THE RED LANTERN

THE RED LANTERN tells the story of a Eurasian, Joan of Arc-like heroine, set against the background of China’s 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The film was an instant success, thanks to an unprecedented advertising campaign and the star qualities of diva Alla Nazimova. Both aspects are extensively discussed in this publication.

In the book, essays sketch the historical outline of the Boxer Rebellion, while special features on the DVD include early cinematic actualities that evoke the way in which the Boxer Rebellion was portrayed in the Western media around the turn of the century, true to the myth of the ‘Yellow Peril’.

Popular photo and theatre plays of the day thrived on Oriental stereotypes and relied heavily upon exotic set designs and costumes. Famous actors of European descent, wearing ‘yellow face’ makeup explored the exciting dangers of interracial love.

Extras on the DVD tentatively reconstruct a Chinese programme from the time of the film’s premiere and show how ‘authentic’ portrayals of Chinese life were combined with cartoons and Oriental musical fantasies.

Many contemporary film reviewers saw THE RED LANTERN as a film marked with the “stamp of historical and ethnological authenticity”, thanks to Nazimova’s mastery of the art of metamorphosis. The different emotions that Nazimova’s face and eyes could express became legendary in trade magazines and were documented in newsreels, included in the extras, which were shown in cinemas all over the world.

  Contents

Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code)

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THE RED LANTERN
(US, 1919)

Director: Albert Capellani
Script: June Mathis,(Based on the novel The Red Lantern: Being The Story of The Goddess of The Red Lantern Light by Edith Wherry, 1911)
Cinematographer: Eugene Gaudio
Additional cameramen: John Arnold, Henry Bergquist (probably R.J. Bergquist), William E. Fildew, Charles Fuhr, Robert B. Kurrle, Micky Maguire, Arthur Martinelli & Ray C. Smallwood
Art Director: Henri Ménessier
Producer: Richard A. Rowland & Maxwell Karger
Production Company: Nazimova Productions
Assistant to Albert Capellani: Henry Kolker
Cast: Alla, Nazimova, Noah Beery, Margaret McWade, Winter Hall, Amy Van Ness, Darrell Foss, Frank Currier, Edward J. Connelly, Jack Abbe, Mae Wells, Virginia Ross, Harry Mann, Yukio Ao Yamo, Charles Bryant, Reginald Denny, Tote Du Crow, Dagmar Godowsky, Henry Kolker & Anna Mae Wong

• 79 minutes
• B&W, tinted

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Bonus Material

• 206-page hardcover book, To Dazzle The Eye and Stir The Heart: The Red Lantern, Nazimova and The Boxer Rebellion.

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Chinese Programme

• Overture THE RED LANTERN - (SHINE ON RED LANTERN)
• Stage presentation THE FLOWER OF THE PALACE OF HAN
• Travel Film A TRIP THROUGH CHINA
• Prologue POOR BUTTERFLY
• Feature Film THE RED LANTERN
• Orchestral Performance A CHINESE HONEYMOON (selection)
• Comedy THE CHINAMAN
• Organalogue TORCHLIGHT MARCH and CHINOISERIE 

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Boxer War Novelties

• BOMBARDMENT OF A PORT
• BOMBARDMENT OF TAKU FORTS, BY THE ALLIED FLEETS
• ATTACKS ON A MISSION STATION
• BEHEADING A CHINESE BOXER
• BEHEADING THE CHINESE PRISONER
• CHINESE MASSACRING CHRISTIANS
• 15TH INFANTRY LEAVING GOVERNORS ISLAND FOR CHINA (BOXER UPRISING) 1900
• 6TH CAVALRY ASSAULTING SOUTH GATE OF PEKIN
• THE FORBIDDEN CITY
• CHARGE BY 1ST BEGAL LANCERS
• THE BENGAL LANCERS
• 4TH GHORKAS

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Nazimova Extras

• Nazimova Screen Test: MADAME PEACOCK
• Nazimova Newsreel Clippings: NAZIMOVA, THE FAMOUS ACTRESS IN A DANCE OF HER OWN CREATION
• THE ORIGINAL EXPRESSION ON HER MOBILE FACE
• Nazimova Odes: BEAUTÉ SUPRÊME; ALLA; PAHJAMAH

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Soundtrack

• A new soundscape, created by Yves De Mey
• A recreated cue sheet soundtrack for piano, based on a music cue sheet by S.M. Berg (1919)
• Theme for Mahlee A JAPANESE SUNSET 

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Total Running Time: 02:45:00

Language: English intertitles

Booklet Text: Stef Franck, Muriel Andrin, Vito Adriaensens, Bart Versteirt, Krystyn R. Moon, Catherinie Joos, Arie Pos, Marcel Van Nieuwenborgh, Carine Dujardin & Nathalie Vandeperre

Published By: Cinematek

Institutional Price: $250 (plus shipping).

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.