Krauss, Werner

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Restored Authorized Edition)

A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but Caligari still casts a considerable spell. --Jeff Shannon

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Special Collector's Edition)

A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but Caligari still casts a considerable spell. --Jeff Shannon

This milestone film, known for its expressionistic sets and techniques, tells the strange tale of a sleepwalker under the spell of the mysterious and evil Dr. Caligari.

Jud Suss: Holocaust Studies Series

Jud Suss: Holocaust Studies Series 2007 - Special Collectors Edition - 2 DVD Set Veit Harlan's anti-Semitic curtain-raiser for the Final Solution presented for the first time from a fine grain 35mm archival film print courtesy of the National Archives. Bonus Features: Still Pictures Gallery, Original Theatrical Program, Original Production Credits, Historical Essay entitled, "Jud Suss and the Holocaust" by German Film Historian David Calvert Smith, Documentaries: "Der Fuehrer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt" (1944), "Death Mills" (1946), "Nuernberg und seine Lehre" (1945) - Film Excerpts: British "Jew Suss" (1934), "Juden ohne Maske" (1937), "Leinen aus Irland" (1939), "Robert und Bertram" (1939), "Die Rothschilds, die Aktien von Waterloo" (1940), "Der ewige Jude," "Le Juif Suss" (1940), "Wien 1910" (1943)

Jud Suss (Jew Suess): The Deluxe Restored Version

Long recognized as history's most incendiary film, Jud Süss was the cultural centerpiece in Joseph Goebbels campaign against the Jews. Released in 1940, it was a box office sensation across Germany and Europe; alongside the movie's theatrical distribution, it became a staple of Nazi propaganda evenings organized by the Hitler Youth, SS and others. At once a rousing melodrama and murderous antisemitic incitement, the movie draws loosely from historical events from the early eighteenth century, when Jud Süss Oppenheimer, financial advisor to the Duke of Württemberg, was subjected to a sensational trial and gruesome execution. The film depicts Süss as a figure of cynical cunning and malign will, a sexual predator sowing corruption everywhere; his promotion of Jewish emancipation brings Christian Württemberg to the brink of moral and social ruination. That these qualities are conveyed through Ferdinand Marian's stunningly charismatic performance as Süss suggests something of the film's disturbing power even as it acknowledges Jewish misery, Jud Süss argues for still more lethal, pitiless solutions to the Jewish question. A key historical document of the twentieth century, Jud Süss remains a deeply unsettling cinematic experience. Directed by Veit Harlan; music by Wolfgang Zeller; featuring Ferdinand Marian, Werner Krauss, Heinrich George, and Kristina Söderbaum. Germany, 1940, B&W, 95 minutes, German dialogue, Switchable English, French & Italian subtitles.

SPECIAL DVD FEATURES
Historical Slide Show: The Life & Trials of Joseph Süss Oppenheimer by John Abbott
Video Commentary by Harvard's Eric Rentschler
Illustrated 22 page Essay Booklet by Louisiana State University's David Culbert**
Original Promotional Materials and Posters Slide Show
Interactive Scene Selection
Switchable English, French & Italian Subtitles
Digitally Restored from Original 35mm Film Elements using state of the art daVinci RevivalTM Technology by I-Cubed Chicago

**Jud Suess (Jew Suess, Germany, 1940) is the most successful anti-Semitic feature film ever made, a product of opportunism, brilliant acting, and the hateful agenda of Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister. It remains notorious to this day. Softbound, 22 pages, 29 B&W and Color Photos, 4 1/2 x 7 inches size. Booklet included with this DVD.

German Expressionism Collection (The Hands of Orlac / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Secrets of a Soul / Warning Shadows) (4pc)

Four German Silent Classics in a New Beautiful Thin-Pak Boxed Set. The Set Includes: Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Directed by Robert Wiene, Starring Conrad Viedt and Werner Krauss - Warning Shadows (1923) Directed by Arthur Robison - The Hands of Orlac (1924) Directed by Robert Wiene, Starring Conrad Veidt - Secrets of a Soul (1926) Directed by G.W. Pabst, Starring Werner Krauss

Secrets of a Soul (1926)

A Psychoanalytic Thriller Restored by the Munich Film Museum and the F.W. Murnau Foundation. In the 1920s, film studios around the world sought to capitalize on the public s curiosity about the newborn science of psychoanalysis. In 1925, Hans Neumann (of Ufa s Kulturfilm office) contacted members of Sigmund Freud s inner circle with a plan to make a dramatic film that explores the mystifying process of the interpretation of dreams. With the help of noted psychologists Karl Abraham and Hanns Sachs, and under the direction of G.W. Pabst (Pandora s Box), SECRETS OF A SOUL was completed. Werner Krauss, who had played the deranged Dr. Caligari six years earlier, stars as a scientist who is tormented by an irrational fear of knives and the irresistible compulsion to murder his wife. Driven to the brink of madness by fantastic nightmares (designed by Ernö Metzner and photographed by Guido Seeber in a brilliant mix of expressionism and surrealism), he encounters a psychoanalyst who offers to treat the perplexing malady.

Waxworks

Lesser-known among silent German classics, Waxworks is a carnival of a movie inviting you to visit three distinct freak shows and sample the thrills and peculiarities each has to offer. A young poet (Wilhelm Dieterle, who became Hollywood director William Dieterle) is hired to pen "startling tales" about three figures on display in the Wachsfigurenkabinett. Somehow he and his boss's daughter (Olga Belajeff) win plum roles in each fantasia he concocts. The Arabian Nights episode, featuring Emil Jannings hamming it up as Caliph Haroun al-Raschid, boasts demented architecture and a blend of comedy and surrealism that inspired Douglas Fairbanks's Thief of Bagdad. Conrad Veidt, making a memorably mad Russian icon of Ivan the Terrible, towers amid episode 2's fiercely angular compositions. Then, still-unnerving double-exposure cinematography is used to bring "Spring Heel Jack" (Werner Krauss's version of Jack the Ripper) out of the realm of fantasy and menacingly into the real-world framing story. Get your ticket right here. --Richard T. Jameson

Student of Prague:Silent Classic

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but Caligari still casts a considerable spell. --Jeff Shannon

Masterworks Of The German Horror Cinema (Nosferatu / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / The Golem)

Three seminal works in one package make this an ideal choice for film buffs and horror fans. The Masterworks of the German Horror Cinema contains three influential masterpieces from the early 1920s: The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Nosferatu. All three films are excellent, and their influence on later works, most notably Frankenstein, is clear. Nosferatu, directly plagiarized from Bram Stoker's Dracula, is by far the scariest of the three. Max Schreck's bizarre, creepy performance as the vampire is still surprisingly effective. The Golem is a retelling of the Jewish legend of a rabbi who dabbles in the black arts to protect the inhabitants of the ghetto. He makes a man of clay and brings him to life, with dire results. Though all three have gorgeous images, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the tale of a mysterious mesmerist, is the most interesting as a prime example of German expressionism. The swooping, distorted sets are brilliantly nightmarish. The three silent films are best enjoyed with the volume turned all the way down. While The Golem is presented in silence, by far the most satisfying option, the music soundtrack tacked onto Caligari is unnecessary at best, and the score Nosferatu has been saddled with is absolutely dunderheaded. Bonus material includes stills and poster art from all three films and a clip from the lost film Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire. --Ali Davis