Destiny (1921 film)
| Destiny | |
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 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Fritz Lang |
| Produced by | Erich Pommer |
| Written by | Thea von Harbou Fritz Lang |
| Starring | Lil Dagover Walter Janssen Bernhard Goetzke Rudolf Klein-Rogge Hans Sternberg Erich Pabst Max Adalbert Georg John |
| Cinematography | Bruno Mondi Erich Nitzschmann Herrmann Saalfrank Bruno Timm Fritz Arno Wagner |
| Distributed by | Decla-Bioscop |
| Release date(s) | October 6, 1921 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | Weimar Republic |
| Language | Silent film German intertitles |
Destiny (German: Der müde Tod, "Weary Death"; originally released in the US as Behind the Wall) is a 1921 silent film directed in Germany by Fritz Lang. The film, rich in special effects, is structured as a frame tale with three stories within the story.
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[edit] Plot
In the Expressionistic frame story, in which human lives are each represented by a candle, Death grants a woman three chances to save her lover, if love can triumph over death. The three stories within the story each occur in a setting that is nominally historic, but really in the realm of fantasy: an adventure tale with a Persian setting out of the Arabian Nights, a Renaissance Venetian romance, and a largely comic story set in China.
[edit] Release
In Germany, the film was poorly received at first, with critics complaining that it was not 'German' enough, but the film was much more successful overseas.[1] Douglas Fairbanks purchased the American rights, to delay its general American release while he copied the effects of the Persian segment for his 1924 The Thief of Baghdad. [1]
[edit] Legacy
The film was highly influential, most notably in helping persuade Alfred Hitchcock and Luis Buñuel of the promise of the medium[1].
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hardy 1995, p. 29.
[edit] Citations
- Hardy, Phil, ed. (1995), The Overlook Film Encyclopedia, 3, Overlook Press, ISBN 0-87951-624-0, http://books.google.com/books?id=3-ehQgAACAAJ&dq=overlook+film+encyclopedia
[edit] External links
- Destiny at the Internet Movie Database
- Destiny at AllRovi
- Destiny at Rotten Tomatoes
- Der müde Tod on SilentEra.com.
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Lil Dagover
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