Today, yesterday's crash of the space shuttle Columbia saddens us. As
you may know, we live in Bremen, Germany, a town deeply connected to space travel
(e.g. parts of the ISS were built here). The exploration of space always stood
for bravery, scientific curiosity, achieving marvellous aims, and dreaming the
impossible dream (and made for a lot of wonderful movies, too). We feel for
the families of the astronauts who lost their lifes in the crash.
Back to film history: This month, a F.W. Murnau extravaganza awaits us. The Berlin film festival (Berlinale)'s retrospective is dedicated to Murnau, and will show all his twelve surviving films, some of which in newly restored versions, including the German and US versions of The Last Laugh (1924), and a restored scene from the lost Satanas (1920) (only presented at the Bologna film festival 2002, before). See our Berlinale retrospective guide, below.
Meanwhile, the burning mystery of actress Gilda Langer's place of birth (see newsletter no. 2) is solved. She was born in Oderfurt, Moravia (today's Privoz). Another information about her life and work must possibly be omitted. It seems that she was not in the cast of Fritz Lang's Halbblut (1919), as commonly stated. We're currently working on the CineGraph biography on Gilda Langer. Also, we did some new research on Carl de Vogt, hero of Fritz Lang's Die Spinnen (1919/20). Immediately after Hitler's rise to power in 1933, he became a member of the National Socialist Party (member no. 2659854). He even starred in such nasty Nazi propaganda films as Blut und Boden (1933). Look out for an update of our Carl de Vogt page, coming soon.
The 53rd Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) will be held from February
06 - 16. Below, you can find information on this year's retrospective's programme,
dedicated to F.W. Murnau. More info, also on Online Ticketing, on the Berlinale's official
website. Highlight will be the screening of the restored version of The
Last Laugh on February 08, with the original film music by Giuseppe Becce,
revised by Detlef Glanert, performed by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken,
conducted by Frank Strobel. One day later, on February 09, the restored American
version will be shown, with music by Hugo Riesenfeld, performed by the Europäisches
Filmphilharmonie-Ensemble, conducted by Javier Perez de Azpeitia who also revised
Riesenfeld's score. As usual, the retrospective will be accompanied by an exhibition
at the Filmmuseum Berlin, running January 23 - May 04 (later on, it will be
shown by the film museums Munich, Stockholm and Madrid). For information on
the exhibition see the
Berlin
film museum's website. There will be a new book coming out (see
new
books), a Murnau CDROM (see the
Murnau-Stiftung's
website), and even Murnau's grave at the cemetery Stahnsdorf has been restored
(on the picture you can see us standing there, in 1999). Later in February,
the German/French cultural channel
Arte
will broadcast a restored version of Murnau's Faust (February 28, 23.10,
107 mins.).
Thursday 06
20.00
SATANAS (FRAGMENT)
Germany 1920, F.W. Murnau, 3 mins. CinemaxX 9
DER GANG IN DIE NACHT
Germany 1921, F.W. Murnau, 95 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.00
TABU (PRE PARAMOUNT VERSION)
(Taboo) USA 1931, F.W. Murnau, Robert Flaherty, 82 mins. CinemaxX 9
Friday 07
18.00
DER FILMVERGANGENHEIT EINE ZUKUNFT
Metropolis von Fritz Lang. Filmmuseum
20.00
SCHLOß VOGELÖD
(The Haunted Castle) Germany 1921, F.W. Murnau. CinemaxX 9
22.30
PHANTOM
(The Phantom) Germany 1922, F.W. Murnau, 125 mins. CinemaxX 9
Saturday 08
13.00
FOUR SONS
USA 1928, John Ford, 100 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.00
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
USA 1940, George Cukor, 112 mins. CinemaxX 9
18.00
KLASSIKER DER DEUTSCHEN FILMKUNST: F.W. MURNAU
Germany (East) 1988, Ulrich Kasten, Fred Gehler, 45 mins. Filmmuseum
PHANTOMBILDER
Germany (West) 1988, Frieda Grafe, Enno Patalas, 45 mins. Filmmuseum
19.00
DER LETZTE MANN
(The Last Laugh) Germany 1924, F.W. Murnau, 88 mins. Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
20.00
NOSFERATU - EINE SYMPHONIE DES GRAUENS
(Nosferatu - A Symphony Of Horror) Germany 1922, F.W. Murnau, 93 mins. CinemaxX
9
22.30
CAMILLA HORN SIEHT SICH ALS GRETCHEN IN DEM STUMMFILM FAUST
(Camilla Horn Sees Herself As Gretchen In Murnau's Faust) Germany 1981, Hans
Sachs, Hedda Rinneberg, 17 mins. CinemaxX 9
FAUST
Germany 1926, F.W. Murnau, 107 mins. CinemaxX 9
Sunday 09
13.00
SEVENTH HEAVEN
USA 1927, Frank Borzage, 110 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.00
DIE FINANZEN DES GROßHERZOGS
(The Grand Duke's Finances) Germany 1933, Gustav Gründgens, 82 mins. CinemaxX
9
18.00
THE FIVE FAUST OF F.W. MURNAU
Spain 1995, Luciano Berriatúa, 54 mins. Filmmuseum
19.00
THE LAST LAUGH (AMERICAN CUT)
Germany 1924, F.W. Murnau, 79 mins. Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
20.00
DER BRENNENDE ACKER
(Burning Soil) Germany 1922, F.W. Murnau, 111 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.30
SUNRISE
USA 1927, F.W. Murnau. CinemaxX 9
Monday 10
15.00
DIE REISE NACH TILSIT
(The Trip To Tilsit) Germany 1939, Veit Harlan. CinemaxX 9
18.00
WERKSCHAU YASUJIRO OZU, PODIUMSDISKUSSION MIT YODI YAMADA
Panel discussion, Filmmuseum
20.00
CITY GIRL
USA 1930, F.W. Murnau, 94 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.30
DER BRENNENDE ACKER
(Burning Soil) Germany 1922, F.W. Murnau, 111 mins. CinemaxX 9
Tuesday 11
13.00
THE MERRY WIDOW
USA 1934, Ernst Lubitsch, 99 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.30
DER LETZTE MANN
(The Last Man) Germany 1955, Harald Braun, 105 mins. CinemaxX 9
18.00
MURNAU'S 4 DEVILS: TRACES OF A LOST FILM
USA 2002, Janet Bergstrom, 40 mins., Filmmuseum
20.00
DIE FINANZEN DES GROßHERZOGS
(Finances Of The Grand Duke) Germany 1924, F.W. Murnau, 77 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.30
DER LETZTE MANN
(The Last Laugh) Germany 1924, F.W. Murnau, 88 mins. CinemaxX 9
Wednesday 12
13.00
BALI - INSEL DER DÄMONEN
Germany 1933, Friedrich Dahlsheim, Victor von Plessen, 79 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.00
NOSFERATU - PHANTOM DER NACHT
(Nosferatu, The Vampyre) Germany, France 1979, Werner Herzog, 107 mins. CinemaxX
9
15.00
"DIGITAL PERSPECTIVES ON FILM HERITAGE"
Filmmuseum
18.00
"DIGITAL ISSUES AND EUROPEAN FILM HERITAGE"
Filmmuseum
20.00
PHANTOM
(The Phantom) Germany 1922, F.W. Murnau, 125 mins. CinemaxX 9
23.00
TARTÜFF
(Tartuffe) Germany 1925, F.W. Murnau, 84 mins. CinemaxX 9
Thursday 13
13.00
MOANA
USA 1926, Robert Flaherty, 77 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.00
SOSHUN
(Early Spring) Japan 1956, Yasujiro Ozu, 149 mins. CinemaxX 9
18.00
TABOU - DERNIER VOYAGE
Germany, France 1996, Yves de Peretti, 75 mins. Filmmuseum
20.00
CAMILLA HORN SIEHT SICH ALS GRETCHEN IN DEM STUMMFILM FAUST
(Camilla Horn Sees Herself As Gretchen In Murnau's Faust) Germany 1981, Hans
Sachs, Hedda Rinneberg, 17 mins. CinemaxX 9
FAUST
Germany 1926, F.W. Murnau, 107 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.30
CITY GIRL
USA 1930, F.W. Murnau, 94 mins. CinemaxX 9
Friday 14
13.00
LEGONG: DANCE OF THE VIRGINS
USA 1935, Henri de la Falaise, 54 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.00
HIGANBANA
(Equinox Flower) Japan 1958, Yasujiro Ozu, 120 mins. CinemaxX 9
20.30
SUNRISE
USA 1927, F.W. Murnau. CinemaxX 9
22.30
NOSFERATU - EINE SYMPHONIE DES GRAUENS
(Nosferatu - A Symphony Of Horror) Germany 1922, F.W. Murnau, 93 mins. CinemaxX
9
Saturday 15
13.00
WHITE SHADOW IN THE SOUTH SEA
USA 1928, W. S. Van Dyke, Robert Flaherty, 88 mins. CinemaxX 9
15.00
OHAYO
(Good Morning) Japan 1959, Yasujiro Ozu, 94 mins. CinemaxX 9
20.00
TARTUFFE
(Tartüff American Cut) USA 1927, F.W. Murnau, 76 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.30
SCHLOß VOGELÖD
(The Haunted Castle) Germany 1921, F.W. Murnau. CinemaxX 9
Sunday 16
13.00
SUNRISE
USA 1927, F.W. Murnau. CinemaxX 9
15.00
DER LETZTE MANN
(The Last Laugh) Germany 1924, F.W. Murnau, 88 mins. CinemaxX 9
20.00
TABU (PARAMOUNT VERSION)
(Taboo) USA 1931, F.W. Murnau, Robert Flaherty, 82 mins. CinemaxX 9
22.30
SATANAS (FRAGMENT)
Germany 1920, F.W. Murnau, 3 mins. CinemaxX 9
DER GANG IN DIE NACHT
Germany 1921, F.W. Murnau, 95 mins. CinemaxX 9
There are more interesting new film books coming out than we can read. Of course,
there is the official book of this year's Berlinale retrospective and exhibition,
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Ein Melancholiker des Films, edited by Hans
Helmut Prinzler (Bertz 2003, ISBN 392947025X). Bertz also published apropos:
Film 2002, Das Jahrbuch der DEFA-Stiftung (ISBN 3929470233). Out now is
the paperback edition of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Cinematic Visions of Technology
and Fear, originally published in 2000, edited by Michael Minden and Holger
Bachmann (Boydell & Brewer 2002, ISBN 1571131469). And the Zweitausendeins edition
of the Lexikon des Internationalen Films (ISBN 3861504553). Look out
for new reviews coming soon here
(in German language).
Films are made with great care, a lot of work, and passion. This is also true
for reconstructions of silent films, often compiled from various different sources,
carefully compared to look for the best material and most complete versions,
sometimes in many years of work, so that audiences can enjoy these great films
as envisioned by the artists who made them, in best possible picture quality,
on a big screen, and with live music accompaniment. In the last months we saw
two quite different special screenings of famous silent films which had one
thing in common: New reconstructions were presented in an inferior picture quality.
The first one was more an experimental happening than really the showing of
a film: a screening on water! The second one was really supposed to be a big
performance in an ordinary cinema, but done perfectly unprofessional by a theatre
management with no sense for the beauty of film, ignoring film history's heritage,
despising the work of the film restorers, and fooling their audience.
Caligari in Berlin. On Saturday, June 22, we read in the morning papers
that something extraordinary was going to happen in Berlin-Weißensee: on the
occasion of the naming of a "Caligari place", The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari was to be shown, open-air, on a water screen! We boarded the next
train, and went to Berlin. The article in the Berlin Tagesspiegel read:
"The "water screen" is going to be sprayed into the sky. The
drops will fall onto various objects, thus forming a complete sound background.
In addition, the film can be seen from both sides of the screen, and can be
walked through. Actors, impersonating Caligari and other characters, will step
out of the wall..." Ultimately, the event was nothing like described in
the newspaper. Caligari was projected on a water screen, alright. But
this was done by a shower-like aparatus with water floating downwards, not "sprayed
into the sky" (see picture). Also, one could not see the film from both
sides of the screen, one could not walk through the water screen, and no actors
"stepping out of the screen" were impersonating Caligari and other
characters. Also, of course it is not exactly a good idea to project a film
onto water -- if you want to get a sharp view, that is. But it was a wonderful
summer evening, and it was a great party. We enjoyed the programme a lot, and
describing and commenting on what was supposed to be seen on the screen, we
entertained the people sitting around us. For more information on the new Caligari
place see an official
website. For information on the Berlin-Weißensee studio where Caligari
was shot, see the
CineGraph
website.
Metropolis in Rotenburg. Another case was a screening of the newly reconstructed
Metropolis at the Gloria-Cinema in Rotenburg (Wümme), a small town between
Hamburg and Bremen, on September 11. The occasion was billed as a big event:
In advance, the local newspaper reported twice about the event. It was organized
by Gloria-Cinema and Volkshochschule Rotenburg (adult education), with newly
composed music and piano accompaniment by Carsten-Stephan Graf von Bothmer who
was born near Rotenburg and is now living and working as a musician in Berlin.
A souvenir programme was produced with a greeting by district president Hans-Harald
Fitschen, and in an introductory talk the theatre manager Rainer Balcke told
the audience how proud everybody is that they managed to organize such a big
event. Everything was wonderful. Except for one little detail. The theatre did
not manage to screen the film in the proper format. The picture was roughly
cut: in medium shots actor's heads were cut off, in close ups actors were only
seen from the forehead downwards, some of the intertitles couldn't be read properly
etc., see the sketches below. Surprisingly, the theatre manager was very satisfied
with the screening. He grinned at us and told us that's the only way it could
be done. We asked for our money back and went. Nevertheless, we had a very pleasant
evening. Should you ever be in Rotenburg, don't go to the cinema, eat a pizza
at Mario's! The next day, we asked Martin Koerber from the Berlin film museum
for a professional comment. He told us that the theatre owner obviously didn't
know that there are films in different formats. Many cinemas cannot project
films in silent film format. But the contributor does offer a normal format
version of the new Metropolis that can (hopefully) be shown properly
even at a cinema with inferior equipment.
www.filmgeschichte.de,
a source book for early german film edited by olaf
brill & thomas
schultke.
Last update (this page): 02 Feb 2003.
The texts and images on this site are copyright © by the respective authors,
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If you know about them, please let us know, especially if there's anything wrong
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If no author or source is noted, the texts are copyright © 1996-2004 Olaf
Brill & Thomas
Schultke.