Der müde Tod (1921)

When a woman's fiancé disappears, Death gives her three chances to save him from his fate.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou

Stars:

Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Bernhard Goetzke

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lil Dagover	...	Young Woman / Das junge Mädchen / 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 / Bürgermeister
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 / Küster
Max Pfeiffer
Georg John	...	Beggar / Bettler
Lydia Potechina	...	Landlady / Wirtin
Grete Berger	...	Mother / Mutter

Storyline

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, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers. In each story, a woman, trying to save her lover from his ultimate tragic fate, fails. The young lady realizes the meaning of the tales and takes the only step she can to reunite herself with her lover.

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Plot Keywords:

expressionism | death | wall | stranger | china | 

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Taglines:

The Movie That Inspired Hitchcock and Bunuel! (2016)

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

30 January 1922 (Finland)

Also Known As:

The Weary Death

Filming Locations:

Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,334, 22 May 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$12,156, 19 August 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Decla-Bioscop AG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 105 min 94 min (2016 restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film received a 2K restoration in 2016 by L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy, with most of the material coming from New York's Museum of Modern Art and some shots taken from a copy belonging to the Cinémathèque de Toulouse, in France. The titles were rebuilt by Munich's Film Museum, based on a Russian copy, with missing ones coming from archives in Prague and Brussels, while the lost colors take inspiration from contemporary films.

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Quotes

Junge Maedchen: You dread, awful cactus, you!

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Alternate Versions

DVD "Destiny (Der müd Tod)" (c) 2000 by Film Preservation Associates, with English titles and inter-titles by Ulrich Ruedel, tinted with added musical score, running at 99 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Grimm Masterpiece Theatre: Shinigami no naduke oya (1989)

User Reviews

if only movies today used their sfx so well

Contemporary audiences must have been awed by the spectacle of the three exotic adventure episodes within `Der Mude Tod', but the imagery Fritz Lang employs in the bookends is the most fascinating aspect of the film today. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton had already occasionally used clever camera tricks, but Fritz Lang's film revels in special effects. Through editing and double exposure, he makes it look even now as though ghosts are disappearing through a garden wall, or that two lovers' souls are exiting their bodies. The most exciting thing about Lang's magic, of course, is that his images act as a foundation for beautiful, poetic ideas. His unusually sympathetic portrayal of Death is just one example of why the outer story resonates so much more than the obvious melodrama in its middle. Lang seems to argue that, while love cannot overcome death, it retains a power which even death would respect and envy.

Rating: 8