AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

FerdinandVonGalitzien "Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" (1924) is Herr Paul Leni's most well-known film during his German period. Its probably the most representative of his artistic virtues, an oeuvre composed of three episodes ( although Herr Leni planned a fourth episode that never was done ) in where an imaginative writer ( Herr Wilhelm Dieterle ) applied for publicity work in a waxworks exhibition in which he is commanded to write startling tales about three different wax figures: Ivan the Terrible, Czar of all the Russias ( Herr Conrad Veidt ), Haroun Al Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad ( Herr Emil Jannings ) und the murderer Spring Heeled Jack ( Herr Werner Krauss ). The young writer and the showman's daughter ( Frau Olga Belejeff ) link the three different episodes.The three episodes are stylistically and technically very different from each other and certainly Herr Leni explored his most imaginative resources and fond subjects ( oneiric décors connected with fantastic subjects ) using them appropriately to fit the characteristics of the story depicted in the episode in question.The first one, which relates the story of the satyr and easy-going Caliph of Bagdad, features the beautiful and evocative décors that apprehend the necessary mood for an episode in which humour and parody over the iconic Western view of an idealized Arab atmosphere. The classic adventures that inspired them, is in the air, benefiting the episode with such exaggerated tastes which are absolutely charming; Herr Jannings certainly enjoys a lot such parody role.The second episode depicts Ivan the terrible as a merciless monarch who ruled the Russian empire with an iron fist by subjecting the citizens to severe cruelty. This time Herr Leni combine drama with fantastic elements, achieving a bizarre and disturbing atmosphere. Again a superb actor, as it happened in the preceding episode steals the picture thanks to his magnetic and fascinating presence.Once again, the décors are outstanding although this time Herr Leni uses these in a "conventional" way. That is to say, in order to illustrate in a careful and more realistic way, the characteristics of the Russian empire of the time, the German director leaves the most fantastic aspects of the story for the torture chamber sequences and its terrible ending.The third episode is Expressionism at its best, or maybe this Herr Graf should say that is a homage to Expressionism (on the other hand, the same that happens with the other two episodes in where the main subject are treated in a hyperbolic stylistic way ).This time, the imaginative writer has a terrible nightmare in which he is chased by Spring Heeled Jack. Herr Leni takes advantage of such an oneiric atmosphere in an episode that technically is more complex than the other two. He uses double exposures and special effects in a continuous nightmarish sequence in which quintessential "Expressionism" is displayed in an effective and accomplished way."Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" is certainly a condensed version of Herr Leni's artistic achievements. It's an excellent example of his many skillful virtues and stylistic resources, stamped with his particular and fascinating own imaginary.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must remove in a Teutonic way the depilatory wax from the whole body of one of this Herr Graf's rich heiress.

MartinHafer In the 1920s, the German film industry was one of the best producers of films in the world--making many films that were about as good as anything coming out of Hollywood. Because of this, I had relatively high expectations for this film. Sadly, however, despite this and a wonderful idea for a movie, "Waxworks" turned out to be, at best, a mediocre film--mostly because it was written so poorly and the stories all were so unsatisfying.The idea behind "Waxworks" is that the owner of some wax figures wants a writer to come up with some great stories about each of his three figures in order to lure in the public. This anthology notion is pretty good...but the execution left so much to be desired.The first story is about a Caliph in ancient times and this story is by far the longest of the three. It seems that this Caliph has fallen for the baker's wife and he sneaks in to make love to her. At the same time, the baker is sneaking in to the nearby palace to steal the Caliph's magic ring. Unable to get it off the hand easily, he chops off the Caliph's arm! Oddly, the Caliph just lays there--but at the same time he IS at the baker's house--what gives? This Middle Eastern set is interesting because some of the artistic style looks almost like a book by Dr. Seuss. Unfortunately, the story itself isn't particularly interesting even if it starred the world-famous Emil Jannings. Sadly, it's the best of the three.The second story is about Ivan the Terrible. Oddly, the sets are VERY tiny--almost claustrophobic. And the story about Ivan, poison and madness just isn't interesting in the least.The final about Spring Heeled Jack wasn't great but at least it was visually arresting. That's because, like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", it's a wonderful example of German Expressionism--with its crazy art style. It's all supposed to be a dream, so it makes sense that that they used this weird look.Overall, the film looks pretty cool but the stories just bored me to death. I sure expected better writing.

MARIO GAUCI As it happens, this is yet another faux horror film from director Paul Leni - but, then, it's mentioned in every book on the genre I have, so this common misconception has probably more to do with the authors than with the films themselves having been sold back in the day as such! Anyway, this factor had certainly marked my initial viewing of the film - which, again, I had found rather disappointing; a second look reaps rewards in that it can be taken for what it is - and not for what it's been played up to be over the years! That said, the film started cinema's macabre interest in wax museums which, by and large, endures to this day... The premise itself is undeniably interesting: a young writer is asked to concoct blood-curdling tales about famous historical figures (we're not told what they are for, but I'd assume that the fairground owner would relate these tales on a stage to draw the crowds in). Initially it was intended to be a four-part film with the characters being Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, Czar Ivan "The Terrible", Jack The Ripper (dubbed "Spring-Heeled Jack"!; is that how the notorious serial killer was known in the U.S.?) and highwayman Rinaldo Rinaldini; eventually, the whole section relating to the latter was dropped (but I'm curious to know who had been cast in this role - his wax figure is still visible in the linking narrative, but I couldn't discern the 'actor' whom it was supposed to look like!).The Haroun-al-Raschid episode is the first, longest and least 'horrific': in fact, it's outright comedy for the most part, with Emil Jannings' obese and perennially grimacing Caliph flirting with the beautiful wife (Olga Belaieff) of poor but jealous baker Wilhelm Dieterle; the latter, meanwhile, is scolded by the girl for their poverty and colorless lifestyle - so he contrives to break into the Caliph's palace and steal his "wishing ring". What he doesn't know is that the figure in the Caliph's bed is made of wax: he cuts the hand and takes it to his wife (who is concealing the real Caliph inside her husband's oven!), pursued by the palace guards; the wife, then, pulls a magic trick by 'summoning' the Caliph intact - but asks the latter to reward her husband by making him his personal baker! The sets (designed by Leni himself) for this episode are spectacular, and they're made even more arresting by being filtered through the director's Expressionist sensibilities - so that everything appears distorted and generally exaggerated. This entire Arabian Nights set-up apparently inspired Douglas Fairbanks to make THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924), and Kino provides a brief clip from that film for the sake of comparison.The second episode - dealing with Czarist Russia at the time of Ivan "The Terrible" (embodied as a neurotic by Conrad Veidt, in a performance that anticipates the intense acting style that Klaus Kinski would come to be known for!) - is the best, despite its extremely slow pace. Interestingly, the stylized look of this section of the film also foreshadows Sergei Eisenstein's awesome two-part version made some 20 years later (which even adopts the ruse of having Ivan change places with a subordinate in order to dodge an assassination attempt). The romantic leads of the first story (who are actually those of the linking narrative - Dieterle being the young writer and Belaieff the daughter of fairground owner John Gottowt) return here as a couple whose wedding is disrupted by Veidt, who takes a liking to the girl and has her abducted to his lair. The plot is resolved when Ivan's poison-mixer (this is how the Czar dispatches his enemies) is imprisoned by his own increasingly paranoid ruler, but the former takes his revenge by inscribing Ivan's name on a sandglass - the marker that a new victim has been poisoned and has an hour to live - after which the Czar, driven insane, keeps turning the hour-glass upside down in a desperate attempt to buy himself a little more time...! Again, apart from Veidt himself, the sets are the main thing here; the generally grim tone of this episode makes it borderline horror, which is only really achieved by the third - and, regrettably, shortest - segment.The Jack The Ripper story (if so it can be called) actually ties in with the linking narrative, as the writer is stalked in the fairground tent itself by the knife-wielding maniac (incarnated by the resident villain of the German Expressionist movement, Werner Krauss); I say incarnated because the character isn't developed in any way, given that the episode lasts for barely 5 minutes (surely the horror fan's biggest bone of contention with this entertaining super-production) - still, the vision of his menacing shadowy figure superimposed, magnified and replicated all over the place is extremely effective and one of the undeniable highlights of the entire film.The restored print of WAXWORKS presented here includes several tinted sequences which, though nicely done, draw too much attention to themselves and, worse, tend to obscure some of the details in the image!

pioner-3 I really enjoyed that film. It's not a masterpiece, like "Caligari" or "Nosferatu", but a good fun film anyway. Veidt and Jannings are wonderful. The first part, about Haroun al Rashid (played by Emil Jannings), is very humorous (and funny as well), with well written plot. The second part, about Ivan the Terrible (played by Conrad Veidt), is, in contrast, very dark and depressing. In my humble opinion, it is much better than Eisenstein's movie (which also steals shamelessly from it); for sure, Veidt is better than Cherkasov. The third story is something really weird: it starts and suddenly ends, like the crew ran out of money.So, a lot of humour in the first part, a lot of "Russian gothic" ;-) in the second part, good acting, good plot, great sets -- if you like silent movies (especially expressionist silent movies), don't miss this one!P.S. If you like silent movies and still haven't seen "Cabinet of Doctor Kaligari" and "Nosferatu, symphony of horror", see them first -- they are better than "Waxworks"!