“EXPRESSIONISTIC RELICS”

By Raymond Benson

F. W. Murnau was one of the leading filmmakers of the German Expressionist movement of the 1920s, most well-known for the first adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula—Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922). He also spent a little time in Hollywood in the late silent era, responsible for one of Tinsel Town’s great silent pictures, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), which won the only Academy Award ever given for “Unique and Artistic Picture.”

German Expressionism is mostly defined by a stylized visual conceit that distorts reality for an emotional effect. Highly-contrasted light and shadow play large roles in the mode, as well as sharp, angular lines of design. The works of, say, Tim Burton, could be said to be influenced by the school of German Expressionism. Most of the films noir made in Hollywood in the 1940s and 50s also harked back to the movement.

Kino Video has released a double feature Blu-ray containing two lesser-known pictures made by Murnau in Germany—The Haunted Castle from 1921, which is more of a whodunnit melodrama than anything resembling the paranormal or supernatural, and The Finances of the Grand Duke from 1924, a light comedy with some espionage mixed in. The first concerns a revenge tale with some secret identities and guilt-ridden angst. The second contains a plot that might be too complicated for its own good, dealing with a likable dictator who wants to save a tiny country from its creditors.

Neither film is anything to write home about—they are both rather staid, slow, and, frankly, dull.

What is astonishing, though, is Kino Video’s miraculous restoration in 1920x1080p, which presents the movies in such a pristine and gorgeous transfer that it’s difficult to believe these pictures were made nearly a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, there are no supplements or audio commentaries on the disk.

Nevertheless, silent film and Murnau enthusiasts may very well find something here to savor. Studying old movies embodies a little bit of time travel. There are good lessons contained within that inform us of the manners, social sensibilities, and artistic trends of the day. So little of this period’s work survives, and Kino should be applauded for making it available.

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