106-107 Der Tiger von Eschnapur & Das indische Grabmal

[peerpee]

Der Tiger von Eschnapur / Das indische Grabmal



Fritz Lang returned to Germany on the eve of the 1960s to direct this enchanted penultimate work, a redraft of the diptych form pioneered in such silent Lang classics as Die Spinnen; Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler.; and Die Nibelungen. Although no encapsulating title was lent at the time of release to what is, effectively, a single 3-hour-plus film split in two, the work that has come to be referred to in modern times as "the Indian epic" (consisting of Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das indische Grabmal) proved to be one of the legendary director's most adventurous achievements. It was also one of the most popular successes Lang was to experience in his native land.

A German architect (Paul Hubschmid) is commissioned by an Indian maharaja (Walter Reyer) to construct a temple on his palatial grounds. After saving the life of a bewitching dancer (Debra Paget) on whom the maharaja has spousal designs, the hero is pulled ever deeper into a hazardous maze of traps, perhaps the purest realisation of Lang's obsession with a labyrinthine 'house of death' – that is, Man challenging Fate.

Like Lang's following final work Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse, the Indian epic charts new territory for the director, as it strikes out into the über-melodramatic tenor of his early silents while inciting the colours of the emulsion into adopting a lurid, sometimes gaseous palette. Arriving in the wake of The River (Renoir), India matri bhumi (Rossellini), and Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger), Lang's Indian epic stands among the remarkable mid-century contributions of Western filmmakers who have contemplated India. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Lang's films on DVD in the UK for the first time.

SPECIAL TWO-DISC DVD EDITION:

• Beautiful, newly restored transfers of the films in their original 1.37:1 aspect ratio
• Two soundtracks: the native German-language track, and the English-language dubtrack made for overseas distribution
• Newly translated optional English subtitles
• New and exclusive feature-length audio commentaries, for both Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das indische Grabmal, by film scholar David Kalat
• 20-minute documentary on the making of the Indian epic
• Three minutes of vintage 8mm footage shot on location by actress Sabine Bethmann
• The original French trailers for both Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das indische Grabmal
• A lengthy booklet containing an essay on the films by Lang scholar Tom Gunning (The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity); excerpts from interviews with Fritz Lang about the film; and more!

[Landjorden]

We're releasing these two Fritz Lang films on DVD-only in April 2011 and we're hoping for a stupendous new HD restoration to be completed in 2012 for subsequent Blu-ray release (if we're lucky) in late 2012.

The DVDs are among the nicest looking DVDs we've ever released. They look stunning, which is why we're not waiting! Thanks!

btw. Both films have full, new, exclusive commentary tracks by David Kalat.

Great to hear about the Kalat commentarys, to bad I don´t like the movies, but, I will probably buy them anyway

[matrixschmatrix]

Wow, I'm glad I haven't bought these yet. I didn't like them much when I first ran through them, but a Kalat commentary on a Lang movie's more than enough to get me to give it another chance.

[Tommaso]

Very good. I only have the old German discs of these, which aren't beauties, so most likely I'll upgrade. A real coup would be the inclusion of the 1938 version by Richard Eichberg, like on the French release of these films. But I guess that's unlikely?

[What A Disgrace]

I'm not sure if I should wait for the Blu-ray release, or get these now.

[domino harvey]

Time to sell my R1 set for big bucks

[triodelover]

I don't suppose there's any chance that Joe May's 1921 version of Das Indische Grabmal (for which Lang was one of the screenwriters) might show up in the package?

[swo17]

Great news, and thanks Nick for being forthcoming about the possibility of a future Blu upgrade.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Exciting! I was looking into the Fantoma edition (I've been picking up the rest of their Fassbinders) so this is great to hear. Especially with content from Kalat! Any ideas on who will contribute to the booklet

[Peacock]

Any ideas on who will contribute to the booklet

I hope you guys will ask David Cairns again to contribute! He told me recently that these are two of his favorite Langs and I know he'll have some juicy gossip on them.

Really excited about this announcement, sad the Blu is so long away but i'll wait; glad I didn't order that Fantoma for a ridiculous price now...

[TMDaines]

Excellent news! Cannot wait for this!

Time to sell my R1 set for big bucks

[Opdef]

Yesssss... great stuff. I'll be waiting patiently for the Blu-ray release.

[Finch]

My first thought was "Lang? Again?" but I remember seeing Eschnapur as a kid and enjoying it quite a bit.

[Dr Amicus]

I picked up the Fantoma releases a few years back quite cheaply, but I'll definitely double dip for a Blu-Ray. It's far from my favourite Lang, but it certainly has its moments (the snake dance in part 2 is a favourite).

And seconded for either of the earlier versions.

[matrixschmatrix]

Any ideas on who will contribute to the booklet

I hope you guys will ask David Cairns again to contribute! He told me recently that these are two of his favorite Langs and I know he'll have some juicy gossip on them.

Really excited about this announcement, sad the Blu is so long away but i'll wait; glad I didn't order that Fantoma for a ridiculous price now...

This would be another solid chance for a Kalat/Rosenbaum team-up, too- Rosenbaum's a fan as well.

[lubitsch]

Nobody would watch or buy this crap weren't it for the name of Fritz Lang attached to it. Instead of releasing good unknown German films from 1945-65 in the English language territory this is the umpteenth edition of this rubbish.

[connor]

Is a Die Nibelungen blu-ray still in the works?

[med]

Nobody would watch or buy this crap weren't it for the name of Fritz Lang attached to it. Instead of releasing good unknown German films from 1945-65 in the English language territory this is the umpteenth edition of this rubbish.

I'm everyone who is excited for these releases are thrilled to know you think they're easily swayed fools incapable of forming their own opinons.

[matrixschmatrix]

"Umpteenth edition" meaning one out-of-print American release, and none in the UK?

[Tommaso]

It means two editions in Germany, a five-disc set in France (including the Eichberg version), the US release and probably a few more in other parts of the world...

Nobody would watch or buy this crap weren't it for the name of Fritz Lang attached to it. Instead of releasing good unknown German films from 1945-65 in the English language territory this is the umpteenth edition of this rubbish.

Make it 1925-45, and I agree. I'm not sure whether the post-WWII German productions, with some notable exceptions from directors like Käutner or Staudte or individual films like Peter Lorre's "Der Verlorene" or Willi Forst's "Die Sünderin", really need to receive prime attention by international labels, given how many truly extraordinary earlier films await a release even in Germany. But considering the usual standard of 50s films in Germany, these two Lang films are probably among the better fare. Sure, Paul Hubschmid can't act at all, but at least we get a director who still knows how to concoct some great visuals and create suspense, even though together with the pulpy story and the settings the result has a rather high camp factor. But the same could be said about Joe May's version to a degree. "Eschnapur/Grabmal" is certainly not a great film, but I simply cannot watch it without being amused (whether this was Lang's intention is another question). But as I hinted above, the best version of this story are the largely unknown Eichberg films, and indeed it are these which should have received the MoC treatment.

So yes, it's probably Lang's name which made the label opt for releasing his version, but who could blame them? Marketing Eichberg internationally would probably be even more difficult than Naruse...

[zedz]

Well, I sort of agree with lubitsch, in that I find these films incredibly cheesy (not that there's anything wrong with that) and stiff, but I can say that the Fantoma transfers - presumably the same source as MoC's - were utterly gorgeous. So much so that I'm very curious to see how good a new HD restoration would look.

[matrixschmatrix]

It means two editions in Germany, a five-disc set in France (including the Eichberg version), the US release and probably a few more in other parts of the world...

Well, he did specify "English-language territory". These aren't my favorite Lang, either- or more accurately, Tiger wasn't, since it didn't hold my attention well enough to warrant checking out the sequel- but it's silly to act as though the market is flooded on this one.

Besides, this strikes me as exactly the kind of movie that could really benefit from a commentary- it was evidently incredibly popular with the German audiences when it was released, and I'm curious to hear what they saw in it that I don't.

[antnield]

It's also worth noting that purely from a UK perspective - and remember that not everybody imports - these films have never been released onto VHS or DVD and last had a television showing, to the best of my knowledge, in 1973.

[lubitsch]

"Umpteenth edition" meaning one out-of-print American release, and none in the UK?

It was rather a rhetoric figure, but then again how many German films from 1945-65 have been released on an English friendly DVD just once? Purely from a non-German point of view as an American or British viewer I'd be rather bored to get served this familiar film the second time. Every real cineaste wants to discover fresh ground, so multi region players are a necessity and who cares if the film is released in UK or USA, by MoC or by Criterion?

Tommaso's point about Lang being the familiar name is surely correct but disturbing nevertheless if it results in a film which wouldn't crack the top 100 of German films 1945-1965 being the most famous one internationally. Imagine the only US film of the 50s known internationally would be Ben Hur.
While Tommaso's knowledge of 30s cinema is considerable and he's correct in pointing out that there are far too many unreleased films compared to French or by now even Japanese films of the era, I'd gently but firmly rebuff his dismissal of the later decades. The years 1946-1949 and 1955-1962 harbor a few dozen of good films and a few knockouts which would easily be distributable as they were back then, notice e.g. that with the beginning of the nominations for Foreign language Oscar 1956 German productions were nominated 4 times in a row.

[domino harvey]

I can't believe MoC has to gall to release two films by a talented, well-respected, and world-famous director. They just better not include any additional material to properly contextualize the films or provide any other analytical extras, or else!

EDIT: FUKK, THEY DID