Silent Era Information*Progressive Silent Film List*Lost Films*People*Theaters
Taylorology*Articles*Home Video*Books*Search
 
Foolish Wives BD
 
Silent Era Home Page  >  Home Video  >  The Way to Murnau
 
Silent Era Films on Home Video
Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved.

The Way
to Murnau

(2003)

 

From the opening titles, one knows what one is in for, with the subtitle “Approaches to a Lonely Master.” The documentary’s director, Alexander Bohr, has taken an overanalyzed and dull ‘approach’ to the life and career of master filmmaker F.W. Murnau.

Emphasized is Murnau’s deliberate separation from his family and early life, and his cinematic visual style based on fine art paintings, which portray Murnau as an Artist worthy of the admiration of the anal academic. But this unbalanced and all-too-short exploration of a complex personality shows favor for mulling intellectuality (is the flight of Faust and Mephisto in Faust [1926] truly a “cinematic reflection” of Murnau’s wartime service in the German Air Force?) and not nearly enough for a contextual historical assessment of Murnau’s rich contributions to filmmaking techniques, his diverse choice of subject matter, or his lasting artistic achievements. Bohr does adroitly employ animated miniatures to illustrate for the viewer Murnau’s innovations in Phantom (1922) and Der letzte Mann (1924).

While it features some beautiful modern shots of the Europe of Murnau’s early life and films, this English-language version of the German documentary only comes alive when it features footage from Murnau’s Schloß Vogelöd (1921), Der brennende Acker (1922) Nosferatu (1922), Phantom (1922), Der letzte Mann (1924), Faust (1926) and Tabu (1931), and the mindnumbing and ultimately directionless narration is ignored.

Carl Bennett

coverKino on Video
2003 DVD edition

Tartuffe (1926), color-toned black & white, 63 minutes, not rated,
with The Way to Murnau (2003), color and black & white, 35 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K320, UPC 7-38329-03202-9.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 5.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 192 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, no English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 5 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 11 November 2003.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 9 / audio: 9 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This DVD edition of the video-based documentary appears to have been produced in a high-definition format (downconverted here for standard NTSC format), as the images are extremely clear and detailed. All of the footage from Murnau’s films appear to have been transferred from 35mm elements, which provide clearer but all-too-brief views from the films that are not entirely well-represented in home video editions.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Other F.W. MURNAU films available on home video.

Other silent era EMIL JANNINGS films available on home video.

Other GERMAN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

Other silent era-related DOCUMENTARIES available on home video.
F.W. Murnau filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
 
 
Silent Era Home Page  >  Home Video  >  The Way to Murnau
 
Lodger BD
Become a Patron of Silent Era

SUPPORT SILENT ERA
USING THESE LINKS
WHEN SHOPPING AT
AMAZON

AmazonUS
AmazonCA
AmazonUK

When Knighthood Was in Flower BD/DVD

Tabu BD

Faust BD

Nosferatu BD

The Last Laugh DVD

Tartuffe BD

Variete BD

Madame DuBarry BD

Stella Maris BD

Oh Doctor BD

*