Der müde Tod (1921)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Fritz Lang (writer)
Thea von Harbou (writer)

Release Date:

30 January 1922 (Finland)

Genre:

Fantasy

Plot:

As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Expressionist | Public Domain | Expressionism

Cast

Lil Dagover	...	Young Woman / Der junge Maedchen / Zobeide / Monna Fiametta / Tiao Tsien
Walter Janssen	...	Young Man / Der junge Mann / Franke / Giovan Francesco / Liang
Bernhard Goetzke	...	Death / Der Tod / El Mot / Bogner / Archer
Hans Sternberg	...	Mayor / Buergermeister
Karl Rückert	...	Reverend (as Carl Rückert)
Max Adalbert	...	Notary / Notar / Schatzmeister / Chancellor
Wilhelm Diegelmann	...	Doctor / Arzt
Erich Pabst	...	Teacher / Lehrer
Karl Platen	...	Pharmacist / Apotheker
Hermann Picha	...	Taylor / Schneider
Paul Rehkopf	...	Grave-Digger / Kuester
Max Pfeiffer
Georg John	...	Beggar / Bettler
Lydia Potechina	...	Landlady / Wirtin
Grete Berger	...	Mother / Mutter

Also Known As:

Between Two Worlds (USA)
Between Worlds (USA)
Beyond the Wall
Destiny (UK)
The Three Lights (UK)
The Weary Death (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

105 min (16 fps) | USA:114 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Germany:12

Company:

Decla-Bioscop AG

Trivia:

Alfred Hitchcock's favorite film.

Quotes:

Junge Maedchen: You dread, awful cactus, you!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Begegnung mit Fritz Lang (1963)

Otherworldly

The films of Weimer Germany are an interesting and exciting period to study. They share a rich cultural heritage, similar themes and revolutionary film styles and techniques. 'Destiny' ('Der Müde Tod') is the earliest mature work I've seen from Fritz Lang, one of the period's principal filmmakers--much better than the Spiders films. It's expressionistic, in the loose sense usually applied to these films, which is to say it's thematically dark and, occasionally, photographed and designed intentionally to affect mood and express emotions. An exceptional crew of cinematographers and art directors, as in many of the best films of the period, support the director.

Yet, I think the narrative has its faults; the frame narrative is great, but only the last of the three episodes within was entertaining--for its light and magical treatment. In the film, a girl's young lover dies, and Death offers her three tries to resurrect his life. The episodes are flimsy at times, but some impressive imagery and powerful performances by Lil Dagover and Bernhard Goetzke make up for much of that. Additionally, the exotic Arabian, historical Venetian and Chinese settings for the three inner episodes are well rendered, surely, but it's the haunting graveyard scenes and the meetings with Death, especially the room of candles scenes, that I'll remember. They're not merely exotic; they're otherworldly--the atmospheric, moving and imaginative places I want movies to take me.