WAXWORKS (Flicker Alley Blu Ray/DVD combo) Das Wachsfigurenkabinett, original release U.F.A. 1924 b&w /tinted. 81. Silent with original musical scores. Region Free $39.95 https://www.flickeralley.com/classic-movies-2/#!/Waxworks-Das-Wachsfigurenkabinett/p/226878548/category=20414531
Omnibus horror films are very tricky. The film is made up of several short stories and oft times the tales can feel truncated or a bad tale in the bunch can affect the overall effect.
When they work, they are cinema classics (DEAD OF NIGHT, Eagle Lion, 1945/Universal 1946). When they do not, you end up with DR TERROR’S GALLERY OF HORRORS (American General Pictures ,1967).
In the classic category is WAXWORKS / Das Wachsfigurenkabinett. The last German film directed by Paul Leni (co-directed with Leo Birinski) before he went to America to create such works as THE CAT & THE CANARY (Universal, 1927), it continues the Germanic fantasy horror films begun with films like THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE (Deutsche Bioscop ,1913) and is a superb example of the German Expressionism movement.
German expressionism had its start in Munich with avant-garde artists using bold exaggerated shapes and colors. It soon spread to both theatres, and even architecture. In theatre, it was a rejection of realism to use it archetypes as well as strong use of lines and exaggerated shadows to emphasize the mood of the scenes and characters.
In 1920 (101 years ago as I type this), Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Decla-Bioscop) introduced cinema audiences to German Cinema expressionism. With the end of WW1, German films were once again being shown around the world.
The German cinema of the 1920s was some of the most creative at that time, with films like THE LAST LAUGH (UFA,1924) enthralling world wide audiences . WAXWORKS was another masterwork from the time.
The original screenplay by Henrik Galeen who wrote, directed and acted in THE GOLEM (Deutsche Bioscop, 1915) and the screenplay for NOSFERATU (Prana,1922) was reworked by director Leni, dropping a planned fourth story. The wax figure for the dropped tale still can be seen in the film, the character of Rinaldo Rinaldini from the Penny Dreadful story Rinaldo Rinaldini, the Robber Captain (1797) by Christian August Vulpius. Director Leni also designed the look of the film.
Cinematographer Helmar Lerski was quite busy in the teens and twenties, working upon Leni Riefensthal ‘s THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (Der heilige Berg, UFA, 1926), but in the 1930s became a documentary filmmaker covering the Zionist movement, leading up to the formation of Israel in 1948.
A young man (played by Wilhelm Dieterle, later famous as director WILLIAM Dieterle of such magnificent works as PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, Selznick, 1948) is hired by the owner of the Panoptikums (played by John Gottowt, who had played Professor Bulwer in NOSFERATU) to write background stories about his exhibits. Meeting the daughter of the exhibit’s owner (Olga Belajeff ) the author decides he will stay and write about the various wax pieces. However, as he writes, he and the young woman become characters in each tale.
The first tale is about Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid (Emil Jannings, a star of the Max Reinhardt Theatre Company, star of THE LAST LAUGH and later THE BLUE ANGEL(UFA,1930) a sound film shot in both English and German that introduced Marlene Dietrich to the cinema. Jannings sadly later worked on several pro-Nazi productions.). The author notices the statue is missing an arm, and his tale involves how the character lost his appendage.
This segment is the longest of the three (about 40 minutes) and is more a fantasy tale than horror story. It perhaps was inspired by the Douglas Fairbanks THIEF OF BAGHDAD (U.A.,1924) that opened in the U.S. in March, with WAXWORKS opening in Germany in November. Oddly, Conrad Veidt who appears in this film’s second tale, appeared in the 1940 remake of THIEF OF BAGHDAD (Korda/London Films/UA).
The second tale about Ivan The Terrible (Conrad Veidt) is a story of madness, cruelty, torture, and poisoning. Veidt is quite terrifying in the role, having made a name in film history as the somnambulist Cesare in THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI and later in such roles as Major Heinrich Strasser in CASABLANCA (WB,1942). This story is about 37 minutes.
After writing the two-prior tales, the poet and Eva find themselves stalked by Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss, Dr Caligari himself from that film) who chases them through the museum, ending with the writer waking up and realizing that it was all a dream, certainly one of the earliest uses of that device. This is not really a fully fleshed out segment but merely a good scary tag to the film.
The original German cut of the film, supposedly about 25 minutes longer sadly, does not survive. The version that is used here is an incredible collection of various prints (English, French, Czech) based upon a safety print in the B.F.I., that give us the best and most complete version currently available, running 81 minutes. The restoration was a joint effort by the Deutsche Kinemathek and Cineteca di Bologna, L’Immagine Ritrovata (with funding from the German Commission for Culture and the Media). The nearly 100-year-old film looks amazing, considering all this. The occasional scratch does not detract from the often remarkably sharp images throughout the film. The film elements were scanned in 4K resolution and restored in 2K. This Blu-Ray /DVD release is presented Flicker Alley and Eureka Entertainment.
This version has TWO new musical scores to choose from, both recorded in DTS-HD in either 2.0 Stereo or 5.1 surround. The first is a piano score while the second a fuller orchestral score. While both are quite good, I rather leaned into the second more (personal choice). There is also an informative audio commentary by Australian Art and Film Critic Adrian Martin (THE MAD MAX MOVIES, Currency Press Pty Ltd ,2003). Not bad for a “silent” film.
As for subtitles, you get a choice of German, French Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic and Chinese subtitles for this Region Free release.
Other extras include.
Paul Leni’s Rebus-Films Nr. 1 (1925) – these were crossword puzzles that were shown before and after main features, representing a clue and then the answer. (This featurette was provided courtesy of Kino Lorber).
In search of the original version of Paul Leni’s Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (2020)– An interview Julia Wallmüller from Deutsche Kinemathek about the Homeric efforts to restore this film.
A Conversation with Kim Newman (2020) – the film historian puts the film ‘s importance into perspective and discusses other wax museum horror movies.
A DVD copy of the film.
Collector’s Edition Souvenir Booklet – A photo illustrated booklet with new essays by Phillip Kemp and Richard Combs on the film’s history and significance; notes on the restoration process by Julia Wallmüller.
Silent films are sometimes hard for today’s ADHD audiences. They demand your complete attention without distractions. That said, if you make this slight effort, the rewards are well worth it.
Kudos to FLICKER ALLEY for their preservation and presentation of these rare important films. They also offer such rarities as DER HUND VON BASKERVILLE (1929) https://www.flickeralley.com/classic-movies-2/#!/Der-Hund-von-Baskerville/p/125716170/category=20414531 and Leni‘s last film , THE LAST WARNING https://www.flickeralley.com/classic-movies-2/#!/The-Last-Warning/p/130760328/category=20414531 .
Highly Recommended.
Kevin G Shinnick
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