishes and problems of the grandchildren of armenians, who were affected by the genocide. this film is actually about the inherited problems. the eternal dilemma whether to respond to the use of force by force, by blood to blood, by sward to the raised sward, is in the essence of the film. a new generation of armenians, residing in europe, tries to preserve recollections of their predecessors and follow the example of soghomon tehlirian, who revenged to those, responsible for orchestrating the genocide of armenians .
[ 28 ] see anthony slide for some well - reproduced photographs associated with the film provided him through the academy of motion pictures and sciences’ margaret herrick library in beverley hills, california. a wider range of photographs than many suppose exist since we have seen many scattered throughout the early literature. see for example, the illustrated london news nov. 8, 1919 pg. 713 which shows four scenes that are neither in the 1919 book “ravished armenia” nor among those provided by anthony slide in his work published in 1997. a full compilation of the imagery would be informative .
in the early days of cinema, when you had to coax audiences out of their homes and into screening venues, the filmmakers made orientalist aesthetic choices. in one of the posters below the film is described as a “tremendous spectacle”, further demonstrating the “entertaining” nature of the film .
4. the opening weekend’s box office sales are critical in securing a long theatrical run for this film and the continued impact it can have .
an eight reel photo - play will be released by the american committee for armenian and syrian relief in january entitled ravished armenia. this production tells the authentic story of aurora mardiganian which has been appearing serially in the sunday supplement of several daily papers. [ see fig. 2 for a photograph of miss mardiganian which appeared in the september issue of the news bulletin of the committee for armenian and syrian relief vol. 1 no. 16 1918. ]
when antonia arslan’s novel was adapted for the screen by prominent italian film makers paolo and vittorio taviani, there was real hope that the result would be a worthy historical representation of the genocide. “la masseria delle allodole” or “the lark farm” had a ten million dollar budget and was selected as the opening film for the golden apricot film festival in 2007. however, the movie did not receive any awards and passed away without much recognition. later arslan wrote a sequel to her novel, yet there has been no talk of there being made a second film to follow “the lark farm” .
[ 4 ] even conan o’brien’s hilarious episode in yerevan, armenia, annoyed some armenian viewers because the only people he seemed to interact with, in the hour - long final cut, were homely beyond reason .
the crime with centennial history, reconsidered at the state level, was depicted in films of different genres and different quality. just a few years ago, the national cinema center of armenia – the movie production state fund, announced a contest for armenian genocide - related film projects. the fund was to select the best projects and render financial assistance to them .
the film' s proceeds are slated to go to the elton john aids foundation (ejaf) as well as other human rights and humanitarian groups .
“the film…really wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for kirk, ” esrailian said. “we talked about the film as a concept for several years and he was overexcited about somebody doing it. during his life it was something that he was thinking about, and he put the ball into motion. ”
in her “brief assessment” of the movie marquee poster drawn for the film “ravished armenia” author amber karlins [ 9 ] provides from her perspective a context for, and details on a now fairly well - known poster. the poster shows the ‘terrible’ or ‘unspeakable turk’ in a still - more terrible and unspeakable light. see fig. 1. the poster image may also be seen on internet on sites such as that of the university of minnesota center for holocaust & genocide studies ‘virtual museum. ’ [ 10 ] just how many original posters are still in existence is not known of course but there are at least a few .
is a success. it has gratified armenian viewers a great deal. it has dissatisfied film critics in the best possible way — moving them to assert in newspapers across america that even a $ 100 million film cannot live up to the enormity of the armenian genocide. best of all, it has forced the often cleverly disguised turkish denial campaign into comic visibility, in the form of a premature hack attack on the film’s imdb score (a method perfected against
this was a liberty not available to atom egoyan when he got the chance, in 2001, to make a film about the fate of his ancestors .
[ 14 ] we believe that we are justified in placing the word ‘restored’ in single quotes since we do not think the film was digitized from a / the ‘master’ such as may exist. the video case states “this newly restored 24 minute segment of ravished armenia was produced by the armenian genocide resource center of northern california for the april 28, 2009 screening at the san francisco public library. it includes a music score, an introduction and 125 subtitles and a slideshow of production stills. ” distributed by heritage publishing, richmond, california. ” the music score used is barber’s adagio just as was used in the la vhs tape .
nora waln, “author, journalist, speaker” etc. deserves at least a few more words here. in the foreword to the initial publication of the book “ravished armenia, the story of aurora mardiganian” etc. (see fig. 8 for the title page) dated as written december 2, 1918, miss waln identifies herself as the ‘publicity secretary, american committee for armenian and syrian relief” – located at one madison avenue, new york city (cf. pg. 17) .
the second american release copy of the book “ravished armenia” (dated 1919) that we own is a presentation copy complete with handwritten inscription by h [ enry ]. l [ eyford ]. gates (1880 - 1937) to boyd gurley (the editor of the indianapolis times, a progressive newspaper). it reads: “to my faithful friend boyd gurley who probably wont believe all that’s written within. h. l. gates new york 1919” (see fig. 16) .
surviving fragments of the first genocide film with armenian survivor in lead role. directed by oscar apfel (1919). presented by dr donna - lee frieze .
this study looks at the preservation process: newsreel, television, and color preservation; the often controversial issue of colorization; and commercial film archives. it provides detailed histories of the major players in the preservation battle including the international museum of photography at george eastman house, the american film institute, the museum of modern ar
we have not checked the city directory records for philadelphia in that period to see where in philadelphia miss waln resided, but since the saturday evening post was published in philadelphia it seems probable that a connection existed that enabled the promotional poster for the film and the $ 30, 000, 000 drive to be carried free of cost to the committee. this is consistent with the notice given earlier on in this communication describing the highly co - ordinated and co - operative campaign to raise $ 30, 000, 000. the post apparently had a weekly circulation of more than a couple of million and was considered the most important general - interest magazine in america at that time. nora waln was certainly active in the promotion of the film “ravished armenia” and she is clearly credited as a philadelphian with having written the scenario to the 8 reel film using information gained directly from aurora mardiganian (see e. g. evening public ledger (philadelphia) january 27, 1919 – chronicling america, library of congress) .
founded by martin scorsese in 1990, the film foundation has helped restore over 800 films, making available classic and independent films thought to be lost. in 2007, scorsese expanded the film foundation' s work globally, creating the world cinema project, which has preserved, restored, and distributed over 30 films from over 20 countries .
such cinema network does not allow making profit out of demonstration of armenia - produced films. very often armenian movies are shot as pieces of art, having a certain authorship, but not as business - projects. their “charm is often doubtful .
[ 12 ] the salvaged film had been transferred to tape and set to the music of samuel barber’s adagio for strings, op. 11. our enquiry soon after purchase as to the origin of the tape met with no success. the source of the item offered for sale seems to have become ‘lost. ’ communication with a friend of mr. kozanlian in america but formerly from buenos aires informed us by email that a newspaper article in spanish published in buenos aires presented some details of the film fragment’s discovery. unfortunately, no copy of the issue of the newspaper, the major argentine daily named clarin, 21 april 1996 with the publicity article is available in the united states so far as we have been able to ascertain. copies of clarin are electronically archived, but not for the period in question. note: this information was kindly supplied some long time back by vartan matiossian who is a friend of eduardo kozanlian. he has recently communicated that at anthony slide’s suggestion he is writing an article describing eduardo’s role in finding the fragment of the ‘lost’ film. this should provide a better understanding of how and from where and by what means the film fragment of “ravished armenia” was salvaged .
the film is mostly lost. in 2009 a 24 - minute reconstruction was released, incorporating stills, title cards and the only reel of footage known to have survived .
this ‘restored’ film fragment has been shown relatively recently in various places nationwide, primarily to audiences with armenian roots or connections, and has been not unexpectedly well - received .
producer eric esrailian is the man kerkorian entrusted with his wish. esrailian told an audience at the toronto international film festival that the promise took almost seven years to make .
anthony slide has authored more than seventy books on the history of popular entertainment, beginning in 1970 with early american cinema. anthony slide is noted for his pioneering and groundbreaking efforts to document lesser - known areas of film history, including early women directors, fan magazines, hollywood extras, and, of course, aurora mardiganian and the making ofravished armenia, about which he first wrote in 1997. in 1990, he was awarded a honorary doctorate of letters by bowling green university, and at that time, was hailed by lillian gish as “our pre - eminent historian of the silent film. ”
access to a copy of the slightly later publication of “ravished armenia” gave us some additional insights, and opened yet another path for our studies. first of all, the ‘first’ 1918 edition states on its inside cover “copyright 1918, by kingfield press, inc. new york. ” the next edition states on its inside cover, “copyright, 1918” followed by “copyright 1919, by international copyright bureau, new york. ” of considerable interest is that the illustrations reproduced in 1918 from photographs taken in historical armenia showing various aspects of the “massacres” have been fully replaced in the 1919 edition’ with, and we quote, “sixteen illustrations from the stupendous photo play, “auction of souls” and map. ” [ 28 ] compare figs. 9, 10 and 11 to see the extent and evolution in credits .
anthony slide has authored more than seventy books on the history of popular entertainment and is noted for his pioneering and groundbreaking efforts to document lesser - known areas of film history .
a varied background helps add perspective to glenn' s reviews; from the ucla film school he worked in special effects, and then moved on to tv commercial work, and trailers for the cannon group. a long stint with mgm / ua home video led to editing large - scale dvd extras and other special projects. he began writing for the web in 1997 as' mgm video savant.' working with the film curators at mgm, glenn helped detect and produced the restoration of the original ending of the film noir classic
[ 16 ] according to the police records vol. 56. jan. 1, 1919 to dec. 31, 1919. boston, mass. we read: - “the applications of the following named persons for amusement licenses were forwarded to his honor the mayor approved: - …louis h. mudgett – to have a moving picture entitled “ravished armenia” in symphony hall located at the corner of huntington and massachusetts avenue on the afternoons and evenings of january 27, 28 and 29, current. ” for access to pg. 95 with this information go to urltoken
this film recounts henri verneuil' s relationship with his father who had brought his armenian family to marseille, france, in order to escape from the armenian genocide in the ottoman empire .
“the film’s theme # keepthepromise can be interpreted as keeping the promise to remember and learn from the atrocities of the past, as well as keeping the promise to end aids, ” elton john recently told the hollywood reporter. “at ejaf, we are committed to # keepthepromise and raise awareness about this powerful film that uses classic storytelling to inspire people to take action today. ”
the strong public interest in aurora’s life story attracted the interest of hollywood, and the memoir was turned into a film script. the resulting historically - based 85 - minute movie was a silent film (with sub - titles) that vividly portrayed the mass deportations, rapes and massacres of armenians. it had a young attractive female lead character in aurora mardiganian, playing herself .
turner classic movies is proud to honor our late host, robert osborne, with the creation of the robert osborne award. this annual award will be presented at the tcm classic film festival to an individual whose work has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic films alive and thriving for generations to come. osborne served as the host of turner classic movies for 23 years, and his passion for film and wealth of knowledge as a film historian helped preserve the legacy of classic film. for the inaugural award, tcm will celebrate world - renowned filmmaker director martin scorsese and his longtime dedication to preserving and protecting motion picture history at the ninth annual festival. this presentation will be made as part of the official opening night gala at the tcl chinese theatre imax .
zgórniak’s richly illustrated, and heavily referenced work is crucial to a full appreciation of the thematics connected with the “ravished armenia” poster. emmanuel fremiet was a contemporary of auguste rodin (1840 - 1917), the famous french sculptor. in france, fremiet was reputedly a fine animalier [ 19 ] second only to the master antoine - louis barye (1796 - 1875). (we believe that any serious museum goer will recognize some of their works even though they may not know the names of the artists. these artists are by no means obscure figures known only to art experts. )
if you' re of armenian descent and you haven' t been living under a coffee cup, you' ve heard of the promise - or at least the buzz surrounding the film .
tcm members and supporters get 20% off the entry fee and special arrangements have been made for the films to be produced under the sag - aftra short film agreement. discount code: tcm2018
reproduction on full or in part is prohibited without reference to public radio of armenia. for more information and questions concerning our website contact us on the following address [ email protected ] if you like to insert an advertisment into our website write on the following address [ email protected ]
, a nine - reel film directed by oscar apfel, first screened in new york city in 1919, it was primarily for the purposes of fundraising and “a wider consciousness - raising campaign”. it was based on the testimony of 19 year old aurora mardiganian, a survivor of the armenian genocide (1915 - 1923), who plays a pivotal role in this film based on her book
according to a contemporary new york times article, the first half of the film shows
armenia as it was before turkish and german devastation, and led up to the deportation of priests and thousands of families into the desert. one of the concluding scenes showed young armenian women flogged for their refusal to enter turkish harems and depicted the turkish slave markets .
[ 2 ] the story was adapted for the screen by henry leyford gates, who also wrote the book. [ 3 ]
ravished armenia , also known as auction of souls , is a 1919 american silent documentary film based on the autobiographical book ravished armenia by arshaluys ( aurora ) mardiganian , who also played the lead role in the film . the film , which depicts the 1915 armenian genocide by the ottoman empire from the point of view of armenian survivor mardiganian , who plays herself in the film , survives in an incomplete form . 
ravished armenia, also known as auction of souls, is a 1919 american silent documentary film based on the autobiographical book ravished armenia by arshaluys (aurora) mardiganian, who also played the lead role in the film. the film, which depicts the 1915 armenian genocide by the ottoman empire from the point of view of armenian survivor mardiganian, who plays herself in the film, survives in an incomplete form.
ravished armenia, also known as auction of souls, is a 1919 american silent documentary film based on the autobiographical book ravished armenia by arshaluys (aurora) mardiganian, who also played the lead role in the film. the film, which depicts the 1915 armenian genocide by the ottoman empire from the point of view of armenian survivor mardiganian, who plays herself in the film, survives in an incomplete form.