Variety

1925 [GERMAN]

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 79% · 9 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 79% · 50 ratings
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 1553 1.6K

prison son silent film trapeze artist

Plot summary

The murderer “Boss” Huller – after having spent ten years in prison – breaks his silence to tell the warden his story.

Director

Ewald André Dupont Photo
Ewald André Dupont

Top cast

Paul Rehkopf Photo
Paul Rehkopf as Zuschauer auf dem Jahrmarkt
Trude Hesterberg Photo
Trude Hesterberg as Zuschauerin imm Varieté
Alex Hyde and his Original New York Jazz Orchestra Photo
Alex Hyde and his Original New York Jazz Orchestra as Alex Hyde and His Original New York Jazz Orchestra
Georg Baselt Photo
Georg Baselt
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
867.54 MB
1280*960
German 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds ...
1.75 GB
1424*1072
German 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 35 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by christopher-underwood 8 / 10

fascinating glimpse into the 'variete' scene in 20s Berlin.

We are privileged that technology allows us to view such films as this, that are almost 100 years old, in such clarity. The print now available on Blu-ray is stunning and even if, after the first few minutes, one becomes used to this, when the setting switches to Berlin nighttime street scenes, our jaw drops again. Vintage photographs of amazing clarity come alive as buses, taxis and crowds of people jostle as the neon shines brightly in the sky. The vaudeville scenes of the 'Codonas', standing in for our film stars, fly through the air with the greatest of ease and demonstrate their infamous 'triple somersault' with only the excited crowd below. Throughout the film there are wondrous shots of the streets, the circus, the fairground and more intimate cabaret, but also there is a tale to be told. Emil Jannings is our star, seemingly too old for the part and looking more like a builder or truck driver than a trapeze 'catcher' but he was such a popular performer back in the stage and silent film days in Germany, this slight oddity would have gone unnoticed. Even more noticeable is the beautifully strange Lay De Putti who plays the love interest here. or should I say, 'sex interest' for this is a surprisingly saucy and frank portrayal of the natural and obvious appeal of such a young and pretty and half naked dancer and trapeze artiste. Not over long, remarkably involving and most fascinating glimpse into the 'variete' scene in 20s Berlin.
Reviewed by psteier 6 / 10

An influential film in its day

Wonderful cinematagraphy and cutting influenced other films of the day. The story is old, but made interesting by the acting, sets and location shooting. The trapeze act shots are well worth seeing, though vaudeville and circus fans will be unhappy that there are few other acts shown. However, a 30 or 45 second summary of the variety (vaudeville) show is clever.The print I saw at New York's Museum of Modern Art did not have the 'prolog' either. Perhaps it was omitted when the film was released in the US.
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