[go: up one dir, main page]

    Calendario delle usciteI migliori 250 filmI film più popolariEsplora film per genereCampione d’incassiOrari e bigliettiNotizie sui filmFilm indiani in evidenza
    Cosa c’è in TV e in streamingLe migliori 250 serieLe serie più popolariEsplora serie per genereNotizie TV
    Cosa guardareTrailer più recentiOriginali IMDbPreferiti IMDbIn evidenza su IMDbGuida all'intrattenimento per la famigliaPodcast IMDb
    EmmysSuperheroes GuideSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideBest Of 2025 So FarDisability Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralTutti gli eventi
    Nato oggiCelebrità più popolariNotizie sulle celebrità
    Centro assistenzaZona contributoriSondaggi
Per i professionisti del settore
  • Lingua
  • Completamente supportata
  • English (United States)
    Parzialmente supportata
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Lista Video
Accedi
  • Completamente supportata
  • English (United States)
    Parzialmente supportata
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Usa l'app
  • Il Cast e la Troupe
  • Recensioni degli utenti
  • Quiz
IMDbPro

The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'

  • 1914
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 18min
VALUTAZIONE IMDb
6,4/10
1534
LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914)
The Avenging Conscience: Man In Black
Riproduci clip1: 21
Guarda The Avenging Conscience: Man In Black
1 video
7 foto
CrimineDrammaDramma psicologicoOrrore

Un giovane pianifica di uccidere lo zio dopo che questi gli proibisce di vedere la fidanzata.Un giovane pianifica di uccidere lo zio dopo che questi gli proibisce di vedere la fidanzata.Un giovane pianifica di uccidere lo zio dopo che questi gli proibisce di vedere la fidanzata.

  • Regia
    • D.W. Griffith
  • Sceneggiatura
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • D.W. Griffith
  • Star
    • Henry B. Walthall
    • Spottiswoode Aitken
    • Blanche Sweet
  • Vedi le informazioni sulla produzione su IMDbPro
  • VALUTAZIONE IMDb
    6,4/10
    1534
    LA TUA VALUTAZIONE
    • Regia
      • D.W. Griffith
    • Sceneggiatura
      • Edgar Allan Poe
      • D.W. Griffith
    • Star
      • Henry B. Walthall
      • Spottiswoode Aitken
      • Blanche Sweet
    • 20Recensioni degli utenti
    • 16Recensioni della critica
  • Vedi le informazioni sulla produzione su IMDbPro
  • Video1

    The Avenging Conscience: Man In Black
    Clip 1:21
    The Avenging Conscience: Man In Black

    Foto6

    Visualizza poster
    Visualizza poster
    Visualizza poster
    Visualizza poster
    Visualizza poster
    Visualizza poster

    Interpreti principali11

    Modifica
    Henry B. Walthall
    Henry B. Walthall
    • The Nephew
    Spottiswoode Aitken
    Spottiswoode Aitken
    • The Uncle
    Blanche Sweet
    Blanche Sweet
    • Anabel - The Nephew's Sweetheart
    George Siegmann
    George Siegmann
    • The Italian
    Ralph Lewis
    Ralph Lewis
    • The Detective
    Mae Marsh
    Mae Marsh
    • The Maid
    Robert Harron
    Robert Harron
    • The Grocery Boy
    George Beranger
    George Beranger
    • The Detective and Pan
    • (as George A. Beranger)
    Josephine Crowell
    Josephine Crowell
    • The Sweetheart's Mother
    • (non citato nei titoli originali)
    Walter Long
    Walter Long
    • The Detective
    • (non citato nei titoli originali)
    Wallace Reid
    Wallace Reid
    • The Doctor
    • (non citato nei titoli originali)
    • Regia
      • D.W. Griffith
    • Sceneggiatura
      • Edgar Allan Poe
      • D.W. Griffith
    • Tutti gli interpreti e le troupe
    • Produzione, botteghino e altro su IMDbPro

    Recensioni degli utenti20

    6,41.5K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Recensioni in evidenza

    6Red-Barracuda

    One of the first ever horror films

    This D. W. Griffith film is an early effort by the director and shows his developing skill on the lead up to epics such as Intolerance. It's about a young man who falls in love with a girl. This love drives a wedge between him and his uncle who has set a path for him that does not allow for such frivolous distractions. This situation drives the man to murder his overbearing uncle. This event leads to madness and psychological breakdown.

    The story is based on Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart' with elements of 'Annabel Lee' and 'The Black Cat' thrown in for good measure. It's a rare horror outing for Griffiths. Indeed it is one of the very first fully form horror films at all. As such it is of interest. It contains several eerie and macabre details like the ghostly spectre of the uncle back from the dead and thoughts of murder represented by a spider on web and ants attacking a larger insect en mass. It's very primitive stuff overall but that is to be expected considering its age. Worth a look if you are interested in the genesis of the horror film though.
    Michael_Elliott

    Good

    Avenging Conscience; Thou Shalt Not Kill, The (1914)

    *** (out of 4)

    Feature from D.W. Griffith, which he quickly shot before he started filming on The Birth of a Nation. An uncle is constantly putting presure on his nephew (Henry B. Walthall) to spend more time on his work. When the nephew falls in love with a local girl (Blanche Sweet) the uncle demands that they call it off. When the nephew can't think of anything else, he decides the only way to keep the girl is by killing the uncle. This film is based on several Edgar Allan Poe stories with the second half of the film dealing mainly with The Tell-Tale Heart. You can tell this film was quickly made but there's still some nice direction, good performances and G.W. Bitzer's wonderful cinematography. There's some nice scenes dealing with devils and ghouls from Hell as well as a scene of Jesus. The special effects are quite nice for the era as well. Mae Marsh and Ralph Lewis have small parts. Due to the lack of copyright laws at the time, Griffith used all these short Poe stories without any credit being given.
    8AlsExGal

    D.W. Griffith's twist on Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"

    Henry B. Walthall stars as the Nephew, who has been raised and doted upon by his Uncle (Spottiswoode Aiken). But when the Nephew meets the Sweetheart (Blanche Sweet), the Uncle objects to their plans to get married. This leads the Nephew down a path toward murder and madness. Also featuring George Siegmann as the Italian.

    This is a pretty strange movie, with a lot of unexpected developments and odd imagery, including floating Jesus, Moses and the Ten Commanments, shirtless kids crawling out of a tree, a devil hanging out with animal-headed friends, Pan playing his flute, and Mae Marsh deciding that the best way to get a man is to wear a waitress outfit. Walthall is very entertaining, especially in the unhinged final quarter of the movie. The very last section is a cheat, but not totally unexpected. This didn't hold the cultural impact of The Birth of a Nation or display the kind of artistic ambition of Intolerance, but in many ways I found this more entertaining. Recommended.
    8I_Ailurophile

    Unexpectedly strong early horror

    Though not all are equal, by and large it's gratifying just to watch a surviving silent film, for there are far too many that have been lost over the years. Some have weathered time better than others, whether in terms of expression of values that are no longer acceptable or just with regards to the physical condition of prints preceding preservation and restoration. While filmmaker D. W. Griffith is equally legendary for his most lauded contributions to cinema and notorious for his most vilified contributions, thankfully 'The avenging conscience' is a title that holds up pretty well all around. I wouldn't call it perfect; even for devotees of the silent era I think there are aspects to the construction here that leave something to be desired, and it's not likely to change the minds of those modern viewers who have a hard time engaging with older movies. It remains deserving on its own merits, however, and is worth revisiting - and in fact, truthfully, it's even better than I had supposed it would be when I first sat down to watch.

    The picture makes no bones about taking inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe, and even within the length itself it makes note of just that. As such one will have certain expectations about the course of the story, and as if the name weren't indication enough, there is definitely an element of the macabre herein. One might well observe, though, that this comes around only in the second half of the runtime, and the first half is a straightforward melodrama that could have easily been teased out into a conventional romantic drama of the period. Here is where lies a couple faults of the feature, for the pacing in all such scenes is surely a little sluggish: progressing piecemeal from beat to beat, pausing to tread water, and heavily drawing out and emphasizing each. Moreover, in the early stretch the sequencing seems a tad disjointed as we're introduced to all the characters who will play a part in the tableau in time, but this exposition jumps around so much that the approach is a tad off-putting.

    Be that as it may the tale is compelling, and written well in and of itself with no small amount of genuine imagination to round it out. There are touches here of deviousness and atmosphere that lend gratifying flavor to the proceedings; where Griffith's narrative discretely illustrates Poe's influence, the flourishes of the "master of the macabre" are felt quite effectively with strong scene writing. Between some wonderful details in the writing, admirable and wholehearted acting from the cast, modest yet superb effects, and Griffith's firm oversight as director to make it all count, there is a palpable air of horror that manifests as the plot advances. It may be a long walk to get to that anticipated value, but the journey really is worth it. All the while, we're treated to the excellence one hopes of a filmmaker so generally esteemed: the sets and filming locations are outstanding, flush with swell minutiae; the costume design, hair, and makeup are fetching. The more robust moments come off well - and are surprisingly dark, not least at the climax - and G. W. Bitzer's cinematography remains crisp and vivid even over 100 years later. And one must certainly give credit to the stars, above all Henry B. Walthall and Spottiswoode Aitken, for even within the stereotypical silent slant of exaggerated body language and facial expressions their acting is an integral component of the weight that 'The avenging conscience' does ultimately carry.

    I think the most "high and mighty" affectations of the storytelling are a little gauche, unmistakably hearkening to the culture of the 1910s and less abjectly meaningful in the twenty-first century - but so it goes. There's also one other point worth discussion, however, for to my chagrin the film employs a trope of fiction that I utterly despise. One way or another the device so often feels like a cop-out wherever it arises, a tacit admission of either having run out of ideas, or unwillingness to take a more extreme step further. Rarely is it used well, and though there was a chance it could have been utilized in this case to make the whole even more striking (and morose), that's not what we get. With all that said, however: while I think that presence here is unfortunate, I can't bring myself to get mad about it in this instance. The narrative that Griffith penned is sufficiently solid that a slow first act melts away into a second act that's unexpectedly commanding, with spicier genre garnishes than I would have assumed for an American filmmaker in 1914. The plot could have turned still more grim, yet for where we do end up, the resolution almost feels like a spot of relief after the unforeseen vibrancy of what preceded it. Not least with some creative embellishments to the end sequence, I'm inclined to think that this is an all too uncommon example of a storytelling trope, that I hate, being used and nevertheless coming off well. I never thought I'd be typing those words, but here we are.

    Honestly, I'm very pleased with just how good this is. It doesn't make the best first impression, least of all given its reputation as early horror cinema, but good things come to those who wait. I had my reservations, too, having been aware ahead of time of how the title ends, but when all is said and done even those concerns were met, answered, and resolved. This won't appeal to everyone, least of all genre purists and modern viewers for whom the silent era just doesn't go down easily. All I can say is that I had mixed expectations, and even as I see other directions the last minutes could have been taken, those expectations have been handily exceeded. That reputation of 'The avenging conscience' is well deserved after all, and if you have the opportunity to watch, these seventy-eight minutes are well worth checking out!
    6Bunuel1976

    The Avenging Conscience, Or: Thou Shalt Not Kill (D.W. Griffith, 1914) **1/2

    Poe's psychological story "The Tell-Tale Heart" uneasily receives Griffith's trademark Victorian approach – turning the madman anti-hero of the original into a frustrated love-struck milquetoast! The broad gestures typical of Silent-film acting render the proceedings unintentionally comical now, especially where the ghostly apparition of the murdered relative is concerned – who, by the way, is fitted with an eye-patch throughout and, yet, no reference whatsoever is made to his all-important "vulture eye"!!

    Still, the various hallucinations at the climax – crude though they may be – are reasonably effective. Incidentally, the stilted presentation and moralistic overtones evident here also marked the other Griffith horror effort that I've watched – THE SORROWS OF Satan (1926); all I can say is that, in spite of the solid reputation THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE enjoys within the director's canon, personally I was underwhelmed by the film on a preliminary viewing.

    Other cinematic adaptations of the classic tale I've checked out – all of them relatively recently – are the interesting 1928 short (viewed on the very same day as the Griffith title), the so-so 1936 British feature-length version and a pretty good animated rendition of it from 1953.

    Altri elementi simili

    Cabiria
    7,1
    Cabiria
    L'Inferno
    7,0
    L'Inferno
    Lo studente di Praga
    6,4
    Lo studente di Praga
    La rigenerazione
    6,8
    La rigenerazione
    La bambola di carne
    7,4
    La bambola di carne
    Rapsodia satanica
    6,7
    Rapsodia satanica
    Le due orfanelle
    7,3
    Le due orfanelle
    Per la patria
    7,7
    Per la patria
    Posle smerti
    6,8
    Posle smerti
    The Cheat
    6,5
    The Cheat
    Il calvario di una madre
    7,0
    Il calvario di una madre
    Intolerance
    7,7
    Intolerance

    Trama

    Modifica

    Lo sapevi?

    Modifica
    • Quiz
      Had a massive influence on young Alfred Hitchcock.
    • Citazioni

      Intertitle: She fears something more than mere mental derangement.

    • Connessioni
      Featured in Kingdom of Shadows (1998)

    I più visti

    Accedi per valutare e creare un elenco di titoli salvati per ottenere consigli personalizzati
    Accedi

    Dettagli

    Modifica
    • Data di uscita
      • 24 agosto 1914 (Stati Uniti)
    • Paese di origine
      • Stati Uniti
    • Lingua
      • Inglese
    • Celebre anche come
      • The Murderer's Conscience
    • Azienda produttrice
      • Majestic Motion Picture Company
    • Vedi altri crediti dell’azienda su IMDbPro

    Specifiche tecniche

    Modifica
    • Tempo di esecuzione
      1 ora 18 minuti
    • Mix di suoni
      • Silent
    • Proporzioni
      • 1.33 : 1

    Contribuisci a questa pagina

    Suggerisci una modifica o aggiungi i contenuti mancanti
    The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914)
    Divario superiore
    By what name was The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914) officially released in Canada in English?
    Rispondi
    • Visualizza altre lacune di informazioni
    • Ottieni maggiori informazioni sulla partecipazione
    Modifica pagina

    Altre pagine da esplorare

    Visti di recente

    Abilita i cookie del browser per utilizzare questa funzione. Maggiori informazioni.
    Scarica l'app IMDb
    Accedi per avere maggiore accessoAccedi per avere maggiore accesso
    Segui IMDb sui social
    Scarica l'app IMDb
    Per Android e iOS
    Scarica l'app IMDb
    • Aiuto
    • Indice del sito
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • Prendi in licenza i dati di IMDb
    • Sala stampa
    • Pubblicità
    • Lavoro
    • Condizioni d'uso
    • Informativa sulla privacy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, una società Amazon

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.