I am really starting to get more into silent films. I’ve watched some of the classics and obvious ones, but I have never really taken the time to really explore this area of cinema history in any sort of depth. I have therefore decided to attempt to watch more silent films, and I’ve got quite a bunch of German silent films waiting for me. The obvious start is Murnau, arguably one of the masters of the silent era.
I hadn’t heard much about Der Letzte Mann, compared to probably Murnau’s other two most famous films, Nosferatu (1922) and Sunrise (1927). I’ve seen both of those, and to my surprise, I liked Der Letzte Mann much more than both of those. To me, the film had an incredible staying power. Additionally, the film doesn’t use any dialogue. Of course, in terms of silent cinema, that means no title screens. This makes the film flow really nicely, because “dialogue” in silent films can sometimes be a distraction. Here, though, the film relies solely on visual storytelling, and becomes much more powerful because of it. It is also helped with an inspired performance by Emil Jannings, who plays the character with great sympathy. At the core of the film is a theme about the nasty evil within humans, and the film is at times very sad. It’s not just a critique of the upper-class, which it also is, but a critique of people of all stations, poor or rich. It also takes a stab at how people perceive each other on the basis of status in society. All this is developed quite nicely, but one of the things that make the films so worthwhile is the performance Emil Jannings. Without the benefit of dialogue Jannings still manages to capture the protagonist in a wonderful way, in his happiest moments and in his saddest moments. There is both naivety and desperation in his character, and his presence on screen is always wonderful.
With this film I finally, really, get why Murnau is cited as one of the greatest filmmakers of the silent era. The film uses an impressive array of techniques that I have never seen in such early films, and I am sure that Murnau pioneered many of these, including a wonderful dream sequence that is very Freudian. But its not just about the techniques, Murnau’s shot composition is at times fantastic, creating some really emotional strong shots. He is also great at using tracking shots and at times handheld camera. All the array of little tricks that Murnau has makes his film very memorable, and some scenes are truly inventive in their structure. But there is also a very important point in that the film manages to have drama that isn’t flat, but interesting and changes pace throughout. The film also has quite an ominous message, it is quite dark. At the end, there is tacked on a “happy ending”. Now before this “happy ending” comes, the film announces that, unfortunately, these “happy endings” do not occur in real life. This is quite a brave move, and absolutely justifies the very deus ex machina ending. Without it, the film would have been much weaker than it is, and despite having a happy ending, being quite dark in its message. Der Letzte Mann is probably one of the best silent films I’ve seen, and truly shows Murnau at the top of his power as an inventive director.
I wasn’t quite sure what I would thing of this, but it turned out to be a right out masterpiece. The scene structure, the shot composition, the wonderful performance, and the very simple but effective plot all go towards creating a unique and wonderful cinematic experience which makes me really want to watch more of these German silent film classics. All the Murnau DVD’s I own are Masters of Cinema releases, and they are very good, I definitely advice anyone interested to get these great DVDs. Masters of Cinema rule.
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