GERMAN SILENT RARITIES FROM DIRECTOR HENRIK GALEEN On Blu-ray From Deaf Crocodile

 

A company known as Deaf Crocodile has released a two-disc Blu-ray set containing a pair of rare (and restored) cult German silent films directed by Henrik Galeen, the man who wrote the script for the original NOSFERATU. The two films are THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE (1926) and ALRAUNE (1928). 

Both films have been restored by the Filmmuseum Munchen in Germany, and they both feature brand new music scores. The films also have proper intertitles inserted, along with tinting and English subtitles. There are plenty of substandard versions of THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE and ALRAUNE online, but the presentations on this Blu-ray set run about 130 minutes each, and they are far better-looking. 

ALRAUNE is based on a notorious novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers. A haughty scientist (played by the Golem himself, Paul Wegener) uses artificial insemination between a prostitute and a executed murderer to create a dangerously seductive woman (Brigitte Helm). Needless to say, this woman, called Alraune, causes plenty of problems. THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE is actually a remake of a 1913 film which was also written by Hanns Heinz Ewers, and also starred Paul Wegener. The 1926 version stars Conrad Veidt as Balduin, a student who despairs over not being wealthy. A mysterious moneylender named Scapinelli (Werner Krauss) provides Balduin with a fortune--but in return, the student must give up his reflection. Balduin starts to live the good life, but his lost reflection comes back to haunt him. 

This limited-edition special version of the release comes in a slipcase that has original artwork for both films on each side (see pictures above). The disc case has a two-sided sleeve which features vintage artwork for each movie, and each title gets its own disc. 

Included in the limited edition is an 80-page illustrated booklet, which contains reprints of articles written in the 1920s by Henrik Galeen, Hanns Heinz Ewers, and various critics. It also has sketches on the very unusual personal lives of Galeen and Ewers, and discussions on both of the films in the set. 

The two discs are Region A, and they each have audio commentaries by Jan-Christopher Horak. Each disc also has a two-part interview with film archivist Stefan Drossler of the Filmmuseum Munchen, the man behind the restorations of ALRAUNE and THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE, and an excerpt from a 1924 German film called DANGEROUS PATHS, in which Henrik Galeen appeared as an actor. In the future I will be writing blog posts on each movie in this set, and I will go into greater detail about the extras. (A regular edition of this set is available from Deaf Crocodile.) 

This is the first time I've purchased anything from Deaf Crocodile, and I was suitably impressed with this set. I've been fascinated by German silent cinema since I first saw METROPOLIS decades ago, and this set is made for folks like me. It contains a lineup of German Expressionist All-Stars, and it features two films that desperately needed to be restored and given a major release on North American home video. I hope Deaf Crocodile has more German silent movie releases planned in the future--particularly anything that stars Brigitte Helm. This release gets my highest recommendation for silent movie buffs.