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. The first print run of 2000 copies will be presented with a Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase. A new 2K restoration as part of The Masters of Cinema Series in November. 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.Eureka Entertainment are set to release Waxworks, Paul Leni’s expressionist anthology masterpiece, on Blu-ray on home video for the first time in the UK. Audio commentary with Australian film and arts critic Adrian Martin.Option of two newly created scores, by Ensemble Musikfabrik and composer Richard Siedhoff.1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a new 2K restoration.Horror, Fantasy, Silent Film | Germany, 1924 | PG | Blu-Ray | 9th November 2020 (UK) | Eureka Entertainment | Dir.Leo Birinsky, Paul Leni | Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, Olga Belajeff The poet now awakes to find the figure of Jack the Ripper ( Werner Krauss) has come to life and begins to stalk the poet and Eva thought the museum but just as he catches up with them begging the hack and slash the poet wakes up again, realising this was only a dream, at only 6minutes long this segment is by far the shortest of the 3, there are at least 15minutes lost from this story.Ī stunning Blu-ray transfer, probably the best i have ever seen silent film look, combined with instrumental score that I went with on the disc, and the marvellous acting especially from Jannings and Veidt, Waxworks is must see for any silent film lover out there, easy to follow and a good starting point for anyone looking to get into the genre. But the poison maker it seems has taken pity on the people that have been murdered and writes Ivan’s own name on the hourglass, who on hearing his fate becomes extremely paranoid, constantly turning the hourglass trying to prolong his life and turning himself mad in the process. The poets second story stars the ever amazing Conrad Veidt as Ivan the Terrible, who takes pleasure in poisoning people and then watching his victims die in front of him, he does this by instructing his poison maker to write the victims name on an hour glass and once turned over the victim dies as the last grain of sand falls. Not realising the real ruler is already in his house he sneaks into the palace and cuts off the arm of a wax dummy of al-Rashid and steals a fake ring, He flees back to his house and is hiding by his wife all while the ruler al-Rashid is still hiding in the same home. He decides to sneak out of the palace to go and see the bakers wife but instead finds them arguing and the baker resolving the steal al-Rashid’s magic wishing ring to try and put a stop to their poverty. Smoke from the bakers house causes al-Rashid to lose a game of chess and fly into a rage wanting his head, but soon spots the bakers wife, a great beauty from out of a window and starts to fall for her. ![]() This story begins with the poet and Eva as a baker and his wife who live close to al-Rashid, played brilliantly by Emil Jannings. The first story is for the figure of Harun al-Rashid, a former leader of what is now Iraq. The poet, taking a liking the the carnival owners daughter Eva ( Olga Belajeff) begins to incorporate both of them into his stories. The film opens at a carnival where a poet, played by Dieterle, accepts a job in its wax museum writing stories for the figures inside. ![]() ![]() The film boasts a very impressive cast, almost a who’s who of German expressionist cinema, with names such as Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt and William Dieterle, who is probably more known as an Oscar winning director of Hollywood films like 1939’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1937’s The Life of Emile Zolaand The Story of Louis Pasteur in 1935. Waxworks is a German horror-fantasy anthology film released in 1924 from the director of T he Man Who Laughs Paul Leni, which was his last German made film before moving onto the United States and Hollywood.
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