It is extremely rare to be able to see a silent film that looks as good as this one does much less one of this vintage (1921). The movie looks as if it were shot yesterday and that’s without a ton of restoration work. Only David Shepard’s 1999 release of Rudolph Valentino’s COBRA (1925) looks this good under those conditions. It shows us what all silent films would have looked like if we could see them in first generation prints that have been speed corrected.
As far as the movies of Murnau are concerned, this is definitely a minor offering but that has to do with the material not the director. Murnau is honing his skills here which would burst forth in his next film, the legendary NOSFERATU (1922). The sets are elaborate with just a touch of Expressionism. The performances though are very Expressionistic and might be too much for someone unfamiliar with German silent film technique. The plot loosely reminds me of Jean Renoir’s RULES OF THE GAME though not as refined.
THE HAUNTED CASTLE (not a horror film but a psychological study) is not the ideal place to start if you want to see what Murnau was capable of. Try NOSFERATU, THE LAST LAUGH, or FAUST for that but it is a great way to see how beautiful a silent film could be, even for one that’s not a classic. In fact its lesser status may be why it has survived in such good shape since it wasn’t popular enough for the prints to get worn out.
The Capsule Critic 