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Title: German Horror Classics (Nosferatu (1922) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Waxworks / The Golem) (2002) |
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Review of German Horror Classics (Nosferatu (1922) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Waxworks / The Golem)
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Comments for German Horror Classics (Nosferatu (1922) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Waxworks / The Golem)
- Posted on 2007-12-21
Great Films, but a Poor Deal
After several years of begging, I finally received this box set as a holiday gift, and I'm surprisingly disappointed with what I received. I can't say enough about the quality of these amazing films, but these Kino Authorized Restored editions are not all they're cracked up to be.
This collection contains Kino Authorized Restored versions of Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Waxworks, and The Golem.
The Nosferatu edition, containing an overly experimental soundtrack (that even uses voice in some places), inaccurate tinting, and some questionably translated title cards, has already been made obsolete by an even newer Ultimate Edition. Four years after this version's release, even Kino knew it had to be redone. But don't expect Kino's newer, better version in this box set.
The Dr. Caligari edition, while containing the original color tinting, is a terrible cut, containing frequent blurs, dark spots, and an excessive amount of scratching and contrast problems. As I said in a review for that edition, even the cheap Alpha Video edition has a clearer picture. Add to that another ultra-modernized soundtrack that doesn't feel authentic for the film, and you have yourself one poor Restored Edition. Count on Kino to release a fixed, Ultimate Edition of this film soon.
The Golem is perhaps the best deal of this boxed set, though it can easily be bought on its own. The film still suffers from a lot of scratching, but it's leaps and bounds beyond the quality of any other edition I've ever seen. While the soundtrack is also very modern, it matches the tone and period of the film far better than in Nosferatu or Dr. Caligari, calling upon traditional Jewish folk music for its inspiration.
Admittedly, I've yet to watch the version of Waxworks contained in this box set, though I doubt many people were thinking of Waxworks when they decided to purchase this set. It's certainly the least known of the films contained within. I would say the fact that two of the four films in this set are explicitly inferior to other editions out there makes this set a poor choice. Buy The Golem (and perhaps Waxworks), but go elsewhere for Caligari, and buy the better Ultimate edition of Nosferatu.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2007-06-19
Great collection of German silent classics
F.W. Murnau's interpretation of Dracula, "Nosferatu", is a visually powerful film and perhaps the eeriest of all of the cinematic versions of the tale. In Max Schreck Murnau seems to have found an actor who was born to play the role of vampire Count Orlok. This combined with the vision of Murnau produces several unforgettable scenes in a tale most people already know very well - Orlok walking through Hutter's bedroom door, Orlok rising from his coffin on board the ship, and the shadow of Orlok walking up the stairway to Ellen's bedroom door, just to name a few.
Extra features on the "Nosferatu" disk include:
1. a still photo and promotional materials gallery (18 images)
2. More than 30 minutes of excerpts from the Murnau films "Journey into the Night" (1920), "The Haunted Castle" (1921), "Phantom" (1922), "The Last Laugh" (1924), "Faust" (1926) and "Tabu" (1931).
3. Scene comparisons between the Stoker novel, the script, and the film itself.
4. An excerpt from a 1938 Orson Welles radio performance.
"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" has a man, Francis, sitting in a garden reciting a tale of horror to another man involving a mad doctor, Dr. Caligari, and his sleepwalker, Cesare, who supposedly has the ability to tell fortunes that turns into a tale of murder. At the conclusion of the tale, though, you realize some things that make you doubt whether the tale as it was told is the truth at all. The story is very Hitchcock-like in its open-ended meaning, and the art design looks like it had a heavy influence on Tim Burton, with its oddly angled and decorated doors and hallways.
Extra features include:
1. a 44-minute condensation of Caligari director Robert Wiene's "Genuine" (1920) which represents nearly all of the surviving footage.
2. a sketch, photo and posters gallery (40 images, not counting detail closeups)
3. clips of Wiene on the set of I.N.R.I. (1923) (3 minutes)
4. excerpts from a German language print showing the calligraphic artwork of a few of the original intertitles (7 minutes).
"The Golem" lays the cinematic groundwork for the 1931 motion picture version of "Frankenstein" . In character design, wardrobe, and interaction with its creator and the world around it, the two monsters do resemble one another. In this case, "The Golem", is a monster created from clay and magic rather than from spare body parts and science, and the monster's creator is a Rabbi. I think I was more shocked to see a Rabbi portrayed as someone who openly dabbled in the black arts and astrology than anything else the film offered. The Rabbi is even shown conjuring up a "god" - Asteroth - and forcing him to produce the life-giving word to bring "The Golem" to life. If this is how Germans perceived the practice of the Jewish religion in 1920, fifteen years before the Holocaust began, it might explain a great deal, but nothing about this aspect of the film is mentioned in the extra features.
The extra features include:
1. an excerpt from a rough 1937 American print of Julien Duvivier's Le Golem (1936) [6 minutes]
2. a comparison of creation sequences from diverse sources such as Wegener's The Golem (1920), the Chayim Bloch book The Golem (1925) and F.W. Murnau's Faust (1926)
3. a gallery of stills, illustrations and promotional materials [15 images].
"Waxworks" is really more of a fantasy tale than a horror story. It has a young man applying for a job in a wax museum with the task of writing stories to accompany each of the exhibits. This allows the film to be turned into a series of rather imaginative short stories in various exotic settings.
The extra features for this film are Paul Leni's experimental short film Rebus-film No. 1 (1926), and an excerpt from The Thief of Bagdad (1924).
The prints are all good quality and the accompanying scores really fit the mood of the individual films. This set is probably a good place to start exploring German silent film. My only real complaint was a lack of a commentary track on the films. Certainly, don't fall for the budget releases that are available for some of these films. They are usually incomplete and certainly not restored. Unfortunately, silent film restoration costs money, but in Kino products you get what you pay for in good transfers and complete works.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2007-02-19
Awesome for those who get it!
I purchased these as a piece of history and was not dissapointed. Kino obviously has their act together and I will be buying more of their high quality movies in the future. It is obvious that the greatest care was taken to make these DVDs as clean and clear as possible, and those of you who will actually enjoy watching something as facinating as silent expressionist films will totally love these. Those of you who laugh and crack jokes during the show (you know who you are!) won't appreciate the quality and should rent something stimulating like "Friday the 13--Part Seventy-Four" instead.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2005-09-25
German silent horror masterpieces in definitive prints
When it comes to horror films, I am far off the beaten path and in another world. I like my horror subtle and moody and intelligent, not the modern slasher and splatter variety. Four of my all-time favorite horror films are the German Horror Classics silents in an elegant (and expensive--$70) boxed set from Kino Video-THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919), THE GOLEM (1920), NOSFERATU (1922), and WAXWORKS (1926). This boxed set is perfect for Halloween season, year after year. It is the ultimaTe show and tell at parties. Kino has the finest and longest prints, with original roadshow color tinting and a variety of evocative new music scores. You get what you pay for, and you are averaging only $18 a movie.
Most prints of Robert Weine's DR. CALIGARI only run 52 minutes, in B&W. This collection has it color-tinted at 75 minutes from a 35mm German film archive print and with two music score options-modern jazz or soft orchestra. This is the first great horror film, about a traveling circus with a madman and his murderous assistant. Also included on the disk is a 48 minute condensation of another Weine film, GENUINE: THE TALE OF A VAMPIRE (1920). A CALIGARI photo gallery is included.
THE GOLEM, from star/director Paul Wegener, is set in a medieval German town. A giant clay man helps save a village from an evil dictator. This was the forerunner of all the FRANKENSTEIN movies. It runs 86 minutes, from the Munich Film Archive, with a new music score.
Paul Leni's WAXWORKS was made in Germany only a couple of years before he did THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1927). Jon Marsalis provides a lush new music score. The movie has the original roadshow color tinting and runs 85 minutes. A young scholar is hired to write wax museum program notes for statues of Jack the Ripper, Harrun al-Raschid, and Ivan the Terrible. This is the finest print I have ever seen of this.
The crown jewel of this exquisite Kino boxed set is a restored, way longer than usual 93 minute archive print of Murnau's NOSFERATU. (I've seen several prints that only run 63 minutes!) You get what you pay for from Kino, the Rolls Royce of the DVD industry. An unauthorized, yet definitive, film of Dracula, this lovely print has full color-tinting and a choice of two different music scores. You also get a photo gallery and lengthy excerpts from several other Murnau silent films.
Happy Halloween with true chills from Kino with their German Horror Classics boxed set. Again, it is expensive, but a true labor of love for serious collectors. You know who you are. Now to choose between this and the Val Lewton Collection, the new 3-disk WIZARD OF OZ, and a special two disk PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)! (REVIEWED ON 35MM ARCHIVE DVD)
Score: 5 - Posted on 2005-08-12
Landmarks in film history
What an amazing boxed set. Wow. Works on every level. On a technical level, Kino Video has done a great job of presenting these films. They look great, have awesome menus, really cool extras, and each movie has two different music scores to choose from.
Now, onto the movies themselves. These are some truly great films. The most famous, and truly the most terrifying, is "Nosferatu." A groundbreaking feat from a legendary director, this is an atmospheric and chilling twist on the vampire legend (and quite a liberation from Bram Stoker's vision). I'm no film studies expert, but I know that a lot of the filming techniques here are pioneering, and produce a great "symphony of horror."
"The Golem" is an adaptation of an old Jewish legend dealing with the ancient branch of Hebrew mysticism known as Kabbahlism. (I wonder if all those Hollywood A-list types have seen this movie!) It is an eloquent and frightening tale of the chaos that results when man meddles with powers beyond himself; the Golem is Proteus' fire, or Victor Frankenstein's monster, or John Hammond's dinosaur theme park. A timeless message, presented here in a religious context. Quite a remarkable movie, boasting the best score of all the movies in this set.
"Waxworks" is perhaps less weighty than these first two, but no less entertaining. It's sort of like Madame Tussaud-meets-Scheherezade (pardon my poor spelling!). A compelling story well told, with good acting and pacing. Very good.
Finally, we come to "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari." I've arranged my reviews in order of my esteem, and this one comes last because it fell short of my expecations. The story is fascinating. The set design, casting, and costuming are probably the best in the field of German expressionism (which is saying something) but the pacing of the film, in my opinion, is really off, and that causes it to drag a little bit. It's still a real thrill ride; after all, the story of a madman who uses a tragic somnambulist as a pawn in his diabolic schemes is wonderful. The set design and the actors work together to create an atmosphere as chilling and surreal as anything Tim Burton has ever done. It's just a little slow.
Over all, this collection is a must-have. German expressionism was a visionary art movement, one that died long before its time. The ultra-realism of most modern (and primarily American) art has its limitations, and expressionism, a sort-of counterpoint to realism, is a refreshing change. Furthermore, these movies are remarkable simply for their gravity. Although I love many movies from the 40s and 50s, it seems that many movies from that time were more pulp, whereas some silent movies were profound and human in a way that's often hard to find in cinema. (For example, compare Tod Browning's "Dracula" with Murnau's "Nosferatu." Both great, but Browning's is a bit more whimsical and stylized, I feel, whereas Murnau's is operatic.)
And so, whether you're a fan of all things antique, just a film buff, deutcheophile (try that one on for size!), or a sucker for horror flicks, this is a great buy.
Score: 5