The Lower Depths
Encyclopedia
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
's best-known play. It was written during the winter of 1901 and the spring of 1902. Subtitled "Scenes from Russian Life," it depicted a group of impoverished Russians living in a shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
near the Volga. Produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, Konstantin Stanislavski
Konstantin Stanislavski
Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski , was a Russian actor and theatre director. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic...
directed and starred. It became his first major success, and a hallmark of Russian socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
.
The characters of The Lower Depths are said to have been inspired by the denizens of the so-called Bugrov Homeless Shelter in Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, which had been built in 1880-83 by the Old Believer grain merchant and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov (1837—1911) in memory of his father, A.P. Bugrov. When the actors of the Moscow Arts Theatre were preparing the play for its first run in 1902, Maxim Gorky supplied them with photographs of the Nizhny Novgorod underclass taken by the famous local photographer, Maxim Dmitriev (Максим Дмитриев), to help with the realism of the acting and costumes.
When it first appeared, The Lower Depths was criticized for its pessimism and ambiguous ethical message. The presentation of the lower classes was viewed as overly dark and unredemptive, and Gorky was clearly more interested in creating memorable characters than in advancing a formal plot. However, in this respect, the play is generally regarded as a masterwork.
The theme of harsh truth versus the comforting lie pervades the play from start to finish, as most of the characters choose to deceive themselves from the bleak reality of their condition.
Film versions
- 1936: French filmCinema of FranceThe Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
director Jean RenoirJean RenoirJean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
made a 1936 film of the same nameThe Lower Depths (1936 film)The Lower Depths is a 1936 French drama film directed by Jean Renoir, based on a play of the same title by Maxim Gorky. The film is an example of the poetic realism.Akira Kurosawa also directed a Japanese film version of Gorky's play, Donzoko...
, adapting the story to a French setting.
- 1946: Indian filmCinema of IndiaThe cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
producer-director Chetan AnandChetan Anand (producer & director)Chetan Anand was an acclaimed Hindi film producer, screenwriter and director from India, whose debut film, Neecha Nagar, bagged the Palme d'Or award, at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946....
began his career as a film director with Neecha NagarNeecha NagarNeecha Nagar is a 1946 Hindi film directed by Chetan Anand. Written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, this film was a pioneering effort in social realism in Indian cinema, and paved the way for many such 'Parallel Cinema' films by other directors and many of them written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas...
(Lowly City), which was a Hindi filmBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
adaptation in an IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n setting. Neecha Nagar won the Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(Best Film Award, then known as the 'Grand Prix'), at the first Cannes Film Festival1946 Cannes Film FestivalThe 1st Cannes Film Festival was held from September 20 to October 5, 1946.- Jury :*Georges Huisman *Iris Barry *Beaulieu *Antonin Brousil *J.H.J...
in 1946, becoming the first Indian independent filmParallel CinemaThe Indian New Wave, commonly known in India as Art Cinema or Parallel Cinema as an alternative to the mainstream commercial cinema, is a specific movement in Indian cinema, known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, with a keen eye on the sociopolitical climate of the times...
to get international recognition.
- 1947: The Chinese film, Night InnNight InnNight Inn is a Chinese black-and-white film released in 1947, directed by Huang Zuolin and starring the popular Shanghai singer Zhou Xuan.The film is based on the Chinese theatrical adaptation of Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths by playwright Ke Ling...
(夜店) by director Huang Zuolin, is based on Ke Ling's Chinese theatrical adaptation of The Lower Depths. The film stars Shanghai songstress Zhou XuanZhou XuanZhou Xuan was a popular Chinese singer and film actress. By the 1940s, she had become one of China's seven great singing stars. She is probably the most well-known of the seven, as she had a concurrent movie career until 1953.-Biography:...
.
- 1957: Japanese filmCinema of JapanThe has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
director Akira KurosawaAkira Kurosawawas a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
, adapted the story into the film DonzokoThe Lower Depths (1957 film)is a 1957 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, based on the play The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky. The film's setting was changed to Edo-period Japan.-Cast:*Sutekichi -- Toshirō Mifune*Osugi -- Isuzu Yamada*Kahei -- Bokuzen Hidari*Okayo -- Kyôko Kagawa...
(The Lower Depths), starring Toshirō MifuneToshiro MifuneToshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
, in which the characters have been moved to Edo periodEdo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
- 1966: Finnish director Mikko Niskanen shot the play as a telefilm in Finnish but retained the original setting.