Esther and Mordecai (1910) User Reviews

The ancient world, or a portion of it, is brought to our doors

[deickemeyer · 24 June 2015]

A sumptuous and historically accurate reproduction of the story of Esther as it is told in the Bible. While the story itself is wonderfully graphic in its description, this reproduction of it in a motion picture adds so much to the original narrative. No effort or expense was spared in making the picture. Mlle. Gravier, of the Theater de la Renaissance, was selected for Esther; M. Leonce Perret, of the Odeon Theater, was Ahasuerus and M. Legrand, of the Odeon Theater, was Mordecai. The story, as everyone knows, is one of the most romantic in history, and this feature was kept fully in mind throughout the production. The film consists of fourteen magnificently staged and exquisitely colored scenes, and one feature of the coloring deserves mention in passing. There is an almost total absence of the gaudy tints which sometimes mar a colored film. On the contrary the colors and tints are softened and blended with an artistic appreciation and a sympathetic understanding of the requirements. All through the picture the thoughtful arrangement of the characters can be distinguished. Life is emphasized. Not a dead scene is offered, and the grouping of the characters is always for the emphasis of the idea together with pictorial effect. It is a model in this respect. A picture like this has no scene, perhaps, which stands out with more emphasis than the others. The choosing of the new queen is, perhaps, the most notable scene and conveys an accurate idea of manners and social customs prevailing in King Xerxes' time, 521 B.C. There is more than entertainment in the picture. There is instruction, and that, too, of a very valuable sort. The ancient world, or a portion of it, is brought to our doors. An important occurrence is reproduced as accurately as though the original characters posed before the camera themselves. Thus history, which is only another name for the life of the people, passes before one in a series of attractive scenes and the process of education becomes almost a matter of actual sight. The work in this instance is so excellently done that only praise is justified. Improvement would be a difficult matter. - The Moving Picture World, June 25, 1910