Customer Reviews

The Last Laugh (Restored Deluxe Edition)

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I love Kino. I really do. But they really need somebody to make executive decisions for them, because this two disc set is yet another glorious muddle.

What I mean is this: the image is stunning, cleaner and more vivid than the previous release, Giuseppe Becce's 1924 score is gorgeously recorded and matches perfectly, and the making of documentary is especially informative (in German with the subtitles of your choice). BUT the opening titles and Epilogue cards from the English print are used while everything else is in German (with subtitles that hold on the bottom of the screen for literally a fraction of a second, one needs to pause the player to read the damned thing). Why has Kino not learned from Criterion and just given us the original German print with optional English subtitles? Why must we go through this everytime with them? The beautiful release of Nosferatu last year was also flawed; that two disc set contains TWO copies of the film, the original German and then one with video generated English titles, both with optional subtitles (???).

So I really like this set for the image and sound and documentary, but Kino really need to stop building a horse by committee and get someone to make a solid decision to just release these great silent films as they exist on film and not try to make everyone happy. I think anyone looking to purchase films by Murnau knows that they're getting themselves into. So far, this release is a little more organized than the Nosferatu release, so hopefully by the time they get round to Faust they'll have got it right.

A word on the film. Der Letze Mann really was a ground-breaker, due to its shocking use of camera movement and lack of intertitles. But the end is really utterly grotesque, a deliberate contrivance that lead actor Jannings convinced Murnau to film and producer Eric Pohmer (sic?) made him tack on. The disgusting wealth and gluttony that ends the film is not only hypocritical in light of the fact that it was the very same disgusting wealth and gluttony that ruined the Old Porter's life to begin with, but it is revolting and creepy as well. Money is useful, but it does not buy happiness. There is no resolution with the Daughter, despite that their great love for each other has been established at the beginning of the film. Even the filmmaking in the "improbable" Epilogue is perfunctory; Murnau flourishes in the main body of the film, absolutely flourishes, so it is worth getting this set to revel in the first hour and fifteen minutes. I always turn it off where Murnau intended it to end, with the final fate of the Last Man.

F.W. Murnau didn't have a typical storyline - he could do pure Gothic horror as in Nosferatu, social commentary as in Phantom, fantasy with a religious theme as in Faust, and the redemption of love as in Sunrise. What ties Murnau's work together is its imagery. He excelled at it as few directors ever did. "The Last Laugh" is a tale about an older man who is proud of his position as doorman at a prominent German hotel. One night he has had to carry some heavy luggage as part of his duties and he takes a break. As luck would have it, his supervisor sees him taking this short rest and assumes the worst. The next day the old man is reassigned to the job of washroom attendant. He does his best to hide his change of position from his friends, but they find out anyway. To make matters worse, they assume he's always been lying about his job and that he has thus always been a washroom attendant. At this point you might wonder - why exactly is this film named The Last Laugh? There is a somewhat tacked on ending that is the foundation of the film's title. I won't spoil it for you.

This is a two disc edition because there are two versions of the film included. The extras include a 40 minute documentary on the making of The Last Laugh that was included with the last edition of the film that was in The F.W. Murnau Collection (Nosferatu/The Last Laugh/Faust/Tabu/Tartuffe). I thought that the video was perfectly clear on that version, so I'm curious to see what further remastering has done for the visual clarity of the film. The documentary is well-done and quite detailed. This somewhat surprised me since if Kino has a flaw in its DVD productions it is this - it sometimes misses the point entirely of multimedia presentation and of the extra space DVD affords you for extra features. I personally want commentary and featurettes to go with these films, not the text notes that Kino often includes that leave me - at age 50 - squinting at the TV screen.

When F.W. Murmau landed Emil Jannings to play the lead role in this movie, Jannings was perhaps THE most sought after actor in all of Weimar Germany.

It was the 1920s and the era in which Jannings would also play the Devil himself in Faust (also directed by Murnau) and for his part Murnau would also direct the justly famous Nosferatu as well as Sunrise which would share honors at the first ever Academy Awards ceremonies.

By 1931 Murnau would be dead in a tragic car accident and by the 1930s Jannings would ironically sell his soul to the Devil by acting in Third Reich propaganda movies. By the end of World War II Jannings would be out of film until his death.

In other words, when doing this movie both these extremely talented men were at the very top of their creative peak.

And it shows.

Ostensibly the boring story of a hotel doorman who loses his job because he's too old, Jannings brings every minute he's on screen to life with his vivid characterizations. The movie has very few title cards and frankly doesn't need them owing to the way in which Jannings so consistently and expertly keeps the audience visually on board with what's going on.

In deference to the few who don't know why this movie is entitled The Last Laugh I will simply say that this movie is worth watching to the end.

Appearances can be deceptive. If you were to judge by appearances, this would seem to be one of Emil Jannings' ever-popular exercises in onscreen humiliation (The Blue Angel, The Last Command) - and no one did humiliation like Jannings, the man with the most expressive back and shoulders in cinema. A huge worldwide star in the silent era and the first Best Actor Oscar winner, his career and reputation subsequently marred by the Nazi films he made during the war, the film has survived its star's disgrace to become one of the enduring greats. Its story may be simple, but the execution is absolutely extraordinary, the film still seeming extraordinarily fresh and modern even today - a film with an energy and a beating heart that makes for an invigorating piece of pure cinema.

Adapted from Nikolai Gogol's The Coat and a Broadway adaptation by Charles W. Goddard (the film's title actually translates from German as The Last Man, as in The Bible's `the last shall be first'), it taps into both the Germans' love of uniforms and the universal tendency to judge others by their appearance. Jannings plays the much-respected chief porter of the prestigious Hotel Atlantic. He may live in a neighbourhood not many steps above a slum, but as long as he has his grandiose military-style porter's uniform, he has the respect of everyone in his neighbourhood. It is the uniform, not money, that is the source of his power and authority, but when he is demoted after a humiliatingly pathetic display of physical strength shows his age, he is stripped of the overcoat like a disgraced officer being cashiered before the entire regiment and sent to work as a lavatory attendant instead, the lowliest position in the entire hotel. At first he attempts to hide his dishonour, but once his secret is out his neighbours' attitudes change almost immediately from love and admiration to contempt as he becomes a joke in their eyes. The only compassion he receives is from the night watchman in a moving drunken scene that you suspect everyone but Jannings wanted for the finale.

Yet far from this being a case of just deserts, Jannings' protagonist is a decent man for all his surface pomposity. All he has is the respect his position bestows on him, and once that is gone it is genuinely tragic to see this huge man shrink into himself. It's that human aspect that ultimately is the film's greatest achievement: it's as emotional and moving as it is technically innovative. And the film is incredibly innovative.

An attempt to make a silent film with no captions, the film tells its story with images and body language, with only a shot of a letter and a very reluctant onscreen excuse for the unbelievable epilogue imposed on him by his star breaking the flow of images (Murnau passed on the opportunity to direct The Blue Angel, fearing that Jannings would once again demand a happy ending: Jannings even suggested his Last Laugh co-star Molly Delschart for the Dietrich role!). Boasting the top talent in German cinema of the day (a screenplay by The Cabinet of Dr Caligari's Carl Mayer, produced by Eric Pohmer, magnificent production design by future cult director Edgar G. Ulmer), a huge 1.6m DM budget that allowed magnificent sets of the grand hotel and the beautifully rendered slum, and a lavish 180-day shooting schedule that allowed director F.W. Murnau a level of perfectionism rare even now let alone in 1924, the film is the best and most groundbreaking example of what became known as the `unchained camera' technique. And the camerawork is very much a star of the film. Few directors, sound or silent, understood the language of the camera as well as Murnau: Scorsese's been openly stealing from him for decades. You could even make a case that all modern cinema flows from this source, with many of the techniques we take for granted today being tried out here. The camera is rarely still in many of the major sequences, the hotel lobby filled with crane and dolly shots (the later reputedly invented for the film), Karl Freund's striking camerawork at times even assuming the perspective and failing eyesight of its tragic hero.

Thankfully the film has received some of the attention it deserves in Kino's two-disc set, with a fine transfer keeping the excellent 1924 score by Giuseppe Becce, the DVD also includes the export version (studios would shoot versions with alternate takes for export so they could have two negatives, one for domestic and one for overseas), an excellent documentary detailing the differences between the different versions (three were shot, one for Germany, the others for export overseas, with many subsequent re-edits happening to both), how the forced perspective sets were designed via production sketches and blueprints and even breakdowns on individual shots. The DVD even tells you what film stock and cameras were used! Very highly recommended.

During the period of recovery after World War I, the German film industry was at its height, but tough economic times made it difficult for filmmakers to compete with the expensive, lavish features produced in Hollywood. Filmmakers of the German UFA studio developed their own distinctive style by using symbolism and milieu to add mood and deeper meaning to a movie. This style came to be known as German Expressionism.
"The Last Laugh" is a 2-disc set showcasing F.W. Murnau's 1924 silent German Expressionist drama. The film stars Emil Jannings as an aging doorman whose happiness dissolves when he is relieved of the duties and uniform that have for years been the foundation of his identity and pride. Through Jannings' impressive performance, "The Last Laugh" becomes more than the plight of a single doorman. It is constantly referred to as one of the most poetic and sad dramatizations of the frustrations of the working class. As a result of his work in "The Last Laugh," Jannings became one of the world's most acclaimed film actors during the 1920's.
In the making of the film, three different camera negatives were exposed and edited. One would be used for striking prints for the German release, another for general international distribution, and the third for American release. The surviving German negative was reconstructed utilizing material from several sources. This Deluxe Edition contains the new restored version, the unrestored export version, a 40-minute making-of featurette, and a new stereo recording of the original score by Giuseppe Becce. The ending contrasts sharply with the tone of the rest of the movie, and may have been influenced by Hollywood's "happy ending" formula.

FW Murnau was one of the greatest silent film directors, right up there with Fritz Lange; and Emil Jennings one of the best actors. This film about an elderly man who loses his indentity is so brilliantly crafted that it requires absolutely no subtitles. You understand what the person is saying in any lanquage and even though the actors are mute. I've not experienced that before in a silent picture.

It's true that there are certain similarities between THE BLUE ANGEL where Jennings' Professor goes way overboard in a late life crush on an amoral tart (Marlene Deitrich in a career-making role) & Jennings' Hotel Doorman in THE LAST LAUGH. The main difference is that the Professor chose his way to ruin, the Doorman has it forced upon him by his employer.

This is a story that is as relvant today as it was in post-World War I Germany when the film was made. It reminded me very much the 1950's Italian film, UMBERTO, D. Both films address the theme of how indifferently (at best) society tends to treat the elderly. For the Doorman, his entire life is defined by his job. His emotional disintegration is almost too painful to watch.

Some viewers may object to the Epilogue tacked on to the conclusion. I was a little puzzeled by it myself at first, but soon realized that it was a perfect ending for this intense character study of a somewhat foolish, harmless old man who didn't deserve all the cruelty heaped upon him--but who does get THE LAST LAUGH in the end.

I give this film the highest recommendation to purchase or to rent.

Wow! Great job Kino. Very clear transfer. Crisp images.
The movie itself is a wonderful masterpiece. F.W. Murnau was a master of the camera and did some incredible camerawork. Watching the movie and then watching the 40 minute German documentary (subtitled) will make you appreciate the incredible tricks Murnau employed with this movie. Incredible. It reminded me of film class back in the early '90's. In fact, I saw a rough cut of this movie back in 1991 but it was not as crisp a print as this DVD.
A VERY simple movie, easy to follow, with a powerful message. You will learn to love the Porter and feel so sorry for him.
I think of the epilogue as optional. Let's just say I enjoyed the Epilogue ending more but the intended shorter endcut would have been more powerful. Either way, this is a must buy for German Expressionistic fans, silent foreign classics, FW Murnau fans. Or perhaps it will be a good way for someone who loves movies who is willing to give an incredible silent masterpiece a try.
Exceptional film that has stayed with me for the last 18 years!!!!!

THE LAST LAUGH had such a tremendous effect on film making and film makers that it's difficult to describe it without using the word important. Murnau was one of the major contribitors to the expressionist syle--heavy shadows,accent on atmosphere and simple, expressive composition. His earlier NOSFERATU had given him tremendous clout in the German film industry. LAUGH brought him international fame and to Hollywood (where he made SUNRISE) and an early death by car accident.
The film's plot hinges on a proud hotel doorman whose demotion to a toilet attendant destroys his life. It is enhanced by a great performance by Germany's reigning star Emil Jannings. But it is the energy and innovations that Murnau brings to his camera work--endless breathtaking movements in its hotel scenes, heartbreaking closeups,long evocative dolly shots, that bring the work alive as one of the crowning achievements of "pure cinema"--its lack of title cards means the entire story is told with pictures. There is a bizarre "happy ending" tacked on (at the insistence of its producers) which points with irony to the absurdity of its premise.
Film students should approach the film to learn everything they can about its techniques--if they really absorbed them, they would look forward to a lifetime of making good films.

One should not take the last section of this film seriously, since Murnau himself says before this section starts: "Here the story should really end, for, in real life, the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death. The author took pity on him and has provided a quite improbable epilogue." As John Nesbitt says in his review here [....], "...Murnau was compelled to tack on a contrived happy ending. He certainly won't be the last director forced to end a film on such an unsatisfactory note..."

The rest of the film is simply brilliant, what with it's beautiful imagery, immediately bringing to mind German expressionists (urban landscapes in particular), the depth and silent power of showing people's emotions, sociological and psychological insights, multitude of details, which don't make this film look dated, but rather create a vivid sense of history, of presence and immediacy of experience.

Interestingly, the story of a small man and his overcoat brings to mind great work of Nikolai Gogol, and i read reviews where people are saying that Murnau to some extent adopted Gogol's Overcoat, but neither Wiki nor IMDB main articles are mentioning that.

I didn't (and am not going to) watch Nosferatu, so this film is my first Murnau experience, and it surely puts him at the same level as Lang, Dreyer, and other great film directors.

I want to warn you now that this review is full of spoilers.
What? Some of you are unclear on the term "spoilers"? You haven't been reading your internet movie reviews. At a variety of movie sites you can read reviews of movies that are seen before the films are released. Sometimes you can read reviews of scripts before a film is even produced. Often the reviewers will warn *minor spoilers* or *major spoilers*, depending on whether they plan on giving away minor plot details or every twist and turn in the story.
Some people like spoilers, some don't.
I prefer not to know what's going to happen in the movies I watch and the books I read; I want to be surprised. On the other hand, my wife Mindy often reads the ends of novels before deciding if she wants to go on reading. She does this with mysteries. This is a mystery to me.
Some people like spoilers, some don't.
*Major Spoilers*! I plan on giving away the whole plot of a certain film, and not only that, but some major spoilers about life itself.
So if you were planning on rushing out to rent F.W. Murau's silent German Expressionist classic The Last Laugh, and you don't want to know how it ends, quit reading now!
Emil Jannings plays the doorman (or porter) of an elite German hotel. He is proud of his job and especially proud of his gaudy uniform. When he returns from work to his dilapidated tenement, his neighbors treat him with deference and respect because of his big lapels and shiny buttons.
But the doorman is getting on in years, and when the manager of the hotel sees him take a long break after struggling with heavy luggage, the manager demotes him to restroom attendant.
The new job does not have the status of doorman and does not have a uniform.
So the former doorman decides to steal a uniform so he can still wear it when he's back in his neighborhood. But when a neighbor spies him at work in the restroom, he becomes the laughing stock of the neighborhood.
The man breaks down in tears when he returns the uniform to the hotel security guard. And then the film makers show one of the most amazing title cards in silent films.
I'm paraphrasing a bit, but the card says something like this: "In real life, the porter would have little to look forward to, except his own death. However, the writer took pity upon the man and added this unexpected epilogue."
The film then shows guests in the hotel laughing as they read a newspaper article. The article tells about a millionaire who died in the arms of a hotel restroom attendant. The millionaire's last will and testament specified that his entire fortune would go to the person who held him as he died.
The final minutes of the film show the former doorman of the hotel enjoying the hotel's luxuries, along with his friend the security guard. The film ends with the new millionaire tipping all of the bell staff before riding off in a convertible.
The title card that changes the doorman's fortune is a classic "Deus ex machine" device (or `God from the machine'). This is a phrase that originated in Greek drama, when the writer would paint his characters into such a difficult situation that the only solution was an arbitrary plot intervention by one of the many Greek gods.
It is usually quite an annoying device in a play, book or film.
If an ordinary Western story concludes with a UFO blasting the bad guy with lasers in the climatic gun fight or a parent's objection to the love match in a Victorian romance resolved by having Dr. Phil enter in and give counsel, the audience is understandably upset.
But somehow, this device works in The Last Laugh, because the film makers are so transparent about its use. A (slightly) more recent use of blatant "Deus ex machine" is found in Wayne's World. The film appears to be ending with our hero Wayne losing the girl and the villain triumphant. But Wayne speaks to the camera and suggests a different ending. They first try the Scooby Doo ending ("I would have succeeded, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids") and then finish with the mega-happy ending.
I think the "God from the machine" device works because there is an acknowledgement of a creator outside of the fictional world. Of course, we get ourselves into impossible situations. Particularly, we've got the problem of sin (Romans 6:23 - "The wages of sin is death"), and we need help to get us out of our predicament.
Fortunately, help did come from out of our world, when Jesus came to save us (John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling with us.")
I don't mind that "Deus ex machine" at all. And when I said before that I don't like spoilers -- well, Jesus perhaps gave away the biggest spoiler of all when He said in John 14:3, "I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
I don't mind that spoiler at all.