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Abstract:

The article deals with the transformations of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, with an emphasis on the actualization of the novel’s epilogue in cinema, from the beginning of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st century. The research focuses on films that are significant for the “spirit of their time,” and, at the same time, actively contribute to the creation of the cultural phenomenon of Raskolnikov’s transmedial metatext. The analysis reveals the dialogism of film authors regarding the epilogue, which, in the researcher’s opinion, contains the “original message” of the novel. Several variants of screen interpretations of the epilogue of Crime and Punishment are analyzed here. The first option is when the author develops Dostoevsky’s ideas, so the hero abandons the idea of “having the right” and “permissiveness” and evolves to a new worldview (Raskolnikov by Robert Wiene, Crime and Punishment by Joseph von Stenberg and Georges Lampen, Pickpocket by Robert Bresson). The second option is when the hero remains fixed on his idea and the correctness of his own convictions; however, he still surrenders (Crime and Punishment by Lev Kulidzhanov and Aki Kaurismyaki). A third option is when the hero insists on his ideological platform, but the authorities punish him (Rope by Alfred Hitchcock, Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard). A fourth option is when the hero does not surrender to the police, does not confess the crime, and continues to live in his usual way (Silent Pages by Alexander Sokurov and Match Point by Woody Allen). A fifth option is when the hero does not hide from the law and continues to be a part of the existing social system (Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese, Nina by Heitor Dhalia).

Keywords: Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, epilogue, transformation, actualization, transmediality, cinematography, Raskolnikov’s metatext, dialogism.