Anders als die Andern (1919)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Oswald

Writers:

Magnus Hirschfeld (writer)
Richard Oswald (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 1919 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Partially Lost Film | Gay Lead Character | Didactic | Educational | Controversial

Cast

Conrad Veidt	...	Paul Körner
Leo Connard	...	Körner's Father
Ilse von Tasso-Lind	...	Körner's Sister
Alexandra Willegh	...	Körner's Mother
Ernst Pittschau	...	Sister's Husband
Fritz Schulz	...	Kurt Sivers
Wilhelm Diegelmann	...	Sivers' Father
Clementine Plessner	...	Sivers' Mother
Anita Berber	...	Else
Reinhold Schünzel	...	Franz Bollek
Helga Molander	...	Mrs. Hellborn
Magnus Hirschfeld	...	Arzt
Karl Giese	...	Paul Körner als Schüler

Directed by
Richard Oswald

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Magnus Hirschfeld		writer
Richard Oswald		writer

Produced by
Stefan Drössler	....	reconstruction producer (2004)
Richard Oswald	....	producer

Original Music by
Joachim Bärenz

Cinematography by
Max Fassbender

Production Design by
Emil Linke

Production Companies

• Richard-Oswald-Produktion

Distributors

• Filmmuseum München (2004) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Alive Vertrieb und Marketing (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Edition Filmmuseum (2006) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Different from the Others

Runtime:

50 min (reconstructed version)

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Richard-Oswald-Produktion

Trivia:

Only one print, a fragmented copy, survives. Other prints were destroyed by the Nazis in the early 1930s.

Quotes:

Arzt: Respected ladies and gentlemen take heed. The time will come when such tragedies will be no more. For knowledge will conquer prejudice, truth will conquer lies, and love will triumph over hatred.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Chris & Don. A Love Story (2007)

Social And Inner Conflicts Of Gay People

The troublesome Weimar period was a controversial era full of social and political problems, a time of delicate German democracy, a time of scarce freedom but it permitted to develop different cultural showings, experimental and avant-garde oeuvres that even today astonish modern people of nowadays for their audacity.

"Anders Als Die Andern" (a.k.a. "Different From The Others" ), was a film directed by the important Teutonic film director Herr Richard Oswald. It is a film that it might only have been made in such controversial and free Weimar times. It is a film that probably is the first gay openly silent film in commercial terms (amazingly it is to know that "Anders…" had a notorious commercial importance in those days). It's an oeuvre that is outstanding for its historical importance, not to mention its social, informative, enlightened aspect. Depicted in the film is a lecture about the German law of Paragraph 175 which was a restricted law that punished gay people in Deutschland. This was written by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a remarkable and pioneering German sexologist and gay rights advocate, who explains the social and inner conflicts of gay people in a modern way while forgetting misunderstandings, complexes or even topics about such a human group.

The social and psychological aspects of the film are very remarkable; the hypocrisy, social behaviour, from strangers to relatives, against gay groups unfortunately is present today. Herr Conrad Veidt's performance ( who was "discovered" by and collaborated with Herr Oswald in many films ) as a tormented man who has to deal with social incomprehension, blackmail and social discrimination ends up finally in ostracism. This happens in a tragic way ( as is anticipated at the beginning of the film ). Emphasized and denounced are many conflicts; avoided are historical topics and repetitive mannerisms of gay people thus giving seriousness, humanity and visibility for the first time in the silent screen to the gay movement.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must be gay in tonight's soirée.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/