destiny 1921
directed by fritz lang
settings and costumes by walter rohrig, hermann warm and robert herith
i was really anticipating this film when i saw hermann warm was involved. his artistic touch contributed to movies such as passion de jeanne d'arc, vampyr, and das cabinet des dr caligari. there was no disappointment here, this film is beautiful.
architecture shapes the look of each scene. once again, there is a trio of stories. images of death haunt each of them, although the last is also unexpectedly humorous. the squarish aspect ratio makes watching this film feel more like looking at a book.
what raises this film above the usual gothic horror/fantasy movie is the curious, near constant upward movement. the architecture, the action moving up the screen all reinforce the image of ascention. the square screen emphasizes this too. the effect is uplifting.
even the death figures have the same upward movement.
6 comments:
Great blog!
I discovered it through Art of Memory and look forward to keeping up with your posts...
thank you!
art of memory is a beautiful site, and i've been really enjoying yours as well.
Stunning still lifes!!
the compositions of this film are pretty amazing,
those guys sure knew their business back then.
that's fritz lang for you. it's his work, i'm just isolating some (personal favorite) highlights. i highly recommend the movie, it's not just accessible but engaging.
it is strange, i love langs early sound films and some of the american, but the silent films just don't do much for me, mabuse just seemed so flat compared to the testament, but i will give this and the scifi one a go.
it is frustrating that ministry of fear is not on dvd.
a great movie.
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