Public Domain: Watch ‘The Golem’ (1920) NOW!
Continuing our slate of public domain horror features, we’ve got for you today the 1920 silent feature The Golem, a classic story of a creature made of clay that comes to life and causes havok. It’s a silent film starring Paul Wegener. Inside you’ll find the unrestored print and a fabulous introduction by BD’s ‘Rebel Phoenix’. The film was spoofed various times, including on “The Simpsons”. You can also click here to watch The Bat.
Film trilogies have always fascinated movie-goers. ‘The Godfather’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’, both ‘Star Wars’ trilogies, etc. Likewise, the horror genre is no stranger to such: ‘Night of the Living Dead’/'Dawn of the Dead’/'Day of the Dead’, ‘The Evil Dead’ films, and at one point, every franchise from ‘Halloween’ to ‘Saw’ was considered a trilogy; To much anticipation, next year, we’ll feast our eyes on the follow-up to the ‘Scream’ trilogy.
Yet, not many are aware that the film trilogy is nearing it’s inevitable centennial. Rewind nearly 100 years to a transitional period in German history, and you’ll happen upon an epicenter of revolutionary film making. The likes of Fritz Lang (‘Metropolis’, ‘M’), F.W. Murnau (‘Nosferatu’, ‘Faust’), and Robert Wiene (‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’) were all hard at work. These film-makers, and subsequent films, are all cornerstones of the much larger German Expressionist movement prevalent towards the end of the German Empire and rise of the Weimar Republic. German Expressionism in films showcased fantastic, yet jagged architecture, as well as dream-like cinematography and an overall surreal atmosphere (not to be confused with surrealism).
1915 brought us one of the landmark pieces of this era, ‘The Golem’ (German: ‘Der Golem’), a silent “classic” written, directed, and starring the great Paul Wegener (who was fresh off what some may actually consider the first true horror FEATURE FILM, ‘The Student of Prague’ from 1913). I put classic in quotations because, well, ‘Der Golem’ is long lost, and more than likely will never be seen/found in it’s completed form. Only a short snippet exists, where we can first lay eyes on the Golem itself, a mythological Jewish legend. Wegener himself starred as The Golem, which perhaps more-so than Edison’s ‘Frankenstein’ (1910), served as the biggest influence on the Frankenstein Monster; large, lumbering, and symbolic. In 1917, Wegener followed up with ‘The Golem and the Dancing Girl’ (German: ‘Der Golem und die Tänzerin’), not only a sequel, but a comedy nonetheless. Some may even say a spoof, which most certainly would be one of the first of its kind. Tragically enough, this film is lost as well, and if it wasn’t for Wegener’s final entry into the series, he’d have been relegated to footnote rather than forefather.
‘The Golem’ aka ‘The Golem: How He Came into the World’ (German: Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam) from 1920 stands not only as Wegener’s masterpiece, but also a treasure and landmark of silent cinema, German cinema, and horror cinema. Interestingly enough, this third feature film stands as a PREQUEL to the original lost film, which to my knowledge (and no research) may just be the first of its kind. Here, the film takes place in 16th century Prague, as Jews are facing persecution. A rabbi precedes to create The Golem to protect his people, and the magic begins there, continuing on to perhaps the most iconic ending committed to film in the German silent era.
In a somewhat bitter twist of unanticipated irony, there would be no Golem to protect the Jewish people in Germany some 15 years later.
It’s hard to say ‘enjoy’ after that disturbing statement, but this film is certainly essential viewing among anyone who considers themselves a fan of the classics.
