The first episode is a relatively light fantasy, set in Baghdad perhaps a millennium ago, and carried by a fine performance from Emil Jannings (though I don't much care to praise Jannings). The graphics and blurbs of the Kino release makes it appear that this is a horror film, but it would be more accurate to represent it as an anthology of three episodes, at least one of which cannot fairly be said to be a horror tale, held-together with a wrapping tale. More for those interested in cinematic history than for horror buffs
Seen as "horror", we were both rather disappointed with this film seen as entertainment, it's just about o.k. He then has three dream sequenc es of these figures, all including himself and the beautiful daughter of the proprietor of the Wax Cabinet: The two first parts are no real horror stories at all and the third one is very thin, with expressionist sets, copied very closely on "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" and similar German horror films lots of double exposures etc., but with no real horror feeling.
The plot is very thin, depicting a young poet who gets a commission to write background texts for 3 wax figures (there are actually four of them, but for some obscure reason, only three of the tales are included in the film) Haroun-al-Rashid, Kalif of Baghdad Ivan the Terrible, Czar of Russia Jack the Ripper, 19th. This has caused us to view a host of silent horrors: This one is supposed to be "interesting" for silent horror film buffs, but its only benefits are the fine performances of the great German actors, e.g. 1-8 Courtesy of Kino Lorber, these Leni-helmed cinematic crossword puzzles were originally screened in 1920s German cinemas as featurettes accompanying the main film.This film was bought for my daughter, who's working on her masters degree in film science: A paper on European (especially German) silent horror films compared to Hollywood ones of the same period. Option of two newly created scores, by Ensemble Musikfabrik and composer Richard SiedhoffĪudio commentary with Australian film and arts critic Adrian Martin Limited Edition O-Card slipcase ġ080p presentation on Blu-ray from a new 2K restoration
REGION FREE BLU-RAY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:
Presented by The Masters of Cinema Series and Flicker Alley in a special Blu-ray edition, there is an option of two new scores to accompany the film: one by the Ensemble Musikfabrik (commissioned by ZDF/ARTE), and the second by composer Richard Siedhoff.
The elements, including English intertitles, were scanned in 4K resolution and then restored in 2K. Though the poet and the daughter play different characters in the corresponding plots, they are always lovers whose relationship is threatened by the personages of the wax figures.Īs there is no surviving original negative of Waxworks, this newly restored edition a joint effort by the Deutsche Kinemathek and Cineteca di Bologna, L Immagine Ritrovata (with funding from the German Commission for Culture and the Media) is composed of contemporary prints and additional film materials from archives around the world. The stories are depicted in succession (one per episode), the poet casting himself as well as the daughter of the wax museum s owner at the centre of each tale. The three separate episodes of Waxworks are united by the character of a young poet (William Dieterle), who is hired by the owner of a wax museum to create backstories for a trio of the museum s figures: Caliph Harun al-Rashid (Emil Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss). Its stylised sets (designed by Leni), fantastical costumes, chiaroscuro lighting, and startlingly bold performances are paragons of the cinematic movement, and contribute heavily to the film s lasting appeal. Yet Waxworks is, at heart, a pure example of German expressionism. Its sophisticated melding of genres was in fact what inspired Universal s Carl Laemmle to invite Leni to come to Hollywood in the first place, as Laemmle was hoping to capitalise on the emerging comedy-horror craze of the 1920s. Waxworks was the final film Paul Leni directed in Germany before striking out for Hollywood and making such classic works of genre filmmaking as The Cat and the Canary, The Man Who Laughs, and The Last Warning.