Category Archives: Uncategorized

Done with Hollywood by the mid 1950s, Fritz Lang returned to Germany and decided to remake THE INDIAN TOMB (reviewed elsewhere), a legendary German silent film from 1921 that he had originally been scheduled to direct (he was one of the film’s writers). Just as in the case of the first film, the remake wasContinue reading “FRITZ LANG’S INDIAN EPIC (1959) : A Remake That Holds Its Own”

As the second decade of the 21st century nears its end, I have been going back in recent months to revisit some of my earliest silent film DVDs. One of my early favorites was Joe May’s (pronounced MY) THE INDIAN TOMB from 1921 (now 100 years old) and I am happy to report that afterContinue reading “THE INDIAN TOMB (1921): Indian Mysticism Meets German Exoticism”

When I saw this set announced, I was surprised and delighted as I was completely unfamiliar with any of these movies. I must have read about them in Patrick McGilligan’s thorough 1997 biography of Lang but I don’t recall them. Then again they haven’t been available for home viewing until now. All three are basedContinue reading “FRITZ LANG TRIPLE BILL: Good But Not Great”

I had heard of Fritz Lang’s WOMAN IN THE MOON for many years and had seen stills from it in sci-fi film anthologies but I was never sure if I would ever get to see it. Now that I have seen it I was totally unprepared for how taken I would be with it. ItContinue reading “WOMAN IN THE MOON Or 1929: A Space Odyssey”

SPIES appropriately marks the beginning of the modern spy thriller as we know it today. It features an intrepid hero, a beautiful woman with divided loyalties and a cunning and diabolical villain. There is also international intrigue, bedroom politics, gadgets galore and spectacular stunts. What raises it above the ordinary is Fritz Lang’s passion forContinue reading “SPIES (1928) Marks The Birth Of The Modern Espionage Film”

Yes, METROPOLIS is the movie that everybody knows and while it is a highly influential work of world cinema, for my money Fritz Lang’s true masterpiece is DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER especially when seen in this new authorized edition from Kino which runs 270 minutes. That’s 57 minutes longer than the previous Image release whichContinue reading “DR MABUSE: Fritz Lang’s True Silent Masterpiece”

I first became familiar with THE SPIDERS in David Shepard’s 1999 version on Image DVD. It will always have a special place in my silent film collection as it was my introduction to the exotic pulp fiction serials of the silent era that would culminate years later in the INDIANA JONES films of Steven Spielberg.Continue reading “THE SPIDERS: The Prototype for Indiana Jones”

Here comes another outstanding silent film release from the folks at Flicker Alley. First there was THE GARDEN OF EDEN a very obscure film from director Lewis Milestone with Corrine Griffith. Next came JUDEX a celebrated serial from Louis Feuillade which was unavailable for decades and now there is F.W. Murnau’s PHANTOM which was madeContinue reading “PHANTOM (1922): Murnau Rarity Is Another Outstanding Flicker Alley Release”

Kino has just released a Region 1 edition of the restored version of F. W. Murnau’s FAUST as part of a new series of Murnau titles along with an upgraded and updated box set. This so called German version of the film has been available in Europe for quite some time but now it’s comeContinue reading “FAUST (1926): German Version Now On Region 1”

This film by the great F.W. Murnau is far from his best. Not quite a three star effort but better than a two. One review states that the original was two hours long. If that was the case, I don’t think the extra length would have helped as this version, at 77 minutes, seems longContinue reading “GRAND DUKE Is Far From Murnau’s Best”