The Burning Soil is a 1922 silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 directed by F.W. Murnau. It was made the same year as Murnau's Nosferatu and released in Germany around the same time. The film follows tells the story of a struggle over a plot of petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

-rich land.

The film was considered lost

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

 until 1978, when it was discovered to have been owned by an Italian priest who organized screenings in mental hospitals. A restoration of the film was made with the assistance of French director Eric Rohmer

Éric Rohmer

Éric Rohmer was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma....

.

Cast

• Eugen Klöpfer - Peter Rog
• Vladimir Gajdarov
  Vladimir Gajdarov
  Vladimir Georgievich Gajdarov was a Russian film actor and star of Russian silent cinema.-Filmography:*Bare et liv - historien om Fridtjof Nansen...
  
   - Johannes Rog
• Werner Krauss
  Werner Krauss
  Werner Johannes Krauss was a German stage and film actor.-Early life:Krauss was born at the parsonage of Gestungshausen in Upper Franconia, where his grandfather was Protestant pastor. He spent his childhood in Breslau and from 1901 attended the teacher's college at Kreuzburg...
  
   - Der alte Rog / Old Rog
• Eduard von Winterstein - Graf Rudenburg / Count Rudenburg
• Stella Arbenina
  Stella Arbenina
  Stella Arbenina was a Russian-born English actress.Born Stella Zoe Whishaw in St. Petersburg, Russia into an English family who had mader their home in Russia for several generations, she was married in 1907 to Baron Paul Meyendorff Captain in the Horse Guards and Aides-de-camp to Tsar Nicholas II...
  
   - Helga, Rudenburgs zweite Frau / Helga, Rudenburg's 2nd wife
• Lya De Putti
  Lya De Putti
  Lya De Putti was a Hungarian film actress of the silent era, noted for her portrayal of vamp characters.-Early life and career:...
  
   - Gerda, Rudenburgs Tochter / Gerda, Rudenburg's daughter
• Alfred Abel
  Alfred Abel
  Alfred Abel was a German film actor, director, and producer. He appeared in over 140 silent and sound films between 1913 and 1938...
  
   - Ludwig von Lellewel
• Grete Diercks - Maria
• Olga Engl
  Olga Engl
  Olga Engl was an Austrian stage and motion picture actress who appeared nearly 200 films during her career in the film industry....
  
  
• Elsa Wagner
  Elsa Wagner
  -Selected filmography:* The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari * Satanas * Daphne and the Diplomat * The Private's Job * Fracht von Baltimore * Heimkehr * Our Willi Is the Best...
  
   - Magda
• Emilia Unda - Alte Magd / Old maid
• Leonie Taliansky - Gerdas Zofe / Gerda's maid
• Albert Patry
• Magnus Stifter
  Magnus Stifter
  Magnus Stifter was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 85 films between 1914 and 1941.He was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary and died in Vienna, Austria.-Selected filmography:...