IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

Rejoice, silent cinephiles!  Kino Lorber is providing a bonanza of German silent classics in the month of November with F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh and a 12-disc set covering the silent output of Fritz Lang (Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler; Metropolis; Die Nibelungen; etc.).  While most of the Fritz Lang titles have been available as single releases, some of the discs have been re-authored, so it may be worth a double-dip if you already have some of the prior releases.

Below are the full specs from Kino Lorber’s Facebook page:

Coming November 14th on DVD and Blu-ray!
2K restoration by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung

THE LAST LAUGH (1924) (2-Disc Set) – Directed by F.W. Murnau – Production Design: Edgar G. Ulmer – Starring Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Emilie Kurz

Coming November 21st! Only on Blu-ray!

FRITZ LANG: THE SILENT FILMS
Includes 32 Page Booklet with essay by Tom Gunning
12 discs – Region A

Disc 1:
THE SPIDERS (Die Spinnen)
1919-1920 Germany 173 Min. Color Tinted
Part One: THE GOLDEN SEA 69 Min.
Part Two: THE DIAMOND SHIP 104 Min.
Music composed and performed by Ben Model

Disc 2:
HARAKIRI
1919 Germany 87 Min. Color Tinted
Music by Aljoscha Zimmermann

THE WANDERING SHADOW (Das Wandernde Bild)
1920 Germany 67 Min. Color Tinted
Music by Aljoscha Zimmermann

Note: Both films on Disc 2 are standard definition masters that have been up-converted for Blu-ray release.

Disc 3:
FOUR AROUND THE WOMAN(Kämpfende Herzen / Hearts in Struggle / Vier um die Frau)
1921 Germany 84 Min. Color Tinted
Music by Aljoscha Zimmermann

Disc 4:
DESTINY (Der müde Tod)
1921 Germany 98 Min. Color Tinted
Music composed by Cornelius Schwehr, performed by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB)

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas
• Restoration demonstration footage
• 2016 Re-release trailer

Discs 5-6
DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler)
1922 Germany 270 Min. B&W
Music (2001) by Aljoscha Zimmermann

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• “The Story Behind Dr. Mabuse,” (52 Min.), a three-part documentary exploring the musical score by Aljoscha Zimmermann, the career of novelist Norbert Jacques, and an analysis of the film

Discs 7-8:
DIE NIBELUNGEN
1924-1925 Germany Color Tinted
Disc 7: SIEGFRIED 149 Min.
Disc 8: KRIEMHILD’S REVENGE 131 Min.
Original score by Gottfried Huppertz
Performed by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• “The Legacy of the Nibelungen,” a 68-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film, by Guido Altendorf and Anke Wilkening
• Newsreel footage taken on the set

Disc 9:
METROPOLIS
UFA 1927 Germany 148 Min. B&W
Original Score: Gottfried Huppertz
Performed by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB)

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• “Voyage to Metropolis,” a 50-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film
• Interview with Paula Felix-Didier, curator of the Museo del Cine, Buenos Aires, where previously missing footage was discovered

Disc 10:
SPIES (Spione)
1928 Germany 150 Min. B&W
Piano score (2005) by Neil Brand

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• “Spies: A Small Film With Lots of Action” (2006, 72 Min.) a documentary by Guido Altendorf and Anke Wilkening
• Original German theatrical trailer (5 min.) courtesy of the Austrian Film Museum, Vienna

Disc 11:
WOMAN IN THE MOON (Frau im Mond)
1929 Germany 169 Min. B&W
Piano score (2005) by Javier Pérez de Azpeitia.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• “Woman in the Moon: The First Scientific Science Fiction Film,” a documentary on the making of the film (14 Min.)

Disc 12 (Bonus Disc):
THE PLAGUE OF FLORENCE (Pest in Florenz)
1919 Germany 102 Min. B&W
Directed by Otto Rippert – Screenplay by Fritz Lang
Based on “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
Music (2014): Uwe Dierksen.

Note: SPIES and WOMAN IN THE MOON have been re-authored to correct an error in the aspect ratio that appeared in the first pressing of the single-disc Blu-ray releases.