The last of our key figures of Weimar era cinema, as well as the last to leave the country to find sanctuary and prestige in America, Fritz Lang may be the most enduring name silent neophytes would be familiar with. The titanic impact of films like Metropolis (1927) and M (1931) solidified his reputation as a master long before he made an impact shaping American cinema, bringing his expressionistic sensibilities to some of the most important Film Noirs working in the studio system in the 1950s.

He's best remembered, however, for the his numerous silent spectacles, the first of which was a two-part adventure serial which survives as the earliest work still existing from the burgeoning director. Die Spinnen (or, The Spiders) was the first step for Lang in an unparalleled career to come, as well as an exemplar of an often overlooked mode of filmmaking which was surging at the same time the Feature Film was coming into prominence as the default iteration of the medium. Lang's early career touches on many of the important touchstones covered throughout our survey of the Weimar period, as well as some additional figures and films we have yet to properly discuss. Join us for this final entry into the sage of 1920s Germany, capping off the foundational history of this important filmic era.

Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.

The most prolific director to make his way over to America after breaking ground and blazing trails in Germany was none other than Ernst Lubitsch—the legendary comic filmmaker who made Garbo laugh in Ninotchka (1939) and Hitler the fool in eviscerative satire To Be or Not to Be (1942). His signature elegance and wit led to an ingenious moniker by which many recognize him still today: the famed "Lubitsch Touch," an at once inexplicable phenomena of his comic mastery which continues to set him apart even from those who studied arduously under his tutelage.

But how exactly did Lubitsch come to be this respected emigre of sensitivity and taste? Was he always a comic master, or did he have to work his way up the ranks and establish himself within a burgeoning post-war industry which favored artistry and expressionism over bawdy bedroom humor and slapstick antics? Was Lubitsch respected in his home country before moving to America, or did his prestige simply manifest as a result of foreign bohemian charm? The legacy of Lubitsch is far more than his iconic American career, and through the lens of a nearly lost Egyptian epic of his, we're able to explore and discuss the multifaceted as continuously adaptive career of one of the screen's most legendary directorial voices.

Herr Ernst Lubitsch: 00:00 - 49:31

Das Weib des Phrarao/The Loves of Pharaoh (1922): 49:32 - 1:07:04

Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.

Some of the most enduring images of film ever conjured—not just of the Silent Era, but of all time— appear as a result of the vivid expressionism manifested in the oeuvre of Weimar Germany's leading director, F.W. Murnau. The man who's name is now associated some of the most important restoration efforts ever undertaken, had both an incalculable impact upon the filmmaking world in his time, as well as into today. Even if you've never seen a Murnau film before, it's almost impossible to not have come across some of the iconic imagery sprung from his brief yet unrivaled time working in the industry. His name is associated with some of the most acknowledged greatest films of all time, working in both Germany and America in the 1920s, and pioneering the medium with every new film. This episode marks our foray into the important directors of Weimar Cinema, the individuals with an even greater prestige than the actors with whom they worked so consistently. Murnau may have been the most influential of them all, despite an untimely end to his life and career in tandem with the foreclosure of Silent Film as a whole.

The Life and Career of F.W. Murnau: 00:00-45:58

Der brennende Acker/The Burning Soil (1922): 45:59-1:06:43

Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.