Rent Der Golem (1920)
3.6 of 5 from 87 ratings
1h 16min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In the Jewish ghetto in 16th century Prague, Rabbi Low (Albert Streinruck) creates a forbidding clay Golem (played by director Paul Wegener) to protect his people from the tyrannical Emperor Luhois (Otto Gebuhr). Brought to life with a demon spirit and an amulet placed in the center of the creature's chest, the Golem is a seemingly indestructible juggernaut, performing acts of great heroism. But when the Rabbi's assistant attempts to control the Golem for selfish gain, it becomes a terrifying force of destruction, rampaging through the ghetto leaving fire and death in its wake.
- Actors:
- Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Ernst Deutsch, Lyda Salmonova, Hans Stürm, Max Kronert, Otto Gebühr, Dore Paetzold, Lothar Müthel, Greta Schröder, Loni Nest, Carl Ebert, Fritz Feld, Ursula Nest
- Directors:
- Carl Boese, Paul Wegener
- Producers:
- Paul Davidson
- Writers:
- Henrik Galeen, Paul Wegener
- Aka:
- Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam / The Golem
- Studio:
- Eureka
- Genres:
- Classics, Horror
- Collections:
- Nosferatu Times Three
- Countries:
- Germany
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 18/11/2019
- Run Time:
- 76 minutes
- Languages:
- German LPCM Mono, Silent
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Option of three fantastic and unique scores, by composer Stephen Horne; acclaimed electronic music producer Wudec; and musician and film-score composer Admir Shkurtaj
- Brand new and exclusive audio commentary by Scott Harrison
- Golem Time - A brand new and exclusive video essay by critic David Cairns
- Where are the Jewish Horror Films? - A brand new and exclusive video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira (Elstree 1976)
- The Golem (60 mins) - The US version of the film, also fully restored, and featuring a score by Cordula Heth
- The Kingdom of Ghosts: Paul Wegener's 'The Golem' and the 'Expressionist Tradition' - An audio essay by Dixon Smith
- Restoration comparison beween the domestic and export negatives of the film
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Reviews (2) of Der Golem
Clay Expectations - Der Golem review by griggs
A rabbi summons a demon, moulds a man from clay and accidentally invents half the Universal Monsters catalogue. Busy afternoon.
Hans Poelzig’s Prague ghetto looks grown from the soil: crooked walls, leaning houses and doorways that seem to breathe. The restored tinting baffled me at first, then won me over, turning each scene amber, blue or pink like a mood ring. Paul Wegener’s Golem is a slab of a man with a toddler’s curiosity, and his scene with a little girl lays some of the groundwork for Frankenstein’s monster a decade early.
The theology is a pick-and-mix. Jewish tradition already had stories of creating life from earth and sacred words, yet here Rabbi Löw calls up Astaroth, as if one mystical tradition needed a grimoire demon on retainer. The film sympathises with persecuted Jews while dressing Judaism up as exotic sorcery, and it can’t have it both ways. Meanwhile, the Miriam-Florian-Famulus triangle mostly had me waiting for the Golem to come back.
Fascinating monster archaeology, even if I don’t particularly want to dig it up again.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Folk Tale. - Der Golem review by Steve
Paul Wegener was crazy for this traditional Jewish folk tale. He made three golem films in the silent era and planned others for many years afterwards. And as well as co-writing and co-directing, he starred in the title role too! He plays the clay figure who is animated by the chief Rabbi (Albert Steinrück) to save his people from persecution.
This is German expressionism, so the most striking feature is the ambient set decoration. It's supposed to be Prague in the middle ages, but is so unrealistic it can't really be pinned to any time or place. The ghetto has a peculiar organic look, as if carved out of rock. It's tempting to suggest it's like nothing else in films, except the 1968 original of Planet of the Apes surely borrows from this.
And the early Universal horrors take inspiration too. Like Frankenstein, made in 1931, it's about a maverick creating a living thing, and, by over-reaching their human limits, causing destruction. Admittedly, that makes them both part of a much wider tradition, but James Whale specifically refers back to The Golem throughout his horror classic. Most obviously the meeting of the monster with a little girl.
It was photographed by Karl Freund who performed the same role on Dracula, also in '31. He was famous for his pioneering moving camera techniques. But this was obviously before then! The camera doesn't move a centimetre... The effects are rudimentary, but typical of the period. It's a must for students of German expressionism, but maybe more interesting than entertaining.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.