Category Archives: Uncategorized

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”

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) looksContinue reading “THE HAUNTED CASTLE (1921): A 2 Star Film With A 4 Star Print”

Is SUNRISE the greatest silent film ever made? Many polls consider it so but to me comparing it with a handful of other silents such as NAPOLEON or BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN or GREED (not to mention the comedies of Chaplin and Keaton) is like comparing apples and oranges. What is without question is that SUNRISE: AContinue reading “SUNRISE (1927): The U.S. Blu-Ray / DVD Release Is Cause For Celebration”