28/12/2019 Der Golem - Eureka Blu-ray - Blueprint: Review

DER GOLEM – EUREKA

David Brook

November 17, 2019

Film Reviews, Reviews

Directors: Carl Boese, Paul Wegener

Screenplay: Henrik Galeen, Paul Wegener
Starring: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Ernst Deutsch, Lyda Salmonova
Country: Germany
Running Time: 76 min
Year: 1920
BBFC Certificate: PG

Until a little more recently, there have been very few Jewish horror films produced over the
past 90 years, which is surprising given the large number of successful Jewish directors in
Hollywood. It’s also surprising as Jewish folklore and mythology contain a handful of
frightening spirits, demons and creatures such as Dybbuks, Ibbur and the Golem that are
ripe for cinematic treatment. Perhaps the Jews felt they had more realistic horrors to
portray on screen after the Second World War, but it’s still odd that more dark Jewish
legends haven’t been produced into films.

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Back in the 1910s and early 20s though there was a spike in interest in one of Jewish
folklore’s most famous creatures, the Golem. The actor/writer/director Paul Wegener was
key to this boom. His first film, The Student of Prague, is thought to be one of the first
supernatural films in German cinema, as well as the first German ‘art film’. It was a huge
success and his next film as director was another horror, Der Golem. It isn’t the film I’m
reviewing here though. Wegener actually made three Golem films – making it perhaps one
of the first horror franchises. Unfortunately, the first two films are now lost, other than a few
short segments of the first. The third film, originally titled Der Golem, wie er in die Welt
kam (translated as ‘The Golem, how he came into the world’, the American title of the film)
is an origin story, released as a prequel. Thankfully it survived, though it was incomplete for
a long time until being restored and re-released in more recent years. Eureka, after
releasing the film on DVD in their early days as a label, have revisited it on Blu-ray from a
gorgeous new 4K restoration. I got hold of a screener to see how it fared.

Der Golem is set in the Jewish ghetto of medieval Prague. The Emperor doesn’t think
kindly of the people there and signs a decree stating that the Jews must leave the city,
claiming they practise black magic and can’t be trusted. Rabbi Loew (Albert Steinrück), who
predicted something bad was coming to his people, creates a Golem to defend them. A
Golem is a creature formed in clay and brought to life by magic and the summoning of the
demon Astaroth. The creature is incredibly strong and follows the will of his master. It can
only be stopped by removing a special amulet it wears on its chest which houses the magic
word that brought it to life, written on paper.

First using the Golem as a slave, Loew eventually uses it to save the emperor’s life (after
deviously putting it under threat through his own magic), causing the ruler to pardon the
Jewish people. All seems good and well, until the Golem is used for selfish means by
Loew’s jealous assistant (Ernst Deutsch), after the Rabbi’s daughter Miriam (Lyda
Salmonova), whom the assistant loves, cavorts with the Emperor’s envoy Florian (Lothar
Müthel). After being used in such devious ways, the Golem then starts to become sentient
and goes against his masters, wreaking havoc across the ghetto.

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Released 8 months after Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Der Golem is another important
classic of German expressionism and early horror cinema. Unlike the angular, unreal
expressionism of Caligari, Der Golem uses more subtly surreal production design that has
a biological, natural look to it, yet still heightened and unusual. These wonderful sets are
brought to atmospheric life by some striking lighting too. Guido Seeber, who worked on
Wegener’s previous films, was the cinematographer alongside the legendary Karl Freund,
who would go on to shoot classics such as Metropolis and Dracula (1931). I’m not sure if
one was sacked or fell ill half-way through so it’s hard to say who shot what, but,
regardless, the film looks stunning. On top of the expressionistic sets, the film also used
some lighting techniques Wegener liked from the theatre that were bold and dramatic.
Some fantastic early in-camera special effects appear too, particularly in the fire and
brimstone ‘creation’ scene when the Golem is brought to life.

The characterisation of the Golem is well handled too. Like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’s
monster, the Golem is an often sympathetic character and the film takes time to show it
intrigued by the outside world. Wegener himself plays the creature and his performance is
excellent, going a long way to fleshing out the character, with stiff movement and awkward
reactions towards those around him highlighting the fact that the Golem has only just been
‘born’. The performance is so strong in fact that you can see how it clearly influenced Boris
Karloff’s legendary turn in Frankenstein. Indeed, James Whale, who directed that film, has
acknowledged The Golem as an influence. There are quite a few similarities beyond the
performance too, though you could argue Wegener was influenced by Shelley.

Overall, it’s an incredibly atmospheric, taut and occasionally quite exciting early horror
classic. Its ‘villain’ is given depth too, allowing for a rich and rewarding experience. Its fairly
simple story may seem familiar now, but it’s well told and the film is still moody and thrilling
almost a century later. Any fans of silent cinema or early horror should certainly seek it out.

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Der Golem is out on 18th November on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by Eureka as part
of their Masters of Cinema series. For the most part, the picture looks absolutely
stunning, but due to the fact the restoration was made up from a couple of different
sources, some of the previously lost sequences can be soft and stand out. There’s a
bit of wobble in places too. However, these blemishes are infrequent. The majority of
the time you’re treated to a wonderfully sharp and detailed print that looks
astounding given the age of the film. I’ve seen from the 80s that don’t look as good
on Blu-ray.

You’re spoiled with a choice of 3 different scores. I didn’t listen to all of them fully,
but opted for the Stephen Horne track for my watch through and gave the others a
good listen, skimming through a bit to get a good sense of them. They’re all nicely
varied so different bases are covered. Horne’s score is quite classically composed
with a lot of piano, though there are some subtle sound effects, particularly at the
start. It provides an effectively dramatic backing for the film that I enjoyed a lot.
Wudec’s score is more modern and electronically created, with a moody,
atmospheric sound. Admir Shkurtaj’s music is abstract, unusual and rather
unsettling.

Extra features include:


– Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase (First 2000 copies)
– Presented in 1080p from a stunning 4K digital restoration of the original film
negatives, completed by FWMS in 2017.
– Original German intertitles with optional English subtitles
– Option of THREE fantastic and unique scores, by composer Stephen Horne;
acclaimed electronic music producer Wudec; and musician and film-score composer
Admir Shkurtaj
– Brand new and exclusive audio commentary by Scott Harrison
– Brand new and exclusive video essay by critic David Cairns
– Brand new and exclusive video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira

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– Audio essay ‘The Kingdom of Ghosts’ by Dixon Smith

– The Golem [60 mins] The US version of the film, also fully restored, and featuring a
score by Cordula Heth
– A video piece highlighting the differences between the domestic and export
negatives of the film [22 mins]
– PLUS: A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Scott Harrison;
and reprints of illustrations from the original 1915 novel

Scott Harrison’s commentary is decent for the most part but flounders a little in
places, though it might just seem that way due to his style of speaking which has an
uneven ebb and flow. It makes it sound like he’s struggling to know what to say at
times, even if this is likely not the case. It’s a minor quibble though as the track still
makes for interesting listening.

Jon Spira gives an illuminating look at Jewish horror in his essay. David Cairns’
detailed look at the film’s production is superb, packed with fascinating information
and quotes from various sources. Dixon Smith’s piece is solid too and well worth
listening to. I haven’t watched the US version of the film, but it’s nice to have the
option there for completion’s sake. The video piece on the differences between the
cuts is a better solution for those merely curious about the changes though.

All in all a comprehensive and thoughtfully put together package that comes highly
recommended.

DER GOLEM - EUREKA

4.0 OVERALL SCORE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Brook
Editor
Editor of films and videos as well as of this site. On top of his passion for film, he also has a
great love for music and his family.

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