THE BLUE ANGEL
Der Blaue Engel

A prudish, uptight professor scolds his students for visiting a cabaret and watching the smoldering Lola-Lola. But on one of his visits to the cabaret he becomes infatuated with her and his long suppressed sexual desires explode. He soon drifts into an affair with her that will cost him his job and his dignity. When he is finally unable to cope with her infidelity, he begins his final pathetic decline into madness and ruin !

Justly revered as one of the greatest films of all time. The excellent photography, sensitive script and a young Dietrich in top hat and black stockings, singing "Falling in Love Again" add up to a highly recommended must--see film.

Directed by Josef Von Sternberg. Script; Robert Liebmann, Karl Zückmayer, Karl Vollmüller from the book, "Professor Unrath" by Heinrich Mann. Photo; Günther Rittau, Hans Schneeberger. Music; Friedrich Holländer. cast; Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron, Hans Albers.

GERMANY: 1930 98 minutes, subtitled
ISBN 1·55881-350-0
$19.95

CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
Das Kabinett Des Dr Caligari

Perhaps the most famous German Expressionist film was this strange story of a somnambulist, Cesare, under the control of an evil hypnotist, Dr Caligari. The duo travel from town to town (Cesare making the journey in appropriate style --- a coffin) and join up with carnival shows. Their act intrigues and astounds everyone, including the authorities who find a trail of murder and mayhem everywhere the duo stops. The story and the acting are quite appealing but the real stars of Caligari are the sets and photography. Misaligned walls, distorted angles, jagged streaks of light and exaggerated sets are used to advance. the narrative and offer a warped view of the world as seen by the demented mind of a murderer.

“Considered to be the first true example of Expressionism in the cinema it was a great influence on German films for the next decade and on horror films in general...the weird and distorted sets and grotesquely angled photography still create a potent nightmarish atmosphere. “—Holt’s Foreign Film Guide

Directed by Robert Wiene. Script; Carl Mayer, Hans Janowitz. Photo; Willy Hameister. Sets; Walter Röhrig. Hermann Warm and Walter Reimann. Cast; Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Fehér, Lil Dagover, Hans Heinz Von Twardowski, Rudolf Lettinger.

Germany. 1919 71m. Fílm transfer at original, silent projection speed of 18FPS.Silent fiIm with added music score.

ISBN 1-55881-192-3
$19.95

VARIETY
Vaudeville / Variété

A husband and wife acrobatic team achieve great fame with a young new partner, Aerinelli. After the wife is seduced by the young trapeze artist, the husband is driven to commit murder. An exceptional expressionistic outing which brought the distorted angles and warped camera effects to a standard social drama. Variety stands as an awesome example of the genre; it was both commercially and critically successful and brought the young Dupont to Hollywood, where, unfortunately, he ended up making mostly celluloid B-movie crap.

Directed by E.A.Dupont. Script by E.A. Dupont, Leo Birinsky. Photo Karl Freund. Cast; Emil Jannings, Lya De Putti, Maly Delschaft, Warwick Ward.

1925 80 min.104m Silent film with added music score
ISBN 1-55881-196-6
$19.95

BACKSTAIRS
Hintertreppe

A young woman who has not had letters from her distant lover visits the postman seeking answers. Little does she know that the mentally disturbed postman is morbidly infatuated with her and has been intercepting her mail. A noteworthy expressionistic film with all the trappings of the genre plus an unusual allegorical approach to characterization.

Directed by Leopold Jessner,Paul Leni. Script; Carl Mayer. Photo; Karl Hasselmann, Willy Hameister Cast; Henny Porten, Wilhelm Dieterle, Fritz Kortner.

Germany 1921 45m Silent with added score.
ISBN 1-55881-193-1
$19.95

OTHELLO

Ambitious silent version of Shakespeare's tragedy about the Moor of Venice. A fascinating mixture of Shakespear and German Expressionism.

Directed by Dmitri Buchowhki. Cast; Emil Jannings, Ica Von Lenkeffy, Warner Krauss.

Germany 1922 81m.
ISBN 1-55881-195-8
$19.95

FORTUNE’S FOOL

Reinhold Schunsel directs Emil jannings in this story of a butcher who rises from nothing to great prominence during the postwar period but eventually declines to despair.

Germany 1921 105 min. Silent with added music score.
ISBN 1-55881-194-X
$19.95

STREET

One of the earliest German "street films" warning of the dangers of modern, industrialized, city living. A man living a drab middle class existence abandons his home and family for the excitement of 'the street'. After being robbed and framed for a murder the man declines into despair and attempts suicide. A superb example of the expressionist genre. The city sets are some of the most elaborate ever produced. Both warped construction and simple lights and shadows are used to recreate the city. Also noteworthy is the editing, heavily influenced by Russian montage techniques. Warped expressionist images are assembled and superimposed in a frantic montage showing the main character's descent into madness and despair.

Directed by Karle Grune.

Germany, 1923. 85 minutes. Silent film with added, copyrighted, music score.
ISBN 1-55881-474-4
$19.95

MORE GERMAN FILMS AVAILABLE :

TUFF GUYS
LANG
~ MURNAU
~ PABST
WEGNER
~ RIEFENSTAHL

MORE SILENT FILMS:

DW GRIFFITH
DRAMA
~ HORROR
~ WESTERNS
VALENTINO
~ FAIRBANKS

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