Set during the final months of World War I in France, the film revolves around a group of German infantrymen as they deal with their surroundings as their attempts to maintain their trenches begin to fail upon realization that they’re being shot at by their own artillery. It is a film with a simple premise as it follows mainly two soldiers as they deal with their situation as well as the fact that their attempts to dig new trenches are troubling considering that their superiors are the ones making mistakes. Ladislaus Vajda’s screenplay is largely straightforward as it opens with a group of German soldiers just having some coffee and food while a soldier known as the Student (Hans-Joachim Moebis) is spending time with a French peasant girl in Yvette (Jackie Monnier). Yet, they’re called back to the front as they continue to dig trenches but also deal with explosives as a burly soldier known as the Bavarian (Fritz Kampers), a veteran named Karl (Gustav Diessl), and a young lieutenant (Claus Clausen) deal with the chaos as they learn they’re being shot at by their own artillery who are unaware of what they’re firing at.
It is among these events that revolve in the first act while its second act has Karl on leave where he returns home to find that his home life isn’t going well due to what his wife (Hanna Hoessrich) has been doing though his mother (Else Helle) is happy to see him. It would play into the idea of being at home but without its sense of comfort knowing that the war still isn’t over as he would return to the front. The third act doesn’t just play into the artillery rectifying their mistake but also the fact that they made another mistake in allowing the French to advance more causing more problems as it does play into the ideas of war and its many fallacies. Even as the discussion about heroism where the Bavarian says that they would already be heroes if the war was already finished.
G.W. Pabst’s direction is definitely stylish in terms of the compositions he creates and how he presents the film as he does a lot to capture a lot in the 1:19:1 aspect ratio. Shot on location in Germany, Pabst does play into this idea of ordinary men who are just trying to be of service to their country but also want to enjoy themselves as it opens with a group of men playing music, drinking coffee, and having food while the Student is dancing with Yvette. It does give the film this sense of life away from war as Pabst shoots everything in wide and medium shots with the ratio that was used in those times while knowing when to move the camera though much of it remain still. Once the film moves into the trenches, there is this sense of urgency in which these men have to survive such as a scene where the Bavarian and Karl are both under the tunnels as they’re trying to hold on to the boards. Even as they become aware that they’re being shot by their own artillery prompting the Student to volunteer to run and reach the officers for their mistake.
There are bits of humor in the film in a scene where the Student is eating food and hiding it from others so that he wouldn’t gain the envy of other soldiers along with a scene of soldiers watching a comedy performance performed by cabaret act. Yet, Pabst would keep things straight into the second act when Karl returns home only to find things at his home that is upsetting and troubling as if he doesn’t belong at home despite the gifts he brought for both his wife and mother. There is also the fact that he is suffering from PTSD as being at home for a few days isn’t helping where Pabst definitely uses close-ups to play into the sense of terror and discomfort. The scenes in the third act where there is this battle is intense as well as horrifying as Pabst definitely has this sense of dread as well as this air of uncertainty and chaos that these soldiers have to endure. Its ending is an anti-war message as it play into the fact that no one really wins in war with those who live but don’t really survive what they had encounter. Overall, Pabst crafts a riveting yet haunting film about four Germany infantrymen trying to survive in the trenches in the final months of World War I.
Cinematographers Fritz Arno Wagner and Charles Metain do amazing work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its usage of lighting for some of nighttime exteriors at the trenches to the usage of available light for some of the scenes in the tunnel as well as some daytime exterior scenes that are largely straightforward. Editor Jean Oser does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few dissolves and fade to picture cut for the transitions. Art director Erno Metzner does brilliant work with the look of the house where Yvette lives as well as the apartment that Karl and his family lived but also the design of the trenches and tunnel in their decayed presentation. Sound recordist Karl Brodmerkel and sound editor W.L. Bagier Jr. do superb work with the sound in the way artillery shells fly as well as sounds of gunfire and bombs. The film’s music by Alexander Laszlo does wonderful work with the film’s orchestral score that do play into the suspense and drama with its somber string arrangements as a lot of it is low-key in its presentation.
The film’s terrific ensemble cast include some notable small roles from Vladimir Sokoloff as a purser who is trying to bring messages from the officers to low-level superiors, Carl Ballhaus as a young butcher that Karl’s wife has been spending time with, Else Helle as Karl’s mother who is happy to see him yet doesn’t say anything about what his daughter-in-law is doing, Hanna Hoessrich as Karl’s wife who has been doing things that he doesn’t approve as it would raise questions about their marriage, and Jackie Monnier as the French peasant girl Yvette whom the Student has fallen for and hopes to bring her home to Germany. Claus Clausen is fantastic as a young lieutenant who deals with trying to get his troops to advance but also fix their trenches where he deals with the lack of support from his superiors.
Hans-Joachim Moebis is excellent as the Student as a young soldier who was also a student during the war as he is in love with a French peasant girl while also volunteers to be a runner to get information to his superiors as he deals with the chaos of war. Fritz Kampers is brilliant as the Bavarian as a veteran infantryman who has been in the war longer than anyone as he is also someone who brings a lot of joy to everyone whenever they’re not fighting while is also loyal to his fellow soldiers and does what he can to help them not get killed. Finally, there’s Gustav Diessl as Karl as a soldier who is also a veteran as he is given leave to return home for a small period only to find out that things in his home are troubling as he finds himself not fitting in where he feels more at home in the battlefield with his comrades.
Westfront 1918 is a phenomenal film from Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, somber music score, and its exploration of war and the effects on soldiers. It is a war film that does explore life in the trenches as well as men dealing with things that do provide this anti-war message as it play into the many fallacies of war. In the end, Westfront 1918 is a sensational film from Georg Wilhlem Pabst.
G.W. Pabst Films: (The Treasure (1923 film)) – (Countess Donelli) – (Joyless Street) – (One Does Not Play with Love) – (The Love of Jeanne Ney) – (The Devious Path) – Pandora's Box - Diary of a Lost Girl - (The White Hell of Pitz Palu) – (Scandalous Eva) – (The Threepenny Opera) – (Kameradschaft) – (L’Atlantide) – (Adventures of Don Quixote) – (High and Low (1933 film)) – (A Modern Hero) – (Street of Shadows) – (The Shanghai Drama) – (Girls in Distress) – (The Comedians) – (Paracelsus) – (Der Fall Molander) – (The Trial (1948 film)) – (Mysterious Shadows) – (Call Over the Air) – (Voice of Silence) – (Cose da pazzi) – (The Confession of Ina Kahr) – (The Last Ten Days) – (Jackboot Mutiny) – (Ballerina (1956 film)) – (Through the Forests and Through the Trees)
© thevoid99 2022
Based on the novel Tagebuch einer Verlorenen by Margarete Bohme, Diary of a Lost Girl is the story of a young woman who is raped by her father’s clerk as she becomes pregnant and later rejected by her entire family forcing her to fend for herself. Directed by G.W. Pabst and screenplay by Rudolf Leonhard, the film is a silent drama that explores a woman’s plight as she copes with her situations as well as the terror that women endure due to actions beyond their own control. Starring Louise Brooks, Fritz Rasp, Andre Roanne, Josef Ravensky, and Franziska Kinz. Diary of a Lost Girl is a rapturous film from G.W. Pabst.
The film follows the journey and plight of a young woman who is raped by her father’s clerk and becomes pregnant yet her refusal to marry the clerk has her kicked out by her family where she endures a journey to find herself. It’s a film that explores a woman coping with being raped and being shunned by her father and her new stepmother as she endures cruelty prompting her to go into a world of prostitution and uncertainty. Rudolf Leonhard’s screenplay has a straightforward narrative yet it explores the journey that the protagonist Thymian Henning (Louise Brooks) goes through as she would write her experience from a diary that her fired housekeeper Elisabeth (Sybille Schmitz) had accidentally left. After refusing to marry her father’s clerk Meinert (Fritz Rasp), her new housekeeper Meta (Franziska Kinz) sends Thymian’s baby to a midwife while Thymian is sent to a reformatory as she endures all sorts of cruelty in the hands of its matron (Valeska Grest) and her brutal assistant (Andrews Engelmann). Though she gets help from Meinert’s friend Count Osdorff (Andre Roanne), Thymian will make some discoveries as she turns to prostitution as well as uncertainty about her life.
G.W. Pabst’s direction does have elements of style yet it his approach to compositions including some of the close-ups that add to the film’s brilliance. Shot partially on soundstages in Germany, Pabst does create a world set in Germany that explores the plight of post-war uncertainty with Thymian in the middle as she sees what happens to Elisabeth and her eventual outcome. Though there aren’t a lot of wide shots, Pabst’s usage of medium shots do get a lot of coverage of the rooms and places that Thymian goes to as well as the reformatory she is forced to attend. Pabst’s camera movements including a shot of Thymian walking up the stairs are among the key moments of the film yet it’s the close-ups that help add to the drama. Even as Pabst captures the anguish and torment in Thymian upon her decision to become a prostitute that includes a nightclub scene that shows how lost she is as she also deals with the plight of others who become lost due to actions beyond their control. Overall, Pabst crafts a heart-wrenching yet intoxicating film about a woman fending for herself after being shunned by her family for not marrying the man who raped her.
Cinematographers Sepp Allgeier and Fritz Arno Wagner do amazing work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography as it play into the dreary look of the reformatory as well as the gorgeous look of the brothel and nightclub that Thymian goes to. Art directors Emil Hasler and Erno Metzner do brilliant work with the look of the reformatory as well as the pharmacy that Thymian’s father owns and runs as well as the brothel. The film’s music by Javier Perez de Aspeitia from the 2012 restoration edition is incredible for its piano-based score that feature elements of flourishing themes along with some somber pieces as it is a highlight of the film.
The film’s excellent cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Vera Pawlowa as Thymian’s Aunt Frieda who is against Thymian’s banishment from the family, Sybille Schmitz as the housekeeper Elisabeth who is fired early in the film as she drops a diary that Thymian would use, Edith Meinhard as Erika whom Thymian befriends at the reformatory, Arnold Korff as the elder Count Osdorff who is disappointed by his nephew and cuts him off, Andrews Engelmann as the reformatory matron’s creepy assistant, and Josef Ravensky as Thymian’s father Robert who is angered by his daughter’s plight as he would turn to Meta for guidance. Franziska Kinz is fantastic as the new housekeeper Meta who would woo Robert and use her influence to banish Thymian while trying to run the household much to Aunt Frieda’s dismay. Valeska Grest is superb as the reformatory matron who rules the place with an iron fist and demands order.
Fritz Rasp is brilliant as Meinert as Robert’s pharmacy clerk who would rape Thymian and try to marry her while being close in Robert and Meta’s circle to ruin Thymian as well as gain power in the pharmacy. Andre Roanne is amazing as Count Nicholas Osdorff as the nephew of a respected count who isn’t good at any trade as he prefers to party and have fun while does have ideas to create a more respectable brothel as well as helping Thymian out any way he can. Finally, there’s Louise Brooks in a phenomenal performance as Thymian Henning as a young woman raped by her father’s clerk and is forced to marry him only to refuse prompting her to fend for herself as there’s a radiance to her performance including the way she expresses her anguish and sense of loss as it is an iconic performance from Brooks.
Diary of a Lost Girl is a tremendous film from G.W. Pabst that features a radiant performance from Louise Brooks. Along with its riveting story, lush piano score, gorgeous dresses that Brooks wears, and its dazzling visuals. It’s a silent drama that explore a woman’s plight and the uncertainty she faces as well as the lack of roles that would help her find peace and salvation. In the end, Diary of a Lost Girl is a spectacular film from G.W. Pabst.
G.W. Pabst Films: (The Treasure (1923 film)) – (Countess Donelli) – (Joyless Street) – (One Does Not Play with Love) – (The Love of Jeanne Ney) – (The Devious Path) – Pandora's Box - (The White Hell of Pitz Palu) – Westfront 1918 – (Scandalous Eva) – (The Threepenny Opera) – (Kameradschaft) – (L’Atlantide) – (Adventures of Don Quixote) – (High and Low (1933 film)) – (A Modern Hero) – (Street of Shadows) – (The Shanghai Drama) – (Girls in Distress) – (The Comedians) – (Paracelsus) – (Der Fall Molander) – (The Trial (1948 film)) – (Mysterious Shadows) – (Call Over the Air) – (Voice of Silence) – (Cose da pazzi) – (The Confession of Ina Kahr) – (The Last Ten Days) – (Jackboot Mutiny) – (Ballerina (1956 film)) – (Through the Forests and Through the Trees)
© thevoid99 2020
Based on the Lulu plays by Frank Wedekind, Die Busche de Pandora (Pandora’s Box) is the story of a woman’s downward spiral as she went from being a vivacious and sexually provocative showgirl whose effects on man would have a devastating impact on those she encounters. Directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and screenplay by Ladislaus Vajda, the film is a look into a woman whose innocent persona would lead her to trouble as well as a dark fate as the character of Lulu is played by Louise Brooks. Also starring Fritz Kortner, Francis Lederer, Carl Goetz, Krafft-Raschig, Alice Roberts, Daisy d’Ora, and Gustav Diessl. Die Busche de Pandora is an exquisite and enchanting film from G.W. Pabst.
The film is the story about a woman who is known for her entrancing sexuality and winning smile as she would fall from grace following a series of circumstances. Especially as she was a showgirl who is adored by patrons and stage directors yet is also the mistress of a revered middle-aged newspaper editor who is worried about his reputation. While she would charm her way to get what she wants, it would come at a terrible price as Lulu deals with not just her actions but the men she’s seduced and charmed as they would use her to great ruin. All of it is told in eight acts in the life of Lulu through Ladislaus Vajda’s screenplay as it explores Lulu’s rise as a woman who wears lavish clothes and lives a very posh lifestyle only to fall into places such as working in a ship and eventually become destitute.
While Lulu is a woman who dreams of having a great life where she can perform on stage and wear the finest clothes. She is also her own worst enemy as the men she seduces such as Dr. Ludwig Schon (Fritz Kortner) is a man troubled by his affair as he finds himself engaged to another woman (Daisy d’Ora) whose father is an Interior Minister for the German government. Lulu would seduce Dr. Schon into marrying her but it would be one of many things that would get her in trouble as Dr. Schon’s son Alwa (Francis Lederer) has fallen for her while she has a patron in Schigolch (Carl Goetz) and a stage director Rodrigo Quast (Krafft-Raschig) who would all use her. The only person that seems to admire her and not use her is a costume designer named Countess Augusta Geschwitz (Alice Roberts) as her admiration suggests some lesbian feelings between the two women.
G.W. Pabst’s direction is truly mesmerizing for the way he creates the shots and mood he sets in some of the moments in the film. Much of it would involve some beautiful close-ups to play into Lulu’s beauty as her smile is among one of these things that dazzles the film. It’s not just the way Pabst displays Lulu and her sexuality which is crucial to the story as it’s risqué but not overtly sexualized. He also sets an atmosphere that is very discomforting at times during the film’s fourth to sixth act where she meets a train passenger (Michael von Newlinsky) who would use her to work at an illegal gambling ship. It’s a moment that just doesn’t play into Lulu’s descent but also the air of suspense over the people that surrounds her as they all plot ways to betray her. The last two acts set in London play into that despair yet Pabst maintains that innocence in Lulu as she would unknowingly play to the fate that is set for her. Overall, Pabst crafts a very evocative film about a woman and her fall from grace.
Cinematographer Gunther Krampf does excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to play with some of the film‘s lighting for many of the scenes set at night in its exterior and interior scenes along with dazzling looks for some of the daytime interior scenes. Editor Joseph Fleisler does superb work with the editing with its use of rhythmic cuts and fade-ins to play into the structure as well as the drama in the film. Art directors Andrej Andrejew and Gottlieb Hesch do fantastic work with the look of Dr. Schon’s home as well as the ship that Lulu would work at as well as the stage show held by Quast. The film’s music consists of many themes arranged and conducted by Gillian Anderson for the film’s 2006 reissue as it is largely classical with string arrangements and piano pieces all playing to themes written by the different composers in the film.
The film’s amazing cast include some notable small roles from Gustav Diessl as a man Lulu meets in the final act, Daisy d’Ora as an important woman Dr. Schon was supposed to marry, Sigfried Arno as a stage manager for the stage show early in the film, and Michael von Newlinsky as the very sly but greedy Marquis Casti-Piani. Krafft-Raschig is terrific as the stage director Rodrigo Quast who is eager to work with Lulu only to get greedy by the film’s second half. Alice Roberts is wonderful as the very androgynous costume designer Countess Augusta Geschwitz who definitely adores Lulu with very little interest towards men. Carl Goetz is excellent as Lulu’s old patron Schigolch as a man who hopes to get Lulu back on top yet conspires to do things that would play into the downfall of the characters in the film.
Francis Lederer is superb as Dr. Schon’s son Alwa as a man who is secretly in love with Lulu as he tries to write the best music for her play while dealing with the consequences of everything he had been through with her. Fritz Kortner is amazing as Dr. Ludwig Schon as a revered newspaper editor hoping to get himself up in the social game while having a very sick obsession towards Lulu. Finally, there’s Louise Brooks in a ravishing performance as Lulu as Brooks is really the star of the film with her bob haircut, her entrancing sensuality, and her winning charm as her smile is full of life while displaying a vulnerability and despair that adds to the weight of her character as it’s really an iconic performance.
Die Busche de Pandora is a remarkable film from G.W. Pabst that features a supremely delightful performance from Louise Brooks. Not only is the film one of the finest films of silent German cinema but also one that manages to not play by the rules. Especially in its approach to sexuality as it was quite risqué for its time yet also being playful. In the end, Die Busche de Pandora is a phenomenal film from G.W. Pabst.
G.W. Pabst Films: (The Treasure (1923 film)) – (Countess Donelli) – (Joyless Street) – (One Does Not Play with Love) – (The Love of Jeanne Ney) – (The Devious Path) – Diary of a Lost Girl - (The White Hell of Pitz Palu) – Westfront 1918 – (Scandalous Eva) – (The Threepenny Opera) – (Kameradschaft) – (L’Atlantide) – (Adventures of Don Quixote) – (High and Low (1933 film)) – (A Modern Hero) – (Street of Shadows) – (The Shanghai Drama) – (Girls in Distress) – (The Comedians) – (Paracelsus) – (Der Fall Molander) – (The Trial (1948 film)) – (Mysterious Shadows) – (Call Over the Air) – (Voice of Silence) – (Cose da pazzi) – (The Confession of Ina Kahr) – (The Last Ten Days) – (Jackboot Mutiny) – (Ballerina (1956 film)) – (Through the Forests and Through the Trees)
© thevoid99 2014
