Der müde Tod (1921)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Fritz Lang (writer)
Thea von Harbou (writer)

Release Date:

30 January 1922 (Finland)

Genre:

Fantasy

Plot:

As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Expressionist | Public Domain | Expressionism

Cast

Lil Dagover	...	Young Woman / Der junge Maedchen / Zobeide / Monna Fiametta / Tiao Tsien
Walter Janssen	...	Young Man / Der junge Mann / Franke / Giovan Francesco / Liang
Bernhard Goetzke	...	Death / Der Tod / El Mot / Bogner / Archer
Hans Sternberg	...	Mayor / Buergermeister
Karl Rückert	...	Reverend (as Carl Rückert)
Max Adalbert	...	Notary / Notar / Schatzmeister / Chancellor
Wilhelm Diegelmann	...	Doctor / Arzt
Erich Pabst	...	Teacher / Lehrer
Karl Platen	...	Pharmacist / Apotheker
Hermann Picha	...	Taylor / Schneider
Paul Rehkopf	...	Grave-Digger / Kuester
Max Pfeiffer
Georg John	...	Beggar / Bettler
Lydia Potechina	...	Landlady / Wirtin
Grete Berger	...	Mother / Mutter

Also Known As:

Between Two Worlds (USA)
Between Worlds (USA)
Beyond the Wall
Destiny (UK)
The Three Lights (UK)
The Weary Death (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

105 min (16 fps) | USA:114 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White | Color (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Germany:12

Company:

Decla-Bioscop AG

Trivia:

The film that first sparked surrealist director Luis Buñuel's interest in film.

Quotes:

Junge Maedchen: You dread, awful cactus, you!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Begegnung mit Fritz Lang (1963)

Special effects put to good use

This should be a lesson to the movie makers of today who have at their disposal a range of special effects other directors never had, but they use them for moronic ideas. Der Mude Tod is amazing not for its camera tricks (such as double exposure) or for their filters that give the image a certain tint to make it more revealing, but for the brilliant use of these techniques in order to achieve an aesthetic ideal. German expressionism started to fascinate me after seeing The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, and then I went on to see some other movies that are loosely gathered under this label. Der mude Tod may not be as spectacular as Metrtopolis but it has the power to work on many levels as well. It's hard to place this in a genre, the IMDb thought it a fantasy but it is clearly more, it's romance, drama, and even a thriller in some moments. The story is a perfect example of the expressive possibilities of cinema, as the lead characters are used in three different stories connected in a larger fourth story. Just like Dr. Caligari there's more than meets the eye with the movie even if it does get a bit childish sometimes. Speaking of which, I think that the sets are constructed as if from the imagination of a child, they are definitely not "historically accurate". This goes to show you that producers today waste their money on accuracy leaving aside storytelling and good film making. And this is for the worst. And speaking of producers it is really a pity that when he came in America Lang made all those noirs and westerns. Some of them are good, because the direction is generally well done, but I think Lang could have used his talents on better scripts.