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Released By: Kino Lorber
Released On: August 30, 2016
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Bernhard Goetzke, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Hans Sternberg
Year: 1921
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The Movie:
I'll be the first to admit that I am not the target viewer for silent films. I have almost zero experience with them, I generally find the lack of speech to be disorienting, and the tinting process used in lieu of colour causes my brain to react in a way that I find unpleasant. I am not a scholar of film, I am not a film historian, or an intellectual. I'm just a guy who likes movies, watches a lot of them, and likes to talk about them. So when I got a hold of Fritz Lang's 1921 film Destiny (Der Mí¼de Tod, or The Weary Death), I was afraid that I had taken on more than I could handle, and that visual metaphors and other symbolism would crest the top of my skull effortlessly while I wrestled to keep my brain focused on processing the lack of dialogue and abnormal colour scheme. Fortunately, all intellectual content aside, Destiny provides an interesting and compelling story with a curious aesthetic that can be enjoyed by even the casual viewer.
A horse-drawn carriage approaches a crossroads, carrying a soon-to-be-wed young couple and an old woman with a goose. Mirth and merriment ensue as the young man ties his handkerchief around the goose's eyes so that he can steal kisses from his bride-to-be, but a swirl of mist and leaves up ahead indicates that something sinister may be on the horizon. Sure enough, the carriage stops to let the elderly goose-keeper and her charge off, and a rather frightening pale figure clad in black climbs aboard for the ride. The buggy pulls into a small town, and young passengers alight, headed for the local pub that is already occupied by a number of local dignitaries; including the Mayor, the local Vicar, and a Physician. The figure in black, meanwhile, has fittingly opted to head over to the cemetery, where he asks the grave-digger about an adjoining parcel of land, finding that it's controlled by the dignitaries and allocated to future expansion of the cemetery. The dignitaries scoff somewhat at the idea of selling the land, but are swayed by the stranger's presentation of a number of gold coins, agreeing to lease the parcel for ninety-nine years.
Venturing into the realm of the fantastic, the man in black somehow erects a massive stone wall around his new lease, a wall devoid of entryways, windows, or any other point of access. Returning to the Golden Unicorn the new landowner joins the young couple for a drink, frightening the girl when his drink somehow morphs into an hourglass that is rapidly running out of time. She flees to the kitchen and finds comfort in the arms of many kittens and a cuddly dachshund, but when she returns to the table, her fiance is gone. Following a bizarre and dreamlike path of irrational trail markers brings the young lady to the realization that the stranger is Death, and her man has passed from the land of the living, but she finds a solution in the Apothecary; reading that "Love is Stronger Than Death" and taking a potion to bring her within the walled confines of Death's new home.
In a simultaneously touching and horrific scene, Death shows her the burden of his duties, snuffing the life from an infant like a candle flame as its mother sobs uncontrollably. Describing his task as "a curse", Death presents three lit candles, each symbolizing a situation where love will fail in the face of mortality. If, Death says, love can emerge triumphant in any of these situations, he will restore the life of her man. What follows are three stories of love doomed to fail within the film, each given the full Lang treatment and attention to detail; an Arabian Princess in Baghdad, in love with an outsider infidel that the Caliph has ordered executed for violating their holy place of worship; a star-crossed pair in Venice at Carnival time, where a young woman's lover has incurred the wrath of one of her other suitors, a man of influence with the local authorities; and the assistant of famous Chinese magician, who becomes the object of desire and then vengeance of a vicious Emperor who will not accept her love for another man.
Dripping with imagery, each scene in Destiny offers eye-candy both beautiful and dark, with Lang's style dripping in each frame. Oversized candles, giant clocks, and stark, contrasty, ominous shots abound, and though it's not quite as...Germanic...as Lang would later be known for with the release of Metropolis, it radiates bleakness and cold. The now-primitive special effects add a slightly different dynamic, peppering the film with a fantastic, surreal atmosphere, and Lang's decision to humanize Death, giving him some compassion, rounds out the picture nicely, giving it an otherworldly dynamic that offsets the dark...and more than likely shocking at the time...subject matter contained in each of the stories.
While the main cast in the film(s) exist mostly in exaggerated caricature form, which was the style at the time, not enough good things can be said about Bernhard Goetzke, who plays Death. Goetzke drips with darkness in every scene, and the backdrops that Lang places him in amplify that menace tenfold. The drawback to this is that Goetzke destroys every scene that he's in and reduces every actor he shares frame with to just shy of insignificant, and although he comes across as capital E evil, the few scenes where he shows compassion allow him the equivalent of a wry smile and a subtle wink to the camera. Finally, the newly-commissioned score, written by Cornelius Schwehr, performed by the Berlin Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, accompanies the film in a fine and non-intrusive manner, subtly adding to the atmosphere of the film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Kino Lorber Classics brings Destiny to Blu-ray in a 1.33:1 AVC-encoded transfer that's sure to both marvel and generate conversation. The result of a 2K restoration commissioned by the Murnau Foundation, Destiny looks great for its age, acknowledging, of course that with the original negatives long gone and the fact that it's coming up on a century old, that there will be a number of visual flaws present during viewing. As such, a missing frame here and there and the occasional vertical line show up, as well as flickering, etc. Dirt and debris are present at moments, but detail is strong for the most part, and the picture is clear. Overall, Destiny looks fantastic, the result of the pooling of resources of prints, title cards, scripts and notes worldwide. Though some may nitpick the decision to digitally tint and tone certain scenes in certain ways, this is really quite the accomplishment, and it's safe to say, a major upgrade in terms of quality from existing versions.
The newly-commissioned score by Cornelius Schwehr, performed by the Berlin Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Frank Strobel) is more than adequately presented via an LPCM 2.0 track. Dynamic range is wonderful, and the score sounds beautiful. Again, some purists may take issue with it, but it sounds great.
English Subtitles are available for the German intertitles, title cards, etc.
Kino has provided a look at the Restoration Demonstration Footage (15:38), a feature I'd regarded as useless and unimpressive on earlier Kino titles, but this one is a little more in depth and provides insight into how and why Destiny looks as it does. A number of sequences are shown in a side-by-side comparison, with subtitles describing the processes used to tint, tone, and stabilize the image, and the source behind the reasoning. It gets a little repetitive after five minutes, but is worth watching.
A 2016 Re-Release trailer is also provided.
Another supplement on the disc comes courtesy of a feature-length commentary by Tim Lucas (Video Watchdog and many other publications). Lucas has a wealth of information to share, discussing some of the shooting locations of the film and mentioning more recent films shot in the same location, and also providing brief biographies of some of the major players. He also deconstructs some of the special effects present in the film, and analyzes Lang's potential motives for presenting the film as he does. However, it's quite obvious that this commentary is scripted, and trying to take in so much info when delivered in a somewhat dreary and scholarly tone takes its toll after the first chapter, as Lucas throws out some pretty far-fetched connections and even takes some opportunity to describe what's happening on the screen. The man obviously knows his stuff, but the verbal delivery is frustrating, suggesting that a more loosely-scripted approach might be the way to go.
The Final Word:
Lang's Destiny makes its way to Blu-ray with an ambitious and awe-inspiring transfer that brings new life to a historic piece of art. Fans of silent films and completists, rejoice!
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
