Ravished Armenia (1919) watch online HD

Aurora Mardiganian, a young and beautiful Armenian girl, lives with her parents in the Turkish city of Havpoul. Her father, a prosperous merchant, was preparing to send her to the West to be educated. For centuries the Armenians had been terrorized by the Turks, but this was a period of serenity between the Turks and the Christian-Armenians. However, the War had hit Europe, and the Turks had informed the American ambassador, Henry Morganthau, in Constantinople, that the Armenians were giving support to the Turks' enemy, Russia. Despite Morgantheau's objections, the Turks issue a decree that the Armenians must be moved southward into the desert. The Turkish governor, a Pasha, comes to Aurora's father and demands she be given him as a bride. The father tells him his daughter will not give up her Christian belief, as she would have to do to marry a Muslim. The governor leaves in anger. The order is given for the removal of the Armenians. The men are separated from the women, and the ...

The film is mostly lost. In 2009 a 24-minute reconstruction was released, incorporating stills, title cards and the only reel of footage known to have survived.

Model and actress Audrey Munson reported, for a syndicated newspaper column, on the filming of one of the most notorious scenes: several nude Armenian women being crucified by Turks. The scene was shot at the very end of a long, very cold day. Munson reported that one of the actresses, Corinne Gray, died of influenza as a result of exposure while filming this scene.

This was the first film ever made on the subject of the Armenian Genocide (1915-23), which was still going on while this film was produced. The screenplay was taken from Aurora Mardiganian's first-hand account of her experiences in 1915. She was from Cemisgezek, Turkey, and as a 14-year-old girl witnessed horrible events, including the destruction of her people and the loss of her family and relatives one after another. She arrived in the US and recounted her story to the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian relief. Her account was then made into a film, and she starred as herself, reliving her experiences over and over again. She also made public appearances at each film screening across the US. The film was a blockbuster and broke box-office records. Unfortunately, only fragments of the film survive.