Product Details

• Actors: Pola Negri, Alfred Abel, Henny Porten, William Dieterle, Fritz Kortner
• Directors: Paul Leni, Dimitri Buchowetzki
• Format: Black & White
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Grapevine Video
• Run Time: 132 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B002O00W2U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,546 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Berlin, Germany, 1921. The new Weimar Republic was in the midst of a powerful creative renaissance that still affects the arts as we know them today. Then and now, the most celebrated medium of Weimar Germany's artistic revolution was its movies, and some of Germany's most loved and celebrated actresses were at the height of their popularity. Some of those names include Asta Nielsen, Lil Dagover, and the two ladies featured in these two German films from 1921: Pola Negri and Henny Porten. Sappho (1921, 82 min.) Pola Negri's Sappho is a rare, largely unseen film that has been restored with its original tints and released on video for the first time ever, complete with a devastating orchestral score. The story is an ornate, contemporary costume drama about a notorious vamp whose long run of using men is brought to an abrupt halt when she meets the love of her life. However, the ghosts of her past haunt the new relationship, including the fact that she has previously driven her new beau's brother (Alfred Abel) insane. Sappho showcases Negri in many roles-a mother, a bride, a heartless socialite, a devoted lover-and each role she plays is completely and thoroughly believable. Her staredown of a former lover when he brandishes a gun jumps off of the screen; her silent scream at the film's end is so potent that it seems audible. Backstairs (1921, 50 min.) Henny Porten's Backstairs (A.K.A. Hintertreppe) is one of the earliest attempts at reproducing a pioneering and revolutionary genre of German theatre called "intimate theatre" (kammerspiel). This purposefully minimalistic film seized the imaginations of film critics, and helped pioneer a small but very influential subgenre of German film called the kammerspielfilm; this film style would come to a greater fruition in F. W. Murnau's Sunrise (1927). Most of Porten's films are difficult to find and few were released in America, so this is a rare opportunity to watch her in top form.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two excellent, quite different (but both resolved by death) German films from 1921, April 3, 2010

By 

J. Faulk (New York NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ladies of the German Cinema (Sappho / Backstairs) (DVD)

SAPPHO

Polish actress Pola Negri (1897-1987) stars. Her film career included 1917-1922 in Germany and 1923-1928 in the U.S.

In a German sanatorium, Richard visits his brother, hopelessly mad due to vamp Sappho's immoral abandon. At a club, Richard is accosted by Sappho, and they begin a troubled liaison, which her fat sugardaddy cannot thwart. A long flashback shows her involvement with Richard's brother. In the finale, "Carnival," employing hundreds of milling extras, the escaped madman throttles Sappho.

This 82-min film is divided into 5 "acts," presumably because of reel changes when using a single projector. The print is pretty good, tinted amber. The fresh-sounding full-orchestral score is an unusual plus.

BACKSTREET

Henny Porten (1890-1960) is the menial in an old multistorey Berlin townhouse. In the evening, she habitually meets her manfriend William Dieterle in the backstreet. Suddenly he disappears without a word, and she eagerly awaits postman Fritz Kortner, somewhat disabled, for the letter that never comes. The poor little postman, who lives close by on the backstreet, finally himself writes her a letter seemingly from her lover. She discovers the well-meant ruse, her lover suddenly returns, and tragedy ensues for all three.

This minimalist film (only 50 min) is of the experimental "intimate theater" genre. Porten's performance avoids silent-film cliche'.

Scenario by Carl Mayer, sets by Paul Lini, directed by Leopold Jessner, with good orchestral score.