Stefan Zweig’s chess novella is considered one of the best German novellas of the 20th century. In 2021 it was re-filmed as a chess novella with Oliver Masucci and is being shown on TV for the first time today.
In this article we clarify the following questions about the film:
What happens in the chess novella?
During the so-called “annexation” of Austria to Nazi Germany in 1938, the wealthy Jewish notary Josef Bartok (Masucci) arrested by the Gestapo and put in cruel solitary confinement. The only occupation is the game of chess, in which he immerses himself. Under the psychological pressure of his prison conditions, Bartok’s personality splits into a “black” and a “white” player.
When is the chess novella set?
The core action of the chess novella plays for When the Nazis came to power in Austria in 1938 and in the months and years thereafter. Zweig wrote the novella in the early 1940s, but shifted the background story to a ship that traveled the route from New York to Buenos Aires some time after the annexation of Austria.
Is the chess novella a true story?
To answer it directly: no. There are no clear references between the overall story of Zweig’s chess novella and actual events. As reported by Die Presse, historian Roman Sandgruber considers the Austrian Banker Louis Rothschild for the real counterpart von Zweig’s character B., who is called Bartok in Philipp Stölzl’s adaptation. The wealthy Jewish businessman was arrested by the Gestapo shortly after the takeover of power in Austria held in solitary confinement at the Hotel Métropole in Vienna.
How often was the chess novella filmed?
now exist four film adaptations of Zweig’s book. The first is Chess Novella with Curd Jürgens from 1960. In 1964 and 1980 two TV adaptations were produced for Czechoslovak television. Stölzl’s psychodrama is the last film adaptation to date.
When will chess novella be on TV?
Chess story is running this Monday, July 3, 2023, at 8:15 p.m. on ARD. If you don’t have time, you can watch the film at 1.30 a.m. In addition to Masucci, Albrecht Schuch (Nothing New in the West), Birgit Minichmayr (Perfume) and Samuel Finzi (Kokowääh) can be seen in front of the camera.
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