THE PEOPLE AMONG US (MENSCHEN UNTEREINANDER) & UNDER THE LANTERN (UNTER DER LATERNE)
The double-DVD set, THE PEOPLE AMONG US (MENSCHEN UNTEREINANDER) & UNDER THE LANTERN (UNTER DER LATERNE), presents two films by Gerhard Lamprecht, sketching social panoramas of late 1920s Berlin. THE PEOPLE AMONG US (MENSCHEN UNTEREINANDER) delineates the social microcosm of a tenement building; the tenants represent a cross-section of poverty, corruption and compassion. In UNDER THE LANTERN (UNTER DER LATERNE), the girl Else begins to follow the wrong path after an altercation with her father. The high life turns out to be the first step in a downward spiral.
Gerhard Lamprecht is most well known in film history circles for his multi-volume compilation of German film productions, "Deutsche Stummfilme," dating from 1903-1931. In 1963, he founded the Deutsche Kinemathek (Berlin). During the intervening period (1920-1958), he directed more than 60 films, and is best remembered today for his 1931 film version of Emil and the Detectives, scripted by Billy Wilder. Now, the film archive which Lamprecht founded, together with Edition Filmuseum, has published four of his silent features from the years 1925-1928, paired in two separate DVD editions: SLUMS OF BERLIN (DIE VERRUFENEN) (1925), together with CHILDREN OF NO IMPORTANCE (DIE UNEHELICHEN) (1926); and THE PEOPLE AMONG US (MENSCHEN UNTEREINANDER) (1926), with UNDER THE LANTERN (UNTER DER LATERNE) (1928). All four films highlight both the desperation and resolve of the working class in Berlin during the tumultuous decade following World War I. Following recent revival showings of a number of these films at the Pordenone and San Francisco silent film festivals and Telluride Film Festival, the release of these DVD editions should further herald a rediscovery in academic circles of this oft-overlooked German film director.
Contents
Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code)
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THE PEOPLE AMONG US (MENSCHEN UNTEREINANDER)
(Germany, 1926)
Directed by: Gerhard Lamprecht
Written by: Luise Heilbron-Körbitz, Gerhard Lamprecht & Eduard Rothauser
Cinematography by: Karl Hasselmann
Cast: Alfred Abel, Aud Egede Nissen, Eduard Rothauser, Renate Brausewetter, Paul Bildt & Käte Haack
Produced by: Gerhard Lamprecht-Film Produktion, Berlin
• 119 minutes
• Alternative score by ensemble mosaik & Bernd Schultheis
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UNDER THE LANTERN (UNTER DER LATERNE)
(Germany, 1928)
Directed by: Gerhard Lamprecht
Written by: Luise Heilbron-Körbitz & Gerhard Lamprecht
Cinematography by: Karl Hasselmann
Cast: Lissy Arna, Gerhard Dammann, Mathias Wieman, Paul Heidemann, Hubert von Meyerinc & Käte Haack
Produced by: Gerhard Lamprecht-Film-Produktion, Berlin
• 119 minutes
• Alternative score by shortfilmlivemusic
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Total Running Time: 03:58:00 (2 Discs)
Language: German intertitles, English & French subtitles
Musical Score: Donald Sosin
Booklet Text: Rolf Aurich, Wolfgang Jacobsen & Jörg Becker (German, English & French)
Published By: Edition Filmmuseum
Institutional Price: $300 (plus shipping).
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