Erich von Stroheim's BLIND HUSBANDS Screening in MoMA's To Save and Project Series
/Blind Husbands [original 1919 version]. 1919. Written and directed by Erich von Stroheim
This restoration of Erich von Stroheim’s directorial debut brings us closer to the original 1919 version than ever thought possible. Until now, we have only known the abbreviated American version from 1924, all of the circulating copies having been derived from a fragile print in MoMA’s archives. However, the recent discovery by the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna of an original release print—together with the MoMA print and the original screenplay and continuity script found in the archives of Universal Studios—has permitted an altogether new appreciation of Stroheim’s singular vision, restoring some seven minutes to the film’s length (most of them in extended shots) and reconstructing his careful tinting and toning color scheme. A tale of seduction in the South Tyrol Alps (the Vienna-born Stroheim hones his signature role of the “dirty Hun”), Blind Husbands was a remarkable success with critics and the public alike, a cynical portrait of modern marriage that pits continental wit and eroticism against priggish moralizing.
A SCENE FROM THE Edition Filmmuseum VERSION OF BLIND HUSBANDS DISTRIBUTED BY GARTENBERG MEDIA
GME distributes the Edition Filmmuseum – Vienna DVD/DSL bundle edition of BLIND HUSBANDS, previously the longest and oldest version available. Extras include additional materials on Stroheim and the film from the Austrian Film Museum's Stroheim collection.
Click here for information about the screening as part of the series To Save and Project: The 18th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation