The second part of Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou’s adaptation of the epic poem, Kriemhild’s Revenge picks up directly where the first part, Siegfried, left off. The legendary hero is dead, and his wife – though it was partly her stupidity that led to it – is seriously pissed off. She blames royal advisor Hagen Tronje (Hans Adalbert Sclettow), but her brother King Gunther (Theodor Loos) won’t let her kill him – to do so would be to break a bond of honour. Engaging directly in violence, as a woman, is apparently not something she can conceive of, but she does have other options. She is still young and beautiful, and with access to Siegfried’s famous hoard of treasure, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a new husband.
Kriemhild has a very particular husband in mind: one of history’s most famous conquerors, Attila the Hun.
Kriemhild has a very particular husband in mind: one of history’s most famous conquerors, Attila the Hun.
- 4/27/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Zendaya’s seemingly futuristic body armor actually has a long history steeped in cinema and pop culture.
At the root of it all is the likeness to the female robot, often called “Maria,” in Fritz Lang’s masterwork of futurism, Metropolis. Maria has inspired countless cultural references including the images of Lang’s robot used in David Bowie and Queen’s video for “Under Pressure”; a profound influence on Ralph McQuarrie’s designs for C-3Po in Star Wars; inspiring looks worn by Beyoncé, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga; providing the concept of Janelle Monáe’s Metropolis: The Chase Suite album; and serving as a background for Whitney Houston’s music video for “Queen of the Night” as well references in the The Bodyguard.
The actual suit that Zendaya wore to the world premiere is an archival creation from fashion designer Thierry Mugler’s fall/winter 1995 couture collection. Per...
At the root of it all is the likeness to the female robot, often called “Maria,” in Fritz Lang’s masterwork of futurism, Metropolis. Maria has inspired countless cultural references including the images of Lang’s robot used in David Bowie and Queen’s video for “Under Pressure”; a profound influence on Ralph McQuarrie’s designs for C-3Po in Star Wars; inspiring looks worn by Beyoncé, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga; providing the concept of Janelle Monáe’s Metropolis: The Chase Suite album; and serving as a background for Whitney Houston’s music video for “Queen of the Night” as well references in the The Bodyguard.
The actual suit that Zendaya wore to the world premiere is an archival creation from fashion designer Thierry Mugler’s fall/winter 1995 couture collection. Per...
- 4/9/2024
- by Robert Lang and Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Ach der lieber! German Expressionism fans everywhere are in sorrow as Sam Esmail’s seven-years-in-the-making passion project, a series adaptation of Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” has been shelved, Deadline confirms.
The series, from Universal Cable Productions (UCP), had been prepping for production in Australia and was expected to be the biggest TV series ever shot there. It was going to stream on Apple TV+, which had given it a full series order last year. “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” a UCP told Deadline.
“Metropolis” is just the latest casualty of the ongoing WGA strike: the third seasons of “P-Valley” and “Yellowjackets” have been indefinitely delayed, as has the Disney+ show “Daredevil: Born Again” and Season 2 of “Severance.”
Esmail has had a flurry of new shows in recent years: Just since 2020 there’s been USA’s “Briarpatch,” Starz’s “Gaslit,” and Peacock’s “Angelyne” and “The Resort.
The series, from Universal Cable Productions (UCP), had been prepping for production in Australia and was expected to be the biggest TV series ever shot there. It was going to stream on Apple TV+, which had given it a full series order last year. “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” a UCP told Deadline.
“Metropolis” is just the latest casualty of the ongoing WGA strike: the third seasons of “P-Valley” and “Yellowjackets” have been indefinitely delayed, as has the Disney+ show “Daredevil: Born Again” and Season 2 of “Severance.”
Esmail has had a flurry of new shows in recent years: Just since 2020 there’s been USA’s “Briarpatch,” Starz’s “Gaslit,” and Peacock’s “Angelyne” and “The Resort.
- 6/19/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
A passion project for Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, the TV series Metropolis, inspired by the 1927 sci-fi classic directed by Fritz Lang, was officially ordered by Apple TV+ fifteen months ago. Earlier this year, Briana Middleton (Sharper) and Lindy Booth (The Librarians) were cast to star in the show. But now Deadline reports that Metropolis has been scrapped, becoming “one of the highest-profile casualties of the growing uncertainty in Hollywood” due to the writers strike.
Deadline has learned that Metropolis had been prepping for production in Australia, but has now been permanently shut down. “The crew was just notified that the ambitious project will not move forward with production, which had been targeting a summer start.” A representative for the production company UCP confirmed, “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision.” They go on to note, “Metropolis had been in limbo for the past seven weeks.
Deadline has learned that Metropolis had been prepping for production in Australia, but has now been permanently shut down. “The crew was just notified that the ambitious project will not move forward with production, which had been targeting a summer start.” A representative for the production company UCP confirmed, “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision.” They go on to note, “Metropolis had been in limbo for the past seven weeks.
- 6/19/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Sam Esmail‘s (Mr. Robot) big-budget sci-fi series Metropolis, based on the 1927 Fritz Lang movie of the same name, has been scrapped amid the ongoing writers strike and rising production costs. As reported by Deadline, the ambitious Apple TV+ series, which had been prepping in Australia, has been permanently shut down, with the crew being notified the project will not be moving forward. Production was scheduled to begin over the summer. “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” a rep for UCP, the production studio behind the series, told Deadline. Briana Middleton (The Tender Bar) was set to lead the series, with Lindy Booth (The Librarians) also tapped for a major role. Based on Thea von Harbou’s 1925 novel and screenplay, Metropolis is set in a futuristic dystopian society, where Freder, the privileged son of a city master, and Maria, a rebellious teacher,...
- 6/19/2023
- TV Insider
Exclusive: Sam Esmail’s years-in-the making adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis has become one of the highest-profile casualties of the growing uncertainty in Hollywood driven by labor unrest against the background of economic headwinds.
The big-budget UCP series for Apple TV+, which had been prepping in Australia, has permanently shut down. The crew was just notified that the ambitious project will not move forward with production, which had been targeting a summer start.
UCP confirmed to Deadline that Metropolis has been scrapped. “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” a rep for the studio said.
Metropolis had been in limbo for the past seven weeks. Since production drafts of the scripts for the large-scope, special effects-heavy series had not been finished before the May 2 start of the writers strike, that delayed setting budgets and other key elements of pre-production.
The big-budget UCP series for Apple TV+, which had been prepping in Australia, has permanently shut down. The crew was just notified that the ambitious project will not move forward with production, which had been targeting a summer start.
UCP confirmed to Deadline that Metropolis has been scrapped. “Push costs and uncertainty related to the ongoing strike led to this difficult decision,” a rep for the studio said.
Metropolis had been in limbo for the past seven weeks. Since production drafts of the scripts for the large-scope, special effects-heavy series had not been finished before the May 2 start of the writers strike, that delayed setting budgets and other key elements of pre-production.
- 6/19/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1516, English philosopher Thomas More published Utopia, a piece of speculative fiction filled with musings about the ideal society. Of course, it was all nonsense. So even though it took a few more centuries for the word to come into use, “dystopia” has always captured the human imagination better than utopia. Literally stories about “bad places,” dystopias show humanity at its worst.
As you might expect, dystopias tend to be cynical works of imagination. But that’s not all they are. By looking at how dark things could be, dystopias shine a light on the world as it currently is. Works of literature like Watchmen and television series such as Black Mirror have told their stories about bleak alternate realities to issue warnings about the arms race and social media, making grotesques out of the real world.
While this list of darkest cinematic dystopias may not contain the absolute worst images of humanity,...
As you might expect, dystopias tend to be cynical works of imagination. But that’s not all they are. By looking at how dark things could be, dystopias shine a light on the world as it currently is. Works of literature like Watchmen and television series such as Black Mirror have told their stories about bleak alternate realities to issue warnings about the arms race and social media, making grotesques out of the real world.
While this list of darkest cinematic dystopias may not contain the absolute worst images of humanity,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Though this blog platform is usually reserved for writing about movies, Howard Rodman’s novel is totally filmic and he himself has served as President of the Writers Guild of American, so that is close enough. Moreover after spending a total of two years in Berlin in the past three years and going into my next six months here, this ode to Berlin is particularly pleasing to me. This novel is a fictional account of Fritz Lang’s last year in Berlin, in 1933. Not a very good year. He is estranged from his wife — long time collaborator on his best films, M, Metropolis, Doctor Mabuse… Though they still share living quarters, she is having an affair with an American. He is hurt within and is also suffering from a toothache adding to the interior pain in the life of this great German director, son of a Jewish mother who converted the Catholicism and raised him strictly as a Catholic. Taking place in Weimar Berlin, we see the fashion, the glitz, the clubs, the cars, the interior decoration, and as alluded to before, the interior life of Fritz as he watches his friends and colleagues leaving Germany for U.S. and France, and in the case of Bertolt Brecht, his wife Helen Weigel and their son, for Hungary. The kicker is midway in when Fritz Lcang invites his wife Thea to the UFA screening room where Harold Nebenthal and Edward Ulmer, just back from, and about to return to Hollywood, are together and discover that, because of new Jewish laws, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse’s theatrical release at the UFA Palast has been replaced by Wounded Germany This blog is quite expressionistic, beginning with my quoting off the flyleaf of the book cover here as Howard speaks best for himself. Berlin, the last day of February, 1933. The Reichstag lies in smoldering ruins. A new world is about to spring from its ashes. For German filmmakers, there is a choice. To stay, work with the new order, a government which truly believes in the power of film; or to leave, without looking back. Destiny Express is the story of Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou. Together, they made some of the greatest films of all time. M, Metropolis, Doctor Mabuse. Married more than a decade, Lang and von Harbou are the most intimate of friends, the closest of enemies. Now, as day after day is torn from the calendar, they watch, as if paralyzed, as one by one. Bert Brecht, Max Ophuls, Billy Wilder take the next train out. Fritz Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou in their Berlin apartment, in 1923 or 1924 (which is, when the script for Metropolis was prepared). The photograph is from a series about this famous couple. Public Domain. At once exhaustively researched and wildly imagined, Destiny Express follows Lang, von Harbou, a host of real and fictional others — American cafe Surrealist Sam Harrison, novelist-turned-minister-of-culture Joseph Goebbels, Mercedes-racing champ Otto Merz, film star Rudolf Klein-Rogge, a pair of not-so-secret police — as their paths converge, intertwine, separate across the grid of Berlin, from the artificial daylight of the UFA soundstage to the artificial night of Berlin’s most exclusive clubs. Both protagonists have separate personal agendas they are following and they try not to get into each other’s way. As we watch the action, the inner life we witness of Fritz Lang as he weighs his options, thinks about his wife — his love and yet his nemesis — thinks about leaving, wishes they could be together, plays the tough guy; and in the end goes his way as she goes hers; these are the keynotes of the novel. Howard Rodman writes with a flair for visuals and for being able to show us the interior of the minds of creatives as if they were the outward reality. He is also able to reveal inward thoughts which run on separate tracks at the same time. This talent is what gives the novel a special edge. Add the expressionistic elongation of shadows, the sounds of heels clicking on the pavements, as in: On Konigstrasse her heels struck the cobbles with a high, flinty click which came back to her in syncopation from the building frontage. the silent river running through Berlin, cars, clubs, cafes, UFA Studios, Prussian apartments, paintings by Otto Dix…a dynamic Berlin, known in a nostalgic way, comes to life Cars: At once the blacktop rejoined Konigstrasse, and Lang slid the Lancea adeptly into the stream of traffic… Howard reminded me he had not been in Berlin when he wrote this making it all the more extraordinary… Shadows: Midway between two lamps Thea cast shadows of equal length before and behind. The shadow in front of her elongated, became more vague, as she approached the next lamp. The echo seemed to come back fractionally later than she’d been anticipating, and she stopped, to see if there were another set of footsteps dogging her own, but there were not. Thoughts running parallel to each other: And finally, as Lang leaves Berlin on the train, “There were fewer tracks. The lines were branching out, each with its specific destination…Then there was just one set of tracks, the one the train was reeling out behnd it. The glow of the train’s rear lights, a dense crimson, did not penetrate to where the rails converged. by raising his eyes a bit, Lang could feel them coming together, as he left all behind. Howard A. Rodman Howard A. Rodman is a screenwriter, novelist, and educator. He was President of Writers Guild of America West 2015–2017; is professor and former chair of the writing division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts; an artistic director of the Sundance Institute Screenwriting Labs; a member of the executive committee of the Writers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; and a fellow of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. His films include Savage Grace, starring Julianne Moore, — official selection Cannes Film Festival in 2007 — and August with Josh Hartnett, Rip Torn, and David Bowie. Son of Howard Rodman and Dorothy Rodman. Stepson of Norma Connolly. Brother of Adam Rodman. Howard A. Rodman has been married to Mary Beth Heffernan since June 25, 2017. He was previously married to Anne Friedberg (24 June 1990–9 October 2009) ( her death) with whom he had one child. · President, Writers Guild of America West, 2015–2017. · Named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the Republic of France, 2013. · Inducted into FinalDraft’s Screenwriters Hall of Fame, 2018. Writer (6 credits) 2008 August (written by) 2007 Savage Grace (screenplay) 2000 Takedown (screenplay) 2000 Joe Gould’s Secret (screenplay) 1997 The Hunger (TV Series) (screenplay — 1 episode — which he also directed!), - The Swords (1997) … (screenplay) 1993–1995 Fallen Angels (TV Series) (teleplay — 3 episodes) - The Professional Man (1995) … (teleplay) - The Frightening Frammis (1993) … (teleplay) - The Quiet Room (1993) … (teleplay) As a writer, Howard has had plenty to live up to as his father’s bio, written by Howard himself attests: Howard Rodman, Sr. was an American writer and story editor of such critically acclaimed series such as Naked City (1958) and Route 66 (1960). A Brooklyn native, the son of immigrant parents, Rodman began his career in the 1950s writing for such noted anthology series as Studio One, Alcoa Theater, and Goodyear Theater. He contributed to Have Gun — Will Travel (1957) and was an associate producer on Peyton Place (1964). In the subsequent decades he won a trio of Writer’s Guild awards for his scripts for Naked City: Today the Man Who Kills Ants Is Coming (1962), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre: The Game with Glass Pieces (1964), and for the NBC/Universal Television drama, The Neon Ceiling (1971). As a feature writer, he scripted the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward racing film, Winning (1969), and co-wrote three iconic feature films for director Don Siegel: Madigan (1968), Coogan’s Bluff (1968), and Charley Varrick (1973). Rodman also wrote the teleplay adaptation of Martin Caidin’s novel, ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’, essentially creating the television version of the character as well as supplying the format for the subsequent series. Dissatisfied with the final product he removed his name and substituted his pseudonym Henri Simoun, a frequent practice. Rodman was once quoted as saying, “The script isn’t finished until the name comes off”. Rodman also created the David Janssen private eye series Harry O (1973). In 1976, he was presented with the Writers Guild’s Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in television. His final project was the made-for-tv movie Scandal Sheet (1985), starring Burt Lancaster. He died of complications following heart surgery in Los Angeles at age 65. He was survived by his second wife, actress Norma Connolly, and his children: Howard A. Rodman (a writer), Adam Rodman (a writer), Phillip Rodman, and Tiahna Skye. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Howard A. Rodman #Berlin #Movies #Book Review #Nazis #Cinema...
- 3/5/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Last week, it was announced that Briana Middleton (Sharper) will be starring in the Apple TV series Metropolis, created by Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail and inspired by the 1927 sci-fi classic directed by Fritz Lang. Now Variety reports that a key supporting role has gone to Lindy Booth, who may be best known for playing the role of Cassandra Cillian on 42 episodes of The Librarians.
Based on a novel by Thea Von Harbou, Metropolis was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. Plot details for the TV series are being kept under wraps.
Reports of Middleton’s casting revealed that she will be playing a character named Finnie...
Based on a novel by Thea Von Harbou, Metropolis was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. Plot details for the TV series are being kept under wraps.
Reports of Middleton’s casting revealed that she will be playing a character named Finnie...
- 2/20/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Lindy Booth (The Librarians) is set to star opposite Briana Middleton in Apple TV+’s drama series Metropolis, inspired by Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 science fiction film, from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and UCP where he is under an overall deal.
Booth will play Maria, one of the lead characters in the movie, directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou. Based on the latter’s 1925 novel, the movie was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with the city master.
Middleton plays the series’ lead Finnie Polito, a new character, as the TV adaptation tells a new story.
Metropolis is executive produced by Esmail via his deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group,...
Booth will play Maria, one of the lead characters in the movie, directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou. Based on the latter’s 1925 novel, the movie was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with the city master.
Middleton plays the series’ lead Finnie Polito, a new character, as the TV adaptation tells a new story.
Metropolis is executive produced by Esmail via his deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail has been working on a TV series adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic sci-fi movie Metropolis for some time, and now he finally has a star. It was reported today that Briana Middleton is set to star in the Metropolis TV series, which Esmail is developing for Apple.
Plot details for the Metropolis TV series continue to be kept under wraps, but Briana Middleton will be playing a character named Finnie Polito. Based on the novel by Thea Von Harbou, the original 1927 film was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. We’ll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the movie in just a few short years.
Plot details for the Metropolis TV series continue to be kept under wraps, but Briana Middleton will be playing a character named Finnie Polito. Based on the novel by Thea Von Harbou, the original 1927 film was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. We’ll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the movie in just a few short years.
- 2/14/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Briana Middleton, one of the leads of Apple TV+’s upcoming movie Sharper, has been tapped by the streamer to headline its high-profile drama series Metropolis, inspired by Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 science fiction film. Middleton is the first actor cast in the project, from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and UCP where he is under an overall deal.
Middleton will play the lead role of Finnie Polito. It is a new character that did not appear in the movie, directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou based on the latter’s 1925 novel, which was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with the city master.
Metropolis is executive produced by Esmail via his deal with UCP,...
Middleton will play the lead role of Finnie Polito. It is a new character that did not appear in the movie, directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou based on the latter’s 1925 novel, which was set in a futuristic urban dystopia and followed the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with the city master.
Metropolis is executive produced by Esmail via his deal with UCP,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Broadening a multi-front action initiative, Sitges is pushing women in genre.
WomanInFan, one of the major platforms at this year’s Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, which runs Oct. 6-16, looks set to provide a full development program for female genre filmmaking.
On this year’s agenda is a contest to obtain financing for a short-teaser, which Sitges Foundation Manager, Mònica Garcia Massagué said will provide “a future filmmaker the opportunity to have a market tool.”
A book of essays titled “WomanInFan” and sub-titled as a “Topography of Fantastic Genre Films Directed by Women,” will be presented withambitions to give a past, present and future take on women in genre cinema.
Sitges will stage a panel with Booker-shortlisted author Mariana Enríquez, Carlota Pereda, director of Austin Fantastic Fest winner “Piggy,” film programmer and writer Heidi Honeycutt, and author-director-producer Kier-La Janisse.
The festival will also offer grants for initiatives...
WomanInFan, one of the major platforms at this year’s Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, which runs Oct. 6-16, looks set to provide a full development program for female genre filmmaking.
On this year’s agenda is a contest to obtain financing for a short-teaser, which Sitges Foundation Manager, Mònica Garcia Massagué said will provide “a future filmmaker the opportunity to have a market tool.”
A book of essays titled “WomanInFan” and sub-titled as a “Topography of Fantastic Genre Films Directed by Women,” will be presented withambitions to give a past, present and future take on women in genre cinema.
Sitges will stage a panel with Booker-shortlisted author Mariana Enríquez, Carlota Pereda, director of Austin Fantastic Fest winner “Piggy,” film programmer and writer Heidi Honeycutt, and author-director-producer Kier-La Janisse.
The festival will also offer grants for initiatives...
- 10/4/2022
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
Metropolis is coming soon to Apple TV+. The streaming service has ordered a new sci-fi series which is based on the 1927 German expressionist film by Fritz Lang and the 1925 sci-fi novel by Thea Von Harbou. Set in a futuristic urban dystopia, the story follows the work of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a champion to the workers. They strive to overcome the gulf separating the classes in their city and to bring the workers together with city master Joh Fredersen. Mr. Robot's Sam Esmail will write and direct the new series.
Read More…...
Read More…...
- 3/2/2022
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Apple TV+ has handed a series order to Metropolis, a new drama from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, TVLine has learned.
The project is inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1927 German science-fiction film of the same name, which itself is based upon a 1925 novel by Thea von Harbou.
More from TVLineMichael Douglas Is Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV+ Limited SeriesSeverance Premiere Recap: I Left My Mind at the Office -- Plus, Grade It!Ted Lasso's Brendan Hunt Hints at Season 3 Premiere Time Jump, Teases Rivalry With Coach Nate's West Ham
Per the original film’s description, “Metropolis takes place in 2026, when...
The project is inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1927 German science-fiction film of the same name, which itself is based upon a 1925 novel by Thea von Harbou.
More from TVLineMichael Douglas Is Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV+ Limited SeriesSeverance Premiere Recap: I Left My Mind at the Office -- Plus, Grade It!Ted Lasso's Brendan Hunt Hints at Season 3 Premiere Time Jump, Teases Rivalry With Coach Nate's West Ham
Per the original film’s description, “Metropolis takes place in 2026, when...
- 3/1/2022
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
Sam Esmail’s adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 film Metropolis finally is coming to the small screen.
The streamer has handed a series order to the project, which comes out of the Mr. Robot creator’s massive overall deal at UCP.
It will be written and directed entirely by Esmail, who also is behind Starz’s upcoming political drama series Gaslit.
2022 Apple TV+ Pilots & Series Orders
Metropolis was directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou based on the latter’s 1925 novel. It is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master.
The silent film is considered one of the first feature films in the sci-fi genre and,...
The streamer has handed a series order to the project, which comes out of the Mr. Robot creator’s massive overall deal at UCP.
It will be written and directed entirely by Esmail, who also is behind Starz’s upcoming political drama series Gaslit.
2022 Apple TV+ Pilots & Series Orders
Metropolis was directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou based on the latter’s 1925 novel. It is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master.
The silent film is considered one of the first feature films in the sci-fi genre and,...
- 3/1/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
(The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fan-made productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.)
In this edition, take a closer look at the recently released teaser for the fourth season of "Stranger Things" to see if there are any details that might provide some insight into the story. Plus, see how Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi classic "Metropolis" compares to the book by Thea Von Harbou that inspired it. And finally, catch up...
The post The Morning Watch: Stranger Things Season 4 Teaser Easter Eggs, Metropolis Book Comparison & More appeared first on /Film.
In this edition, take a closer look at the recently released teaser for the fourth season of "Stranger Things" to see if there are any details that might provide some insight into the story. Plus, see how Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi classic "Metropolis" compares to the book by Thea Von Harbou that inspired it. And finally, catch up...
The post The Morning Watch: Stranger Things Season 4 Teaser Easter Eggs, Metropolis Book Comparison & More appeared first on /Film.
- 9/27/2021
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
At the end of his career, Fritz Lang returned to Germany and a producer who gave him a big budget to remake a silent classic in color, with an international cast and locations in remote India, including a palace never seen in a movie before. The two-movie, 200-minute epic was chopped in half for America and dubbed in English. Seen in its full Eastmancolor glory, The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb form an old-fashioned storybook tale, with its special charm lying in our knowledge of Fritz Lang’s fixation on fatalism and intricate patterns of betrayal and intrigue. Plus the films contain the erotic highlight of the decade, the spectacle of star Debra Paget’s scorching ‘temple dances’ before an all-male audience of admirers.
Fritz Lang’s Indian Epic
The Tiger of Eschnapur
and The Indian Tomb
Blu-ray
Film Movement Classics
1959 / Color / 1:33 flat full frame / 203 min. / Street...
Fritz Lang’s Indian Epic
The Tiger of Eschnapur
and The Indian Tomb
Blu-ray
Film Movement Classics
1959 / Color / 1:33 flat full frame / 203 min. / Street...
- 12/3/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Often relegated to a cursory mention as one of the great filmmaker’s late-career trifles, Fritz Lang’s “Indian Epic”—comprising The Tiger of Eschnapur (Der Tiger von Eschnapur) and The Indian Tomb (Das Indische Grabmal), both from 1959—is more like a charming throwback to his earliest work than it is an indication of any waning productivity. Its supporting roots stretch from the early 1920s, when Lang and his soon-to-be-wife Thea von Harbou began drafting an adaptation of her 1918 novel, “The Indian Tomb.” Owing in part to Lang’s relative inexperience, though, the project was turned over to Joe May, who directed the subsequent two-part feature in 1921, which would itself be remade by Richard Eichberg in 1938. Lang bristled at the creative theft (as he saw it anyway) and went packing to Ufa, promptly flourishing as one of the preeminent filmmakers in the world. Later, after more than two decades in Hollywood,...
- 9/26/2019
- MUBI
This past Saturday I participated in the Women’s March in NYC. While I marched with a group of burlesque performers and friends, other columnists here at ComicMix participated including Molly Jackson and Martha Thomases. It was an important moment of demonstration for the first days of the new administration here, and I’m glad I participated. For all of those reading who want to do something and were unable to attend I can assure you there will be plenty more opportunities to come.
Meanwhile, in my free time I’ve been reading some of the DC Comics Elseworlds. For those of you unfamiliar, these were stories that took place outside of DC Comics continuity that often involve alternate histories of what could have been. As you can imagine, that premise is really intriguing to me lately.
I’ve read four Elseworlds in the past couple of weeks, all of which were ones starring Superman.
Meanwhile, in my free time I’ve been reading some of the DC Comics Elseworlds. For those of you unfamiliar, these were stories that took place outside of DC Comics continuity that often involve alternate histories of what could have been. As you can imagine, that premise is really intriguing to me lately.
I’ve read four Elseworlds in the past couple of weeks, all of which were ones starring Superman.
- 1/24/2017
- by Joe Corallo
- Comicmix.com
Jim Knipfel Jan 10, 2019
We take a look back at the enduring legacy of the world’s first cinematic sci-fi epic, Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
In an interview with Peter Bogdanovich shortly before his death in 1976, Fritz Lang said of Metropolis, “You cannot make a social-conscious picture in which you say that the intermediary between the hand and the brain is the heart. I mean, that's a fairy tale – definitely. But I was very interested in machines. Anyway, I didn't like the picture – thought it was silly and stupid – then, when I saw the astronauts: what else are they but part of a machine? It's very hard to talk about pictures—should I say now that I like Metropolis because something I have seen in my imagination comes true, when I detested it after it was finished?”
Lang wasn’t alone back in 1927 when the film was first released. Critics applauded...
We take a look back at the enduring legacy of the world’s first cinematic sci-fi epic, Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
In an interview with Peter Bogdanovich shortly before his death in 1976, Fritz Lang said of Metropolis, “You cannot make a social-conscious picture in which you say that the intermediary between the hand and the brain is the heart. I mean, that's a fairy tale – definitely. But I was very interested in machines. Anyway, I didn't like the picture – thought it was silly and stupid – then, when I saw the astronauts: what else are they but part of a machine? It's very hard to talk about pictures—should I say now that I like Metropolis because something I have seen in my imagination comes true, when I detested it after it was finished?”
Lang wasn’t alone back in 1927 when the film was first released. Critics applauded...
- 1/4/2017
- Den of Geek
In what might be some of the most exciting entertainment news in recent weeks, Mr, Robot creator Sam Esmail is reportedly in the early stages of developing a television mini-series based on the classic silent film, Metropolis. The project is unfolding at Universal Cable Productions, which appears to have made a huge commitment to Esmail, allowing him a great deal of time and a vast budget to fully realize his vision.
Metropolis is a German, silent science fiction film that was released in 1927 – directed by Fritz Lang, who co-wrote the screenplay with his then wife, Thea von Harbou, who was the author of the original story. It’s set in a dystopian 2026, and finds the city of Metropolis divided along class lines. Wealthy industrialists rule from the upper reaches of their high rise towers, while impoverished workers operate the underground machinery that provides them power. The son of the city...
Metropolis is a German, silent science fiction film that was released in 1927 – directed by Fritz Lang, who co-wrote the screenplay with his then wife, Thea von Harbou, who was the author of the original story. It’s set in a dystopian 2026, and finds the city of Metropolis divided along class lines. Wealthy industrialists rule from the upper reaches of their high rise towers, while impoverished workers operate the underground machinery that provides them power. The son of the city...
- 12/17/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
He's back and more diabolically ruthless than ever! Berlin cowers under the influence of a gambler-mastermind, the secret architect of an 'Empire of Crime.' Restored to near its full length (4.5 hours!), Fritz Lang's monumental pulp masterpiece is a Euro-classic lover's delight. Dr. Mabuse The Gambler Blu-ray Kino Lorber Classics 1922 / B&W / 1:33 flat Full Frame / 270 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Alfred Abel, Aud Egede Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Bernhard Goetzke, Robert Forster-Larrinaga, Paul Richter Cinematography Carl Hoffmann Art Direction Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl Stahl-Urach, Karl Vollbrecht Writing credits Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou & Norbert Jacques from the novel by Norbert Jacques Produced by Erich Pommer Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fritz Lang really upped his game, directing-wise, between his 1921 fantasy epic Destiny and his next thriller extravaganza Dr. Mabuse The Gambler. Transcending contemporary notions of a popular release, the...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fritz Lang really upped his game, directing-wise, between his 1921 fantasy epic Destiny and his next thriller extravaganza Dr. Mabuse The Gambler. Transcending contemporary notions of a popular release, the...
- 9/12/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Few filmmakers have had a decade-long run quite like director Fritz Lang did from 1921-1931. Featuring films like Metropolis, Spies and lest we forget arguably his greatest film, 1931’s M, Lang’s run throughout the ‘20s and into the ‘30s is a collection of films that any director would kill to have listed on his iMDB credits page.
And one of the films that started this series is maybe the director’s most underrated masterpiece, 1921’s silent epic Destiny. One of the “weirder” entries in the filmography of Fritz Lang, this neo-surrealist horror/drama tells the story of a woman as she encounters the physical manifestation of death, a black cloaked-man (Bernhard Goetzke), after he steals away her main squeeze (Walter Janssen). Attempting to get him back at all costs, Death offers the woman three chances to save her lover, tasking the woman (played by Lil Dagover) with saving the...
And one of the films that started this series is maybe the director’s most underrated masterpiece, 1921’s silent epic Destiny. One of the “weirder” entries in the filmography of Fritz Lang, this neo-surrealist horror/drama tells the story of a woman as she encounters the physical manifestation of death, a black cloaked-man (Bernhard Goetzke), after he steals away her main squeeze (Walter Janssen). Attempting to get him back at all costs, Death offers the woman three chances to save her lover, tasking the woman (played by Lil Dagover) with saving the...
- 9/2/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
When Fritz Lang began in film he was a better writer than director. This lavish two-part thriller sees him concocting a multi-genre mashup, shoehorning cowboy action thrills and an exotic lost Incan civilization into dagger-and-poison serial skullduggery. The Spiders Blu-ray Kino Classics 1919 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 173 min. / Street Date August 23, 2016 / Die Spinnen / available through Kino Classics / 29.95 Starring Carl de Vogt, Ressel Orla, Lil Dagover, Georg John. Cinematography Karl Freund Designers Otto Hunte, Carl Ludwig Kirmse, Heinrich Umlauff, Hermann Warm Music (2012) Ben Model Produced by Erich Pommer Written and Directed by Fritz Lang There appears to be nothing new under the sun, even if lovers of Indiana Jones don't realize that most everything he did, had been done long before in silent serials. I have a lazy habit here of claiming that Fritz Lang invented most of the basic ideas we see in every adventure genre except the western. But these...
- 8/13/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Death doesn't take a holiday in this, the granddaddy of movies about the woeful duties of the Grim Reaper. Fritz Lang's heavy-duty Expressionist fable is as German as they get -- a morbid folk tale with an emotionally powerful finish. Destiny Blu-ray Kino Classics 1921 / B&W / 1:33 flat / 98 min. / Street Date August 30, 2016 / Der müde Tod / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Bernhard Goetzke, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Georg John. Cinematography Bruno Mondi, Erich Nitzschmann, Herrmann Saalfrank, Bruno Timm, Fritz Arno Wagner Film Editor Fritz Lang Written by Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou Produced by Erich Pommer Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari takes the prize for the most influential work of early German Expressionism, but coming in a close second is the film in which Fritz Lang first got his act (completely) together, 1921's Destiny (Der müde Tod). A wholly cinematic...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari takes the prize for the most influential work of early German Expressionism, but coming in a close second is the film in which Fritz Lang first got his act (completely) together, 1921's Destiny (Der müde Tod). A wholly cinematic...
- 8/6/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Roland Emmerich's (More Creative) Predecessor: Lang Was Early Cinema's Foremost Master of Spectacles
'Die Nibelungen: Siegfried': Paul Richter as the dragon-slaying hero of medieval Germanic mythology. 'Die Nibelungen': Enthralling silent classic despite complex plot and countless characters Based on the medieval epic poem Nibelungenlied, itself inspired by the early medieval Germanic saga about the Burgundian royal family, Fritz Lang's two-part Die Nibelungen is one of those movies I can enjoy many times without ever really understanding who's who and what's what. After all, the semi-historical, fantasy/adventure epic is packed with intrigue, treachery, deceit, hatred, murder, and sex. And that's just the basic plotline. As seen in Kino's definitive two-disc edition, artistically and cinematically speaking Die Nibelungen contains some of the greatest visual compositions I've ever seen. Filmed mostly in long shots that frame the imaginative sets and high ceilings, each static shot is meticulously composed with such symmetry and balance that, even though Die Nibelungen takes the viewer through a mythical fantasia,...
- 6/22/2016
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
The Nazis can't even keep the National Socialist propaganda out of a simple science fiction fable. Hans Albers is the Aryan King Midas as a scientist, and gorgeous Brigitte Helm the Englishwoman who thinks he's peachy keen. The climax is pure Sci-Fi heaven, an unstable 'Atomic Fracturing' installation, wa-ay deep down in a mineshaft under the ocean. Gold (1934) Blu-ray Kino Classics 1934 / B&W / 1:33 flat Full Frame / 117 min. / Street Date June 14, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Hans Albers, Friedrich Kayßler, Brigitte Helm, Michael Bohnen, Ernst Karchow, Lien Deyers, Eberhard Leithoff, Rudolf Platte. Cinematography Otto Baecker, Werner Bohne, Günther Rittau Art Direction Otto Hunte Film Editor Wolfgang Becker Original Music Hans-Otto Borgmann Written by Rolf E. Vanloo Produced by Alfred Zeisler Directed by Karl Hartl
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Hardy Encyclopedia of Science Fiction still teases Sci-fi fans that want to see everything listed in its pages. Thankfully, videodisc companies catering to collectors make possible the sale of titles that might never show up on some (authorized) streaming service. Video disc has brought us the original Der Schweigende Stern and Alraune from Germany, and I hope to someday see good copies of Kurt Siodmak and Karl Hartl's F.P. 1 Does Not Answer and the Harry Piel Sci-fi trilogy An Invisible Man Roams the City, The World Unmasked (an X-ray television camera) and Master of the World (a robot with a death ray). I've read about Karl Hartl's 1934 Gold for at least fifty years, since John Baxter's Science Fiction in the Cinema told us (not quite correctly) that its final reel had been borrowed for the conclusion of Ivan Tors' 1953 Sci-fi picture The Magnetic Monster. As it turns out, Kino is releasing both movies in the same week. Sometimes referred to as the Nazi Metropolis, Hartl's Gold is a follow-up to the director's very successful F.P.1. Does Not Answer, a spy thriller about a fantastic airport in the mid-Atlantic called Floating Platform One. Both pictures were filmed in simultaneous foreign versions to maximize the box office take. The German original of F.P. 1 starred matinee idol Hans Albers (The Blue Angel) Sybille Schmitz (Vampyr) and Peter Lorre, while a concurrent French version used Charles Boyer, Danièle Parola and Pierre Brasseur. A third English version starred Conrad Veidt, Jill Esmond and Donald Calthrop. The French version starred Brigitte Helm in the same role, but star Hans Albers reportedly rebelled at making two movies for the price of one. According to reports, the exceedingly expensive Gold was in production for fifteen months. We can see the cost immediately in the enormous main set for the 'atomic fracturing' machine built to transmute lead into gold. Otto Hunte and Günther Rittau designed and filmed special effects for Metropolis and the impressive set is very much in the same style. Off the top of my head I can't think of any technical apparatus quite so elaborate (and solid-looking) built for a film until the 1960s and Ken Adam's outlandish settings for UA's James Bond films. Writer Rolf E. Vanloo had worked on the silent classic Asphalt and is the sole writer credited on the popular Marlene Dietrich vehicle I Kiss Your Hand, Madame. His screenplay for Gold is tight and credible, even if its theme is even more simplistic than -- and somewhat similar to -- that of Thea von Harbou for Metropolis. Scientist Werner Holk (Hans Albers) aids the visionary Professor Achenbach (Friedrich Kayßler) in testing what looks like an electric atom smasher. The experiment: to turn lead into gold. The 'Atomic Fracturer' explodes, killing the old genius, whose work is discredited. Holk barely survives, thanks to a blood transfusion from his faithful girlfriend Margit Moller (Lien Deyers). When agents for the fabulously wealthy Englishman John Wills (Michael Bohnen) contact Holk, he realizes that the experiment was sabotaged. Werner allows himself to be taken to a fabulous yacht and from there to a Scottish castle, where, hundreds of feet under the ocean, Wills has constructed his own, far larger atom smasher with plans stolen from Achenbach. Split between his need for revenge and a desire to prove the dead Achenbach's theories, Holk goes through with the experiment. Wills' daughter Florence (Brigitte Helm), a gorgeous playgirl, is attracted to the German visitor, Holk finds that the workers' foreman, Schwarz (Rudolf Platte) is of a like mind on economic issues. But Wills' engineer Harris (Eberhard Leithoff) is jealous of Holk's talent, and cannot be trusted. Gold begins by repeating the 'big money hostile takeover of science' theme from Fritz Lang's Frau im mond: a pioneering German scientific exploit is siezed by an unscrupulous international business entity. The unspoken message is that the weakened Germany is being cheated in the world economy because it lacks the resources to exploit its superior technology. The avaricious John Wills makes big financial decisions all day long. There's no gray area in this conflict, as Wells murders, steals and spies on people to get what he wants. We've seen his ruthless agents wreck Achenbach's original, modest experiment. This 'England plays dirty' theme mirrors Germany's bitterness toward England for at least the better part of a century of colonial, naval and financial competition. Versailles and WW1 aren't mentioned, but that had to be on the minds of the audience as well: Germany innovates and works hard, but is consistently handed a raw deal. The scenes with the sleek, fascinating Brigitte Helm would be better if they went somewhere; her Florence does what she can to entice Herr Holk but withdraws when he declares his love for his faithful girl back home, the one whose life blood now flows in his veins. 'Das Blut' cannot be dishonored, even if Holk is half convinced that Wills is going to have him murdered after the giant machine starts turning out Gold by the ton. Act Two instead becomes a conflict between Big Capitalism and the lowly-but-virtuous Working Man. Down in the underground warren of tunnels (another Metropolis parallel) Wills' Scottish workforce of sandhogs and technicians side with Holk against their boss. After a preliminary test yields a tiny bit of gold, we get the expected montages of worldwide economic panic, standard material in socially oriented sci-fi as diverse as La fin du monde and Red Planet Mars. Wells plans to grow rich by flooding the world with his artificially produced gold, a strategy that will have to be explained to me. Gold is the world's standard of value precisely because it's rare; it can't be printed up like money. Thirty years later, the surprisingly sophisticated scheme of Auric Goldfinger is to increase the value of his stash of gold bullion by rendering America's gold reserves radioactive, and therefore worthless. If scarcity raises the value of the element, making more should do the opposite. (On the other hand, what about artificial diamonds? Is there any correspondence there?) [I'm acutely aware that discussing the subject matter of movies mainly points up how much I don't know, about anything but movies.] The Incredible Holk convinces the mob of workers that he represents their interests better than the greedy John Wills. The idea that rich English capitalists need to be rejected in favor of honest German morality is the only real message here. It's as simple as the 'heart mediating between the hands and the brain' slogan of Metropolis, but with a slightly arrogant nationalism added. The lavishly produced Gold was filmed on a series of truly impressive sets, including Wills' enormous Scottish mansion. But the giant setting for the climax, deep in a mine under the ocean floor, is the stuff of core Sci-fi. Millions of volts of electricity are harnessed to transmute lead into Gold. That's got to be a heck of an electricity bill; factor in the other enormous overhead costs and we wonder if Wills will ever turn a profit. The special effects for this sequence are sensational. The enormous apparatus is suspended on huge oversized porcelain insulators. The giant glass tubes atop the specimen stage are apparently visualized with mattes and foreground miniatures. But the camera pans and trucks all over the hangar-sized set; it all looks real, with bolts of electricity flashing like crazy. It's a dynamic special effect highlight of the 1930s. The actors sell the conflict well. Beefy Hans Albers sometimes looks like George C. Scott. He exudes personal integrity and a calm force of will. Lien Dyers is as wholesome here as she was wantonly sexualized six years earlier in Fritz Lang's Spies. Michael Bohnen is more than convincing as a powerful man trying to corner all business on an international scale. Although mostly in for decoration, Brigitte Helm is a sophisticated dazzler. Those penciled eyebrows remind us that she had become the Marlene Dietrich that didn't go to Hollywood. Although she did have offers, Helm wanted to stay in Germany. The Nazification of the film industry and the appalling political climate motivated her to leave for Switzerland in 1935, abandoning her career. Although the gist of Gold fits in with Josef Goebbels' National Socialist propaganda aims, the movie doesn't attack England directly. Ufa may have held hopes of foreign distribution. The one man in Scotland that Holk knows he can trust is the captain of Wills' yacht, a fellow German. Nine years later, Josef Goebbels' anti-British version of Titanic would make a German the single ethical person in authority on the doomed ocean liner. The fellow is constantly badmouthing the craven captain and the venal English ship owner. When Hans Albers finishes this movie with a ten-cent moral about love being the only real treasure, the show seems plenty dumb. But that amazing special effect set piece is too good to dismiss so easily. Gold is a classic of giddy '30s science fiction. The Kino Classics Blu-ray of Gold (1934) is a good encoding of the Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung's best copy of this once-rare item. The print we see is intact and with has good audio, but the contrast is rough. It shifts and flutters a bit, especially in some scenes in the middle. I did notice that the final special effects sequences looked better than much of the rest of this surviving print. But the parts of the movie repurposed for The Magnetic Monster look better on that 1953 science fiction film than they do here. In his book Film in the Third Reich David Stewart Hull explains that when the occupation forces reviewed the recovered German films, they ordered this one destroyed. They were concerned that the Alchemy / Atomic Fracturing machine might have some connection to Germany's wartime nuclear program. So how could Ivan Tors have bought the footage from Ufa, if the U.S. Army had seized it? I have a feeling - just idle speculation -- that it might have been obtained in a special deal made through government connections. Since the image looks much better on The Magnetic Monster, Ivan Tors might even have cut up Gold's only existing printing element to make his movie. After finally seeing Gold, one more thing impresses me besides the grandiose special effects. It's sort of a 'brain-drain' movie. In the '30s, Germany had a reputation for the best precision engineering in the world. Werner Holk is semi-kidnapped to serve John Wills' greedy science project, which was pirated from Germany in the first place. Also in awe of German scientific prowess is Brigitte Helm's Florence. The playgirl finds Werner Wolk's brilliance and clarity of mission irresistible. He's both smarter and more ethical than her father. Holk just stands there looking like he's posing for a statue, and Florence is carried away. Ms. Helm is terrific, but it would be nice if her character had a more central role to play in the story. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Gold (1934) Blu-ray rates: Movie: Very Good Video: Fair + This may be a rare surviving print. Sound: Good - Minus Supplements: none Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 10, 2016 (5137)
Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Hardy Encyclopedia of Science Fiction still teases Sci-fi fans that want to see everything listed in its pages. Thankfully, videodisc companies catering to collectors make possible the sale of titles that might never show up on some (authorized) streaming service. Video disc has brought us the original Der Schweigende Stern and Alraune from Germany, and I hope to someday see good copies of Kurt Siodmak and Karl Hartl's F.P. 1 Does Not Answer and the Harry Piel Sci-fi trilogy An Invisible Man Roams the City, The World Unmasked (an X-ray television camera) and Master of the World (a robot with a death ray). I've read about Karl Hartl's 1934 Gold for at least fifty years, since John Baxter's Science Fiction in the Cinema told us (not quite correctly) that its final reel had been borrowed for the conclusion of Ivan Tors' 1953 Sci-fi picture The Magnetic Monster. As it turns out, Kino is releasing both movies in the same week. Sometimes referred to as the Nazi Metropolis, Hartl's Gold is a follow-up to the director's very successful F.P.1. Does Not Answer, a spy thriller about a fantastic airport in the mid-Atlantic called Floating Platform One. Both pictures were filmed in simultaneous foreign versions to maximize the box office take. The German original of F.P. 1 starred matinee idol Hans Albers (The Blue Angel) Sybille Schmitz (Vampyr) and Peter Lorre, while a concurrent French version used Charles Boyer, Danièle Parola and Pierre Brasseur. A third English version starred Conrad Veidt, Jill Esmond and Donald Calthrop. The French version starred Brigitte Helm in the same role, but star Hans Albers reportedly rebelled at making two movies for the price of one. According to reports, the exceedingly expensive Gold was in production for fifteen months. We can see the cost immediately in the enormous main set for the 'atomic fracturing' machine built to transmute lead into gold. Otto Hunte and Günther Rittau designed and filmed special effects for Metropolis and the impressive set is very much in the same style. Off the top of my head I can't think of any technical apparatus quite so elaborate (and solid-looking) built for a film until the 1960s and Ken Adam's outlandish settings for UA's James Bond films. Writer Rolf E. Vanloo had worked on the silent classic Asphalt and is the sole writer credited on the popular Marlene Dietrich vehicle I Kiss Your Hand, Madame. His screenplay for Gold is tight and credible, even if its theme is even more simplistic than -- and somewhat similar to -- that of Thea von Harbou for Metropolis. Scientist Werner Holk (Hans Albers) aids the visionary Professor Achenbach (Friedrich Kayßler) in testing what looks like an electric atom smasher. The experiment: to turn lead into gold. The 'Atomic Fracturer' explodes, killing the old genius, whose work is discredited. Holk barely survives, thanks to a blood transfusion from his faithful girlfriend Margit Moller (Lien Deyers). When agents for the fabulously wealthy Englishman John Wills (Michael Bohnen) contact Holk, he realizes that the experiment was sabotaged. Werner allows himself to be taken to a fabulous yacht and from there to a Scottish castle, where, hundreds of feet under the ocean, Wills has constructed his own, far larger atom smasher with plans stolen from Achenbach. Split between his need for revenge and a desire to prove the dead Achenbach's theories, Holk goes through with the experiment. Wills' daughter Florence (Brigitte Helm), a gorgeous playgirl, is attracted to the German visitor, Holk finds that the workers' foreman, Schwarz (Rudolf Platte) is of a like mind on economic issues. But Wills' engineer Harris (Eberhard Leithoff) is jealous of Holk's talent, and cannot be trusted. Gold begins by repeating the 'big money hostile takeover of science' theme from Fritz Lang's Frau im mond: a pioneering German scientific exploit is siezed by an unscrupulous international business entity. The unspoken message is that the weakened Germany is being cheated in the world economy because it lacks the resources to exploit its superior technology. The avaricious John Wills makes big financial decisions all day long. There's no gray area in this conflict, as Wells murders, steals and spies on people to get what he wants. We've seen his ruthless agents wreck Achenbach's original, modest experiment. This 'England plays dirty' theme mirrors Germany's bitterness toward England for at least the better part of a century of colonial, naval and financial competition. Versailles and WW1 aren't mentioned, but that had to be on the minds of the audience as well: Germany innovates and works hard, but is consistently handed a raw deal. The scenes with the sleek, fascinating Brigitte Helm would be better if they went somewhere; her Florence does what she can to entice Herr Holk but withdraws when he declares his love for his faithful girl back home, the one whose life blood now flows in his veins. 'Das Blut' cannot be dishonored, even if Holk is half convinced that Wills is going to have him murdered after the giant machine starts turning out Gold by the ton. Act Two instead becomes a conflict between Big Capitalism and the lowly-but-virtuous Working Man. Down in the underground warren of tunnels (another Metropolis parallel) Wills' Scottish workforce of sandhogs and technicians side with Holk against their boss. After a preliminary test yields a tiny bit of gold, we get the expected montages of worldwide economic panic, standard material in socially oriented sci-fi as diverse as La fin du monde and Red Planet Mars. Wells plans to grow rich by flooding the world with his artificially produced gold, a strategy that will have to be explained to me. Gold is the world's standard of value precisely because it's rare; it can't be printed up like money. Thirty years later, the surprisingly sophisticated scheme of Auric Goldfinger is to increase the value of his stash of gold bullion by rendering America's gold reserves radioactive, and therefore worthless. If scarcity raises the value of the element, making more should do the opposite. (On the other hand, what about artificial diamonds? Is there any correspondence there?) [I'm acutely aware that discussing the subject matter of movies mainly points up how much I don't know, about anything but movies.] The Incredible Holk convinces the mob of workers that he represents their interests better than the greedy John Wills. The idea that rich English capitalists need to be rejected in favor of honest German morality is the only real message here. It's as simple as the 'heart mediating between the hands and the brain' slogan of Metropolis, but with a slightly arrogant nationalism added. The lavishly produced Gold was filmed on a series of truly impressive sets, including Wills' enormous Scottish mansion. But the giant setting for the climax, deep in a mine under the ocean floor, is the stuff of core Sci-fi. Millions of volts of electricity are harnessed to transmute lead into Gold. That's got to be a heck of an electricity bill; factor in the other enormous overhead costs and we wonder if Wills will ever turn a profit. The special effects for this sequence are sensational. The enormous apparatus is suspended on huge oversized porcelain insulators. The giant glass tubes atop the specimen stage are apparently visualized with mattes and foreground miniatures. But the camera pans and trucks all over the hangar-sized set; it all looks real, with bolts of electricity flashing like crazy. It's a dynamic special effect highlight of the 1930s. The actors sell the conflict well. Beefy Hans Albers sometimes looks like George C. Scott. He exudes personal integrity and a calm force of will. Lien Dyers is as wholesome here as she was wantonly sexualized six years earlier in Fritz Lang's Spies. Michael Bohnen is more than convincing as a powerful man trying to corner all business on an international scale. Although mostly in for decoration, Brigitte Helm is a sophisticated dazzler. Those penciled eyebrows remind us that she had become the Marlene Dietrich that didn't go to Hollywood. Although she did have offers, Helm wanted to stay in Germany. The Nazification of the film industry and the appalling political climate motivated her to leave for Switzerland in 1935, abandoning her career. Although the gist of Gold fits in with Josef Goebbels' National Socialist propaganda aims, the movie doesn't attack England directly. Ufa may have held hopes of foreign distribution. The one man in Scotland that Holk knows he can trust is the captain of Wills' yacht, a fellow German. Nine years later, Josef Goebbels' anti-British version of Titanic would make a German the single ethical person in authority on the doomed ocean liner. The fellow is constantly badmouthing the craven captain and the venal English ship owner. When Hans Albers finishes this movie with a ten-cent moral about love being the only real treasure, the show seems plenty dumb. But that amazing special effect set piece is too good to dismiss so easily. Gold is a classic of giddy '30s science fiction. The Kino Classics Blu-ray of Gold (1934) is a good encoding of the Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung's best copy of this once-rare item. The print we see is intact and with has good audio, but the contrast is rough. It shifts and flutters a bit, especially in some scenes in the middle. I did notice that the final special effects sequences looked better than much of the rest of this surviving print. But the parts of the movie repurposed for The Magnetic Monster look better on that 1953 science fiction film than they do here. In his book Film in the Third Reich David Stewart Hull explains that when the occupation forces reviewed the recovered German films, they ordered this one destroyed. They were concerned that the Alchemy / Atomic Fracturing machine might have some connection to Germany's wartime nuclear program. So how could Ivan Tors have bought the footage from Ufa, if the U.S. Army had seized it? I have a feeling - just idle speculation -- that it might have been obtained in a special deal made through government connections. Since the image looks much better on The Magnetic Monster, Ivan Tors might even have cut up Gold's only existing printing element to make his movie. After finally seeing Gold, one more thing impresses me besides the grandiose special effects. It's sort of a 'brain-drain' movie. In the '30s, Germany had a reputation for the best precision engineering in the world. Werner Holk is semi-kidnapped to serve John Wills' greedy science project, which was pirated from Germany in the first place. Also in awe of German scientific prowess is Brigitte Helm's Florence. The playgirl finds Werner Wolk's brilliance and clarity of mission irresistible. He's both smarter and more ethical than her father. Holk just stands there looking like he's posing for a statue, and Florence is carried away. Ms. Helm is terrific, but it would be nice if her character had a more central role to play in the story. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Gold (1934) Blu-ray rates: Movie: Very Good Video: Fair + This may be a rare surviving print. Sound: Good - Minus Supplements: none Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English Packaging: Keep case Reviewed: June 10, 2016 (5137)
Visit DVD Savant's Main Column Page Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: dvdsavant@mindspring.com
Text © Copyright 2016 Glenn Erickson...
- 6/14/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Guns! Bombs! Assassinations! Blackmail! Fritz Lang invents the escapist super-spy thriller! To seize a set of political documents the evil Haghi dispatches the seductive agents Kitty and Sonya to neutralize a Japanese security man and our own top spy No. 236. (that's 007 x 33,714.2857!) It's a top-rank silent winner from the maker of Metropolis. Spies (Spione) Blu-ray Kino Classics 1928 / B&W /1:33 Silent Aperture / 150 min. / Street Date February 23, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Lien Deyers, Willy Fritsch, Lupu Pick, Hertha von Walther, Fritz Rasp, Craighall Sherry, Hans Heinrich von Twardowsky, Gustl Gstettenbaur. Cinematography Fritz Arno Wagner Art Directors Otto Hunte, Karl Vollbrecht Set Designer Edgar G. Ulmer (reported) Original Music Werner R. Heymann (original) Neil Brand piano score on this disc. Written by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou from her novel Produced by Erich Pommer Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
How did Fritz Lang...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
How did Fritz Lang...
- 3/19/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In today's roundup of news and views, we collect further tributes to the late Jacques Rivette. Plus: Essays on Charles Chaplin's The Kid, Nagisa Oshima's Death by Hanging, Mike Nichols's The Graduate, Chantal Akerman's News from Home, Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou, George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, Louis Ck's Horace and Pete, David O. Russell's Joy, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's Anomalisa, Philippe Garrel's In the Shadow of Women, the impact of War Games and The Blair Witch Project as well as Jonathan Rosenbaum on Kon Ichikawa, Pedro Costa, Yasujiro Ozu, Danièle Huillet and Marcel L’Herbier. And more. » - David Hudson...
- 2/23/2016
- Keyframe
In today's roundup of news and views, we collect further tributes to the late Jacques Rivette. Plus: Essays on Charles Chaplin's The Kid, Nagisa Oshima's Death by Hanging, Mike Nichols's The Graduate, Chantal Akerman's News from Home, Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou, George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, Louis Ck's Horace and Pete, David O. Russell's Joy, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's Anomalisa, Philippe Garrel's In the Shadow of Women, the impact of War Games and The Blair Witch Project as well as Jonathan Rosenbaum on Kon Ichikawa, Pedro Costa, Yasujiro Ozu, Danièle Huillet and Marcel L’Herbier. And more. » - David Hudson...
- 2/23/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
Fritz Lang applies rigorous realism and excellent science in the first half of his final silent film, a treat for fantasy fans and those impressed by a Nasa-like moon rocket forty years before the reality. The action on the moon is pure green-cheese fantasy, with breathable air, deposits of gold and evidence of a human civilization. Let's go! Woman in the Moon Blu-ray Kino Classics 1929 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 169 min. / Street Date February 23, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Willy Frisch, Gerda Maurus, Gustav von Wangenheim, Klaus Phol, Fritz Rasp, Gustl Gstettenbaur. Cinematography: Curt Courant, Oskar Fischinger, Konstantin Irmen-Tschet, Otto Kanturek Art Direction: Joseph Danilowitz, Emil Hasler, Otto Hunte, Karl Vollbrecht, Prof. Gustav Wolff Technical Advisors Willy Ley, Hermann Oberth Special Effects Oskar Fischinger, Konstantin Irmen-Tschet Original Music Willy Schmidt-Gentner Written by Fritz Lang, Hermann Oberth, Thea von Harbou Produced and Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 2/10/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Dazzling urbanites of the New York persuasion will no doubt wend their way to MoMA's season of Argentinian noirs in February, seeking the familiar, morally-compromised pleasures of noir in an exotic new form. They will enjoy Carlos Hugo Christensen's Cornell Woolrich adaptations, subject of a previous Forgotten, the great, underrated French filmmaker Pierre Chenal's version of Native Son, and early work by Hugo Fregonese, later a decent Hollywood journeyman who made one classic for Val Lewton (eerie siege western Apache Drums).But they'll also get the chance to see a stylish remake of Fritz Lang's M, which is as free with its source material as Joseph Losey's recently reappraised 1951 version, and which might almost have cut its ties to its German role model to make its own way as an original work. It's faintly disappointing whenever its plot reconnects with Thea Von Harbou's masterly 1931 scenario,...
- 1/20/2016
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Hard to Be a God is playing on Mubi in the Us through January 2.Hard to Be a GodRussian director Aleksei German spent the final 15 years of his life working on Hard To Be A God (2013), a brutal medieval epic adapted from a 1964 novel of the same name by Arkady and Boris Strutgatsky, dying just before he could complete the job in February 2013. Happily, his son and widow were able to oversee the final sound mix. The result is one of the most immersive and harrowing cinematic experiences going, three hours of being put to the sword and mired in the mud, blood and viscera of a nightmare alternate reality.Although German's characters are dressed in the clanking armour, chainmail and robes of the European Middle Ages, Hard To Be A God is in fact set on a distant planet,...
- 12/3/2015
- by Joe Sommerlad
- MUBI
Special Mention: The Most Dangerous Game
Directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Written by James Creelman
USA, 1932
Genre: Survival Horror
The first of many official and unofficial screen versions of Richard Connell’s short story of the same name, The Most Dangerous Game was made in 1932, in the era known as “Pre-Code Hollywood,” a time when filmmakers were able to get away with sexual innuendo, illegal drug use, adultery, abortion, intense violence, homosexuality, and much more. It was during this time that a film like The Most Dangerous Game was allowed to be made and shown to the general public without fear of censorship. The film was put together by producer Willis O’Brien while in pre-production on King Kong, and features several of the same cast and crew members, as well as props and sets from Kong. Despite these obvious cost-cutting measures, Dangerous Game never feels like a second-rate production,...
Directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Written by James Creelman
USA, 1932
Genre: Survival Horror
The first of many official and unofficial screen versions of Richard Connell’s short story of the same name, The Most Dangerous Game was made in 1932, in the era known as “Pre-Code Hollywood,” a time when filmmakers were able to get away with sexual innuendo, illegal drug use, adultery, abortion, intense violence, homosexuality, and much more. It was during this time that a film like The Most Dangerous Game was allowed to be made and shown to the general public without fear of censorship. The film was put together by producer Willis O’Brien while in pre-production on King Kong, and features several of the same cast and crew members, as well as props and sets from Kong. Despite these obvious cost-cutting measures, Dangerous Game never feels like a second-rate production,...
- 10/30/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
Here we are at what is a surprisingly modern list. At the beginning of this, I didn’t expect to see so much cultural impact coming from films so recently made, but that’s the way it goes. The films that define the horror genre aren’t necessarily the scariest or the most expensive or even the best. The films that define the genre point to a movement – movies that changed the game and influenced all the films after it. Movies that transcend the horror genre. Movies that broke the mold and changed the way horror can be created.
10. El laberinto del fauno (2006)
English Language Title: Pan’s Labyrinth
Directed by: Gullermo del Toro
It’s more a dark fantasy film than a horror film, but it would be tough to make a list of 50 of those. Plus, it has enough graphic, nightmarish images to push it over the threshold.
10. El laberinto del fauno (2006)
English Language Title: Pan’s Labyrinth
Directed by: Gullermo del Toro
It’s more a dark fantasy film than a horror film, but it would be tough to make a list of 50 of those. Plus, it has enough graphic, nightmarish images to push it over the threshold.
- 10/24/2015
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
There's one ironclad rule for mad scientist movies: if you show a monstrous caged ape-creature in the first act, that ape-creature must absolutely break loose and wreak havoc before the end of Act III. Just ask George Zucco or John Carradine, they'll tell you. It makes no difference if the film is being made on Gower Gulch, or at Germany's prestigious UfA Studios. Alraune Region 2 Pal (Germany) DVD Arthaus 1952 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 87 min. / Unnatural, Mandragore, Vengeance / Street Date July 6, 2007 / Available at Amazon.de / Eur 16,90 Starring Hildegard Knef, Erich von Stroheim, Karlheinz Böhm, Harry Meyen, Rolf Henniger, Harry Halm, Hans Cossy, Gardy Brombacher, Trude Hesterberg, Julia Koschka, Denise Vernac. Cinematography Friedl Behn-Grund Film Editor Doris Zeitman Costume Designer Herbert Pioberger Original Music Werner R. Heymann Written by Kurt Heuser from the novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers Produced by Günther Stapenhorst Directed by Arthur Maria Rabenault
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 9/8/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here we are at what is a surprisingly modern list. At the beginning of this, I didn’t expect to see so much cultural impact coming from films so recently made, but that’s the way it goes. The films that define the horror genre aren’t necessarily the scariest or the most expensive or even the best. The films that define the genre point to a movement – movies that changed the game and influenced all the films after it. Movies that transcend the horror genre. Movies that broke the mold and changed the way horror can be created.
10. El laberinto del fauno (2006)
English Language Title: Pan’s Labyrinth
Directed by: Gullermo del Toro
It’s more a dark fantasy film than a horror film, but it would be tough to make a list of 50 of those. Plus, it has enough graphic, nightmarish images to push it over the threshold.
10. El laberinto del fauno (2006)
English Language Title: Pan’s Labyrinth
Directed by: Gullermo del Toro
It’s more a dark fantasy film than a horror film, but it would be tough to make a list of 50 of those. Plus, it has enough graphic, nightmarish images to push it over the threshold.
- 8/10/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Think silent films reached a high point with The Artist? The pre-sound era produced some of the most beautiful, arresting films ever made. From City Lights to Metropolis, Guardian and Observer critics pick the 10 best
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• Top 10 movie adaptations
• Top 10 animated movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. City Lights
City Lights was arguably the biggest risk of Charlie Chaplin's career: The Jazz Singer, released at the end of 1927, had seen sound take cinema by storm, but Chaplin resisted the change-up, preferring to continue in the silent tradition. In retrospect, this isn't so much the precious behaviour of a purist but the smart reaction of an experienced comedian; Chaplin's films rarely used intertitles anyway, and though it is technically "silent", City Lights is very mindful of it own self-composed score and keenly judged sound effects.
At its heart,...
• Top 10 teen movies
• Top 10 superhero movies
• Top 10 westerns
• Top 10 documentaries
• Top 10 movie adaptations
• Top 10 animated movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. City Lights
City Lights was arguably the biggest risk of Charlie Chaplin's career: The Jazz Singer, released at the end of 1927, had seen sound take cinema by storm, but Chaplin resisted the change-up, preferring to continue in the silent tradition. In retrospect, this isn't so much the precious behaviour of a purist but the smart reaction of an experienced comedian; Chaplin's films rarely used intertitles anyway, and though it is technically "silent", City Lights is very mindful of it own self-composed score and keenly judged sound effects.
At its heart,...
- 11/22/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time for one reason: the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. Enjoy!
Special Mention:
Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking dance routines and unique vocals have influenced generations of musicians, dancers, and entertainers. He was one of entertainment’s greatest icons, and like most gifted individuals, he was always pushing boundaries, reinventing himself, and testing his limits. One of his biggest accomplishments was Thriller, a 14-minute...
Special Mention:
Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking dance routines and unique vocals have influenced generations of musicians, dancers, and entertainers. He was one of entertainment’s greatest icons, and like most gifted individuals, he was always pushing boundaries, reinventing himself, and testing his limits. One of his biggest accomplishments was Thriller, a 14-minute...
- 10/17/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
This month, one of Fritz Lang’s first epic masterpieces, Die Nibelungen gets a lush Blu-ray treatment from Kino, and it has to be one of the most exciting remasters of the year. Sandwiched in-between his seminal crime classic Dr. Mabuse: the Gambler (1922) and Metropolis (1927), Lang’s expansive rendering of the Nordic legend is a technical achievement that rivals the likes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and was thus split into two parts, Siegfried and Kreimheld’s Revenge (and is not based on Wagner’s opera). Fans of Lang’s oeuvre should be salivating at the chance to experience these beautiful remastered prints, and even though Lang had his fair share of subpar titles, there’s no denying his innate genius here, with what stands as one of the most impressive feats of filmmaking before and after the advent of sound.
Siegfried (Paul Richter), is the son of King Siegmund,...
Siegfried (Paul Richter), is the son of King Siegmund,...
- 11/20/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
On the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival with its focus on the films and filmmakers of Mumbai, the Tiff Cinematheque presents, as part of its fall offerings, a series on the relationship between German Expressionist films and those of Indian cinema pre-Bollywood. Renowned Indian cinema curator Meenakshi Shedde presents a programme that highlights the links between Indian and German filmmaking, and includes a slate of films that illustrate a fantasy India as seen in German films such as Franz Osten’s Light of Asia as well as films that inspired and influenced Indian cinema, such as Josef von Sternberg’s classic 1930 film The Blue Angel, which was remade by V. Shantaram as Pinjra in 1972.
Indian Expressionism runs at the Tiff Bell Lightbox from November 14 to 21. Film screenings include (all information via the Tiff Press Office):
Wednesday, November 14 at 6:15 p.m.
Light of Asia (Prem Sanyas/Die Leuchte Asiens)
Franz Osten,...
Indian Expressionism runs at the Tiff Bell Lightbox from November 14 to 21. Film screenings include (all information via the Tiff Press Office):
Wednesday, November 14 at 6:15 p.m.
Light of Asia (Prem Sanyas/Die Leuchte Asiens)
Franz Osten,...
- 11/15/2012
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller
1963, USA
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. In order to solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum, Barrett sets to work, interrogating the other patients and keeping a close eye on the staff.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller
1963, USA
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. In order to solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum, Barrett sets to work, interrogating the other patients and keeping a close eye on the staff.
- 10/28/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Heinz Schulz-Neudamm poster for Fritz Lang's Metropolis, one of only four surviving copies, is due for auction again. Will it break its own record for most expensive film poster ever sold?
A poster for the classic science-fiction movie Metropolis which holds the record for being the most expensive ever sold is to go under the hammer once again as part of the liquidation of its owner's assets.
The poster, painted by the German artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm to promote the release of Fritz Lang's groundbreaking 1927 film about a dystopian future in the year 2000, is one of only four known surviving copies. It was bought by collector Kenneth Schacter for a still-record $690,000 (£443,210) in 2005.
Lang's gothic futurist masterpiece, which he adapted from the novel of the same name by his wife Thea von Harbou, remains an iconic example of early German film-making and has influenced generations of film-makers and science fiction writers,...
A poster for the classic science-fiction movie Metropolis which holds the record for being the most expensive ever sold is to go under the hammer once again as part of the liquidation of its owner's assets.
The poster, painted by the German artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm to promote the release of Fritz Lang's groundbreaking 1927 film about a dystopian future in the year 2000, is one of only four known surviving copies. It was bought by collector Kenneth Schacter for a still-record $690,000 (£443,210) in 2005.
Lang's gothic futurist masterpiece, which he adapted from the novel of the same name by his wife Thea von Harbou, remains an iconic example of early German film-making and has influenced generations of film-makers and science fiction writers,...
- 6/26/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
An uber rare movie poster of the 1927 silent classic, "Metropolis," has been seized due to a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy case. Kenneth Schacter, a prominent collector, purchased the print -- one of only four known surviving copies -- for a record-holding $690,000 in 2005. In March, Movieposterexchange.com offered to buy it for $850,000. According to estimates, the relic could fetch more than $1 million, which would make it the first of its kind to pass the million mark in a public sale. Painter Heinz Schulz-Neudamm fashioned the poster for the German masterpiece, which was directed by Fritz Lang. The film is based on the novel by Lang's wife Thea Von Harbou, which takes a look at the dystopian future of the year 2000. In addition to this poster, is a 1933 "King Kong" poster (which could rival the "Metropolis" print), and a 1933 one-sheet teaser from "The Invisible Man," both of which were in the Schacter collection.
- 6/25/2012
- by Jessie Heyman
- Moviefone
Cutting off his ties to Hollywood with the blade-bare sinistry of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956), Fritz Lang returned to Germany in the late 1950s to make the final two features of his career, both resumptions, updates and evolutions on subjects and styles that forged Lang's name in Germany. His last film envisioned what German society's arch (fictional) supervillain, Dr. Mabuse, would be up to in 1960, producing the terrifying The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. Less internationally known but more extravagant than that film, whose taut black and white sparseness resembles Lang's late work in Hollywood, is the master's "Indian Epic," a two part, three plus hour revision of a Weimar-era superfilm directed by Joe May from a scenario by future Lang wife Thea von Harbou.
The epic, split into two features—The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb (1959)—lacks the reputation of the director's known superfilms of the 1920s (the first Dr.
The epic, split into two features—The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb (1959)—lacks the reputation of the director's known superfilms of the 1920s (the first Dr.
- 6/20/2011
- MUBI
If you think Quentin Tarantino invented the splitting up of one movie into two then think again. Although it’s a trend at the moment, Fritz Lang pulled this stunt way back in 1958 with his Indian Epic.
Believing audiences would be bored sitting through a movie pushing four hours he and the producers re-cut it into two instalments: The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb. It's a strange reason, really, given it was produced during the age of the historical-religious epic.
Although leaving Nazi Germany for Hollywood in the mid 1930s and becoming a Us citizen Lang was enticed back to his homeland to make an exotic action adventure yarn set in India. After years of battling studios bosses and churning out, admittedly, excellent B-pictures, the project gave Lang an opportunity to paint a movie on a broad canvas much like he was allowed to do in the 1920s...
Believing audiences would be bored sitting through a movie pushing four hours he and the producers re-cut it into two instalments: The Tiger of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb. It's a strange reason, really, given it was produced during the age of the historical-religious epic.
Although leaving Nazi Germany for Hollywood in the mid 1930s and becoming a Us citizen Lang was enticed back to his homeland to make an exotic action adventure yarn set in India. After years of battling studios bosses and churning out, admittedly, excellent B-pictures, the project gave Lang an opportunity to paint a movie on a broad canvas much like he was allowed to do in the 1920s...
- 4/17/2011
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
The Complete Metropolis [Blu-Ray]
The Film
I had only seen the film that featured the futuristic city that would inspire Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) once before sitting down for the Fritz Lang's restored, "complete," two and half hour Metropolis (1927). It was a film, like D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) or Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), that I had always appreciated with regard to its influence on film style and storytelling and felt deserving of a redemption beyond it's original reception. Like Intolerance, Metropolis, despite its mold-breaking craftsmanship, imploded at the box office. Budgeted at 5 million Reichsmarks (I believe that is roughly 16 billion dollars today, given that $1 dollar bought 4.2 Reichsmarks in 1927, that budget would have been just over $1 million dollars at the time). The large budget of the film and its meager return at the international box office nearly bankrupted the German film studio Ufa,...
The Film
I had only seen the film that featured the futuristic city that would inspire Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) once before sitting down for the Fritz Lang's restored, "complete," two and half hour Metropolis (1927). It was a film, like D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) or Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), that I had always appreciated with regard to its influence on film style and storytelling and felt deserving of a redemption beyond it's original reception. Like Intolerance, Metropolis, despite its mold-breaking craftsmanship, imploded at the box office. Budgeted at 5 million Reichsmarks (I believe that is roughly 16 billion dollars today, given that $1 dollar bought 4.2 Reichsmarks in 1927, that budget would have been just over $1 million dollars at the time). The large budget of the film and its meager return at the international box office nearly bankrupted the German film studio Ufa,...
- 11/30/2010
- by Drew Morton
Horst von Harbou, still photographer on the set of Metropolis (1927) and brother of screenwriter Thea von Harbou, and so, brother-in-law to Fritz Lang, made that photograph up there in 1925 during a break between takes on a day that Lang was filming the flooding of the workers' city, one of the sequences in Metropolis that, for decades, we all thought we'd never see as Lang intended. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First, from the left: Cinematographer Günther Rittau, Lang, Brigitte Helm, American theater-owner Samuel L Rothapfel, an unidentified fellow, cinematographer Karl Freund and his assistant, Robert Boberske.
- 11/23/2010
- MUBI
Chicago – One of the cinematic highlights of my life happened earlier this year when I was lucky enough to see “The Complete Metropolis” on the big screen. Fritz Lang’s legendary film is not only riveting by virtue of being one of the most influential of all time but the story that developed after it was made is a historically fascinating one. Almost a century after it was released, we can now see “Metropolis,” recently released on Blu-ray, in a more complete manner than ever before.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
The fact is that most early filmmakers and film watchers had no concept of where we would be today in terms of the longevity of the medium. Most historians estimate that a majority of the films released before 1930 are completely gone, likely destroyed and never to be found. Even the films we do have from that era are often truncated with whole reels lost to history.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
The fact is that most early filmmakers and film watchers had no concept of where we would be today in terms of the longevity of the medium. Most historians estimate that a majority of the films released before 1930 are completely gone, likely destroyed and never to be found. Even the films we do have from that era are often truncated with whole reels lost to history.
- 11/18/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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