Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Steineded How sad is this?

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Der Student von Prag" or "The Student of Prague" is a German black-and-white silent film from 1913, so this one is already clearly over a 100 years old. Do not be fooled by soundtracks that were added later on, this is not a sound movie. The writer and director here is Hanns Heinz Ewers and this is probably his most known work. He is not even close to being as famous as the likes of Murnau or even Lang, but it looks like he was there before them already. Unfortunately, I cannot praise his work here. It is based on a work by Edgar Allen Poe and, like so many other films, includes many references on Goethe's "Faust", when a young man makes a deal with somebody he should have stayed far far away. And, of course, the deal is about a woman.The movie runs for slightly over 80 minutes, at least in the version I saw, but I see that there are several way shorter versions out there too. Your choice which one to watch. I personally would recommend one of the shorter as I felt this film did not only drag on several occasions despite under 90 minutes runtime, but it also clearly lacked intertitles and would have needed many many more of these to be a rewarding watch, but also to actually let the audience understand what is going on. I had a question mark above my head for a large part of the film and this may be a reason why I lost interest quickly and give this one a thumbs down. Not recommended.

FerdinandVonGalitzien The film "Der Student von Prag", directed by Herr Stellan Rye in the silent year of 1913, is certainly a suitable film for the Schloss theatre. That's due to the many daring elements that the oeuvre provided this German count.The film has poor commoners, more precisely, a student commoner. He dreams of richness and of hobnobbing with top people. On the other side, there are idle aristocrats who spend their time riding and a rich heiress who is engaged to her cousin. However, he's a man who obviously she doesn't love, preferring her to be wooed by the student. That student is now a rich man thanks to a strange pact with a strange old man.Ah, what glorious clichés!!.But there is even more! In the film are beautiful outdoor sceneries ( the filming locations were obviously in Prague ) and elegant indoor aristocratic sceneries. But the most important thing in the picture ( besides the ones mentioned by this Herr Von ) is that the picture deals with the myth of the Doppelgänger, or the vision of the evil side of oneself!.Ah, what a wonderful sinister folklore!!.The film is starred by Herr Paul Wegener who certainly suffered a terrible experience with his Doppelgänger in the city of Prague. Prague is a beautiful but obscure Central-European city where from time to time another strange being walked up and down the streets. That would be the Golem a screen creature that years later would also use Herr Wegener for his evil deeds. But this is another and completely different story.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count is waiting for Herr Doppelgänger and Herr Golem to take tea.Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com

Hitchcoc Those engaging the movie camera so early in the century must have figured out some of its potential very early on. This is a good story of a playboy type who needs money and inadvertently sells his soul to Satan for a lot of money. Unfortunately, the soul is his double and he must confront him frequently, tearing his life apart. There are some wonderful scenes with people fading out and, of course, the scenes when the two are on the stage at the same time. The middle part is a bit dull, but the Faustian story is always in the minds of the viewer. One thing I have to mention is the general unattractiveness of the people in the movie. Also, they pretty much shied away from much action which would have at least given some life to the thing. I first was made aware of this movie about 25 years ago and have finally been able to see it. I was not disappointed.

Elliot-10 If "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is the father of all horror films (and of German expressionist cinema), this pre-WWI film is the grandfather. The titular student, starving in an empty garret, makes a deal with the Devil-- the Devil gives him a bottomless sack of gold, in exchange for "anything in this room." The Devil chooses the student's reflection in his mirror. He walks off with the student's doppelganger, who commits crimes for which the student is blamed.The film is marred by some limitations arising out of the technically primitive state of 1913 filmmaking; the plot cries out for chiaroschuro effects, but the film is, of necessity, virtually all shot in shadowless daylight. But the scene where the reflection walks out of the mirror still packs a wallop.More interesting for the trends it fortells than for its own sake, The Student of Prague is still worthwhile.