Customer Reviews

Fritz Lang's Indian Epic

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a silent film enthusiast who has enjoyed the German 1921 silent film "The Indian Tomb", written by Fritz Lang and his then-wife Thea von Harbou, I was curious to see this 1959 version of the same story, this time directed by Fritz Lang himself. Although the story is essentially the same and the characters and plots are recognizable, Fritz Lang obviously did a lot of re-writing of the old 1921 screenplay to suit a much different 1959 audience, and I think he succeeded very well. While the original 1921 film is 3 ½ hours long with a more complex and sinister plot, the story has been reworked into two separate films, namely "The Tiger of Eschnapur" and "The Indian Tomb", and has all the hallmarks of a late 1950s, early 60s adventure epic. The quality of these two DVDs is simply excellent, and visually the films are already a delight, being filmed on location in the state of Rajasthan, India - in particular the city of Udaipur, famous for its magnificent palaces which also featured in the James Bond classic, "Octopussy". With real-life Mogul palaces and other striking Indian settings, Lang did not have to go to any great lengths to create a fantasy-like adventure world, not unlike modern-day Indiana Jones movies. Unlike Indiana Jones, however, the story in Lang's Indian Epic is serious: love, jealousy, revenge, intrigues in the royal family, schemes, lepers and a holy man with words of wisdom. The story moves along at a comfortable, steady pace with a good measure of suspense and unexpected turns, along with a nice dose of exotic - and erotic - dancing by Debra Paget. And although fake tigers are always mentioned in connection with "The Tiger of Eschnapur", I would not have noticed if I hadn't heard about it before, as there are plenty of good shots of real, live tigers, and I don't think a one or two second scene of a stuffed tiger or fake cobra should ruin a viewer's overall enjoyment of these two films.

While I would give the story and film quality a 4 ½ - star rating, I was so pleased with this box set in general, the notes on each film inside, the bonus photo gallery and in particular the option of the English-dubbed or original German version (with or without English subtitles) that I'm giving it the full 5 stars. For anyone who speaks German as I do, I'd like to point out that the German language spoken in these two films is absolutely top-class quality and a delight to hear. I'm sure anyone who enjoys 50s and 60s movies will be delighted by this box set and the restored full-length versions of both films (they were previously released in a much condensed version entitled "Journey to the Lost City") and for anyone who has enjoyed the silent 1921 version, this set would surely also be of interest to compare and have a nice change.

Of course I love Fritz Lang, he was one of the great directors of the 20th century. This is pretty good if ocassionally the low budget peaks through on the sets. The location shooting in India is colorful and wonderful, though.

The great surprise is Debra Paget, an actress I had never paid attention to before. She is fabulous in the movies and her erotic dances, particularly in the second movie, are enough to cause the onset of puberty in a five year old. She is entirely convincing as an Indian princess.

I can recommend the movie for her performance and for the great Saturday afternoon matinee feel to these films. After all, Lang was one of the originators of the cliff hanger serial and this was a return to that style. Great fun!

This boxed set of DVDs does make a handsome package. However there is one fault which previous reviewers have missed. As they note, the color is vivid and the image is exceptionally sharp and clean. What a pity, then, that the film transfer colorist failed to note that many scenes are supposed to take place at night! These night scenes, with exteriors shot in the day-for-night mode, are all rendered in the bright colors of daylight. The error is in the timing of the film-to-tape transfer. It could have been fixed. Too bad!! In all other ways, this is an exceptional package.

Debra Paget (THE HAUNTED PALACE, THE 10 COMMANDMENTS) star in Fritz Lang's 2 famous films; THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and INDIAN TOMB. I saw a clip on YouTube of this movie. I think Debra Paget is extremely beautiful and is in good movies such as Roger Corman's TALES OF TERROR and THE HAUNTED PALACE. I don't have to say but these movies are decent but are extremely low budget and the Cobra you can tell is a toy. 5 out of 5 star rating!

This movie can not compare in visual splendor to the earlier version (1921) by Joe May, which had been written by Fritz Lang, inspired in the Thea von Harbou book, but it is a wonderful rendition of the same story line: Insanely jealous maharaja discovers that his lady love is having an affair, decides to bury her alive and contacts a European architect to build his version of the Taj Mahal while plotting to kill his rival.

No doubt the film would have greatly benefited from being silent: These actors can not deliver their lines within a range of believable possibility and this is the main drawback of the film.
However, Debra Paget, mostly remembered for her role as Lilia the water girl partnered with John Derek as Joshua in de Mille's "The Ten Commandments" is here in the role of Seetha absolutely stunning to look at, her sacred temple dance is a culmination of a film genre that depicts female sensuality in an exotic setting and starts with Pola Negri in "The Eyes of the Mummy", (1922) is developed most by Garbo in her sacred dance rendition in Mata Hari (1931) given an added musical comedy twist by Marlene Dietrich in "Kismet" (1944) and finally reincarnates here in its 'ultimate' version. To watch Ms. Paget dance for Shiva, here conveniently transformed into a female deity for the benefit of the atomic-sized breasts of the monumental sculpture that stands as the perfect erotic counterpoint to Paget's curvaceous excess, is a memorable, I dare say unforgettable, experience in cinematography, but one that has no connection to spiritual revelation, and thankfully, everything to do with the libido. The costume is scarcely present as three pieces of heavily embroidered cloths, strategically distributed in Ms. Paget's perfect physique, a glorious tribute to the pre-silicone, pre-steroids era that has remained unsurpassed to this day in visual impact. This costume barely manages to disguise the dancer's nudity, and would have doubtlessly been the envy of Versace or Roberto Cavalli at their most risqué. How it is mantained in place throughout the long, acrobatic dance, is a miracle of early suction-fabrics that pre-date licra that should be studied in detail by specialists. The fact that this exquisite kitsch eroticism was allowed to exist at all in a mass marketed movie is a miracle that could not be repeated or even approximated today, in our much more retrograde and provincial era. As a matter of fact, this is as good a reason as any to watch the film!

Please note that high definition will unfortunately spoil the effect of the cobra in the temple dance, as you will be able to see the thread that was holding it above its head. It will also tarnish some of the shine of the jewels, which will look keenly platic or crystal-like, but are abundant to an insane degree even within the standards of exotica. The opposite of Ms. Paget's grace and good looks is Sabine Bethmann, playing the architect's sister who arrives late to the scene and is a character study in what should be avoided in acting, at all costs. Her demeanor is so out of place in the Indian palace that she gives the impression of a mid size dinousaur trying to get to the food in a diner, also her extreme 'whiteness' which has a tinge of the ideal model for Hitler's idea of a superior race, is so much more schoking and foreign in an Oriental setting, that it seems to jump at us like a flaming torch through the film. These are the only hard scenes to watch. The film was shot on location in Udaipur, one of the most beautiful cities in Rajahstan which gives it a perfect background in all the long shots and a grandeur in the interiors that would have been impossible to replicate in a set.

Every other expected visual treat of the exotic realm makes an appearance: The wise yogi, endless royal processions on elephants, tiger hunts, leper-stampedes, mysterious caves, underground passagess and temples, and brocade and gold embroidered cloth everywhere! This movie in both parts is highly entertaining and perfect for fans of "Indiana Jones" which must have copied lots of scenes from this movie. An absolute must-see for scholars of kitsch aesthetics and fashion historians who should particularly concentrate on the turbans, which reach here unbelievable proportions and designs.

Done with Hollywood by the mid 1950s, Fritz Lang returned to Germany and decided to remake THE INDIAN TOMB (reviewed elsewhere), a legendary German silent film from 1921 that he had originally been scheduled to direct (he was one of the film's writers). Just as in the case of the first film, the remake was epic in scope and was divided into two features THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB. This time around the film was in color and definitely wasn't a silent. It runs 201 minutes only 10 minutes shorter than the original.

The movie was butchered for its American release (it was reduced to 90 minutes) and released here as JOURNEY TO THE LOST CITY. I vaguely remember seeing it on TV as a young boy and I can see how it must have made an impression on future directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. I can also clearly see what was cut from the American release considering the year was 1959.

The film features a stalwart cast of German actors with one notable exception, the American actress Debra Paget. She was criminally underused in American movies and here gets a chance to shine in the pivotal role of Seetha the temple dancer around which the film revolves. Her 2 dances and costumes (or lack of them) are remarkably erotic in an old fashioned way yet they can still raise your spirits 50 years later.

Much has been made in other reviews about how cheesy some of the effects are (the Fakir's decapitated head is especially bad although I thought the Cobra was deliberately meant to be unrealistic) but that's unimportant. The overall look of the film and the way the narrative moves along are vintage Lang and it manages to draw you in despite its shortcomings. It's also a first class look at a German production from around 1960 which is exceedingly rare.

The packaging by Fantoma is absolutely top notch and is how Criterion would do it in this country. Not only is the print beautifully transferred but you get the original German soundtrack along with the English dubbed one (the German is way better, trust me) and booklets in both DVDs that tell you all about each film. If you love old fashioned exotic adventures which are meant only to entertain then you can't go wrong here. In fact you may be surprised at just how much you enjoy it.

Simply the best film ever made! For a long, long time, my most favorite film was "Gaslight" starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman (1944). It will take a lot to dethrone this movie. I watched Part 1 (The Tiger of Eschnapur) on Saturday night. I watched Part 2 (The Tomb of Love aka The Indian Tomb) Sunday morning. Simply the best film ever made! If Debra Paget in "The 10 Commandments" ever touched something in you, then buy this film! These two films together, compromise a story telling that is forgotten in this day and age. Shot in 1959, long before there was "Kill Bill 1 & 2." If you ever liked "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Haviland, then you will like this film! Beautiful, epic period drama!

Lang's penultimate film[s] is not his best effort, but this DVD does it justice with its brilliant color and sharp image. The single best scene is Debra Paget's near-nude dance in the second film. In my opinion, she was hotter than Marilyn Monroe and should have been better known back in the 50s. Originally a dancer, she showed she could act in a number of 50s releases. A must for Paget fans.

First, the color cinematography and location shooting in Inda are spectacular. The story is slow paced, but always hold one's interest. The acting is standard, nothing remarkable, but nothing to complain about either. Debra Paget is a good dancer, a fact that will probably not be lost on the men in the audience.

The story is about Europeans who run afoul of local Indian customs, and the intrigues within the Indian court. It is slow paced, but very well done. Camparisons have been made on this site to the "Indiana Jones" pictures. Like those pictures, there is an element of foreign religion and supernaturelism.

This is Fritz Lang re-creating the sort of film making he did in the 1920's, but updated with sound and color. It comes on 2 DVDs, "The Tiger of Eschnapur" and "The Indian Tomb". Watch the first one one night, then the other the following night.

The pacing, color, and location shooting are amazing. My wife told me to say that if you like cats, big ones, your going to love this picture. Tigers !

I enjoyed this film and can see its influence today in other directors work.. The cinematography is amazing and helps pull you into the story; it actually is a character. The story line may be old hat, but is told with a relish and the actors are wonderful to watch, especially Debra Paget. A film that has not received due credit.