Cheap The Golem (DVD) (Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Ernst Deutsch) (Carl Boese, Paul Wegener) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Golem

The Inspiration For Frankenstein.
THE GOLEM is one of those movies that many people have seen stills from or have read about but up until now have not the opportunity to see it as it was intended to be seen. Copies of it have been around for years but as was often the case with silent films until recently, it was available only in poor quality prints projected at the wrong speed with inappropriate or no music background at all. This new Kino DVD remedies that situation and is likely to be the best edition we're likely to see for some time. The story concerns a Jewish ghetto in 16th century Prague which is saved by the creation of a clay man who is brought to life and becomes their protector. After his task is finished, he refuses to return to clay and runs amok until he is finally vanquished by the hands of a child. This is a remake of an earlier film which also featured writer and co-director Paul Wegener as the creature. Much of the Golem legend would be used by Mary Shelley in FRANKENSTEIN and this movie would be recycled by James Whale and Boris Karloff for the famous 1931 film. It is fascinating to watch this film today not only for its highly stylised sets and striking cinematography but also for its positive portrayal of Jewish life which was possible in 1920 Germany but not 13 years later. This is by far and away the best version of this film that I have seen. It is still a little washed out in places but the restored tinting helps to minimize that. Most of the print is sharp and clear with the stylised details quite vivid especially in the ghetto scenes. The newly composed soundtrack by Aljoscha Zimmermann incorporates Jewish melodies with folk dance material and is very effective. This is one of four new releases in Kino's German Horror Classics series that also features authorized versions of CABINET OF DR CALIGARI (a knockout), NOSFERATU, and the rarely seen WAXWORKS. They can be obtained seperately or all together in a box set. If you are one of the ever growing number of silent movie fans then this movie, indeed this set, is a must.

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Cavalier and Clay
My love affair with silent films began with "The Golem". I was introduced to this movie on a wintry January night, with the lights off. The flickering images, the "Brandenburg Concerto" soundtrack, and the film's angular sets, left a lasting impression on me, and it wasn't long before I started dreaming in black and white with a classical score. I watched it again this year, at midnight on Halloween, and was captivated all over again.<...

The story of the Golem is timeless (it even made a recent appearance in "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay"). The creature is brought to life from clay to protect the inhabitants of a medieval Jewish community from destruction at the hands of the Emperor. But the prophecies from which he's born also foresee his turning against his creators, and those are of course fulfilled when the Rabbi's daughter carries on an affair with the Emperor's knight. The Golem's death is a stunning moment, coming from a most unexpected pair of hands.

The look of the film (if you can discern it on VHS) is remarkable. The village's homes and towers are stark angular shapes, jutting up against a starry night sky. The appearance of the demon Astaroth, who reveals the Golem's secrets, is remarkably realized, as are the words that form from his breath.

The legend changes with each telling, but the core details should be familiar to most, and are echoed in many other sources down through history (the "Frankenstein" parallels are easy to see). If you can secure a good print of this movie (or even if you can't), the images will stay with you for a long time.

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One of the Silent Era's Most Influential Films
Although this 1920 German silent does not really rank alongside the truly great silent films, it remains a fascinating oddity. Based on European Jewish folklore, it tells the story a Jewish community in Prague which is threatened with explusion from the city. In an effort to protect his people, Rabbi Loew creates a man-like creature made of clay and uses it to impress the Emperor. Unfortunately, the magic backfires, and when the Golem falls into the hands of the Rabbi's perfidious assistant disaster results.

Much of the film's charm is in its visual style. The sets by Hans Poelzig are a strange but cohesive mixture of mediaeval, nouveau, and surrealism, and the cinematography by legendary photography Karl Freund uses high contrast black and white to truly remarkable effect. The Poelzig-Freund combition would cast an extremely long shadow, and THE GOLEM would influence not only such German films as Fitz Lang's METROPOLIS but the entire cycle of 1930s American horror films that began with the 1931 Bela Lugosi DRACULA.

Several plot devices and the look of the Golem, as played by Paul Wegener, would also prove particularly influential for director James Whale's famous 1932 FRANKENSTEIN. Whether or not Boris Karloff or make-up artist Jack Pierce knew the film is uncertain--but Whale, who was fond of German cinema, certainly did, and traces of THE GOLEM can be seen throughout his most famous works.

Over the past several decades a number of film historians have attempted to reinterpret THE GOLEM in light of the Holocaust. There may actually be a certain validity to this, for although the Jews are portrayed sympathetically they are very clearly outsiders, and their religion seems less like religion than witchcraft--and indeed Rabbi Loew might be said to practice black magic in bringing the Golem to life. This sense of social estrangement and religious stigmatism does seem indicative of the antisemitism that will ultimately explode into furnaces of Nazi Germany. All the same, it is worth noting that THE GOLEM is a fundamentally Jewish story to begin with, and it is perhaps best to think of it in those terms instead of using hindsight to impose modern meanings upon the film.

There are several home market releases of the film. While I have not seen it, I am told the Timeless Studios VHS release is weak; I have, however, seen the Gotham DVD release, and although there are some quality issues this inexpensive DVD is not at all bad. Still, my preference and recommendation is the Kino DVD. Unlike many Kino editions, it does not have anything significant in the way of bonuses, but the overall presentation is very fine and likely represents a best-possible presentation short of full digital restoration.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer