Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 24, 2020

Ernst Lubitsch’s vaunted “touch” made him something of a rarity in Golden Age Hollywood, namely a star director in a town which more typically tended to be all about "real" stars (as in the kind up there on the silver screen). But what’s interesting about Lubitsch’s Hollywood career is that while it lasted decades and offered scores of films, when you get right down to it, the so-called “Lubitsch touch” might be best remembered for only a veritable handful of outings like Trouble in Paradise, Design for Living, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner and To Be or Not to Be. Now, it perhaps goes without saying that with a handful like that, who really cares if not all of Lubitsch’s films have managed to penetrate into the public consciousness, but for devoted cineastes with a taste in World Cinema, and in this case World Silent Cinema, this aggregation of six silents Lubitsch made when he was still in Germany may be a bit revelatory, both in terms of subject matter but also in terms of what would soon enough become known as the “Lubitsch touch”.

For reviews of the films included in this set, please click on the following links:

Ich möchte kein Mann sein Blu-ray review

Die Puppe Blu-ray review

Die Austernprinzessin Blu-ray review

Sumurun Blu-ray review

Anna Boleyn Blu-ray review

The Wildcat Blu-ray review

Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While there are no supplements tied to individual films included with this set, Disc Three offers the following comprehensive documentary, which does get into at least some of the films and this general era of Lubitsch's life:

• Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin: From Schönhauser Allee to Hollywood (HD; 1:26:41) is a well done piece that includes some really sweet reminiscences from some Lubitsch relatives (including his daughter, Nicola), as well as copious footage of Lubitsch's childhood and young man haunts in Berlin. There's quite a bit of information and some appealing stills and archival video of his early work as an actor, including with Max Reinhardt, and a good overview of his early film career as a director. In both German (with English subtitles) and English, depending on the speaker.

Eureka Entertainment only provided check discs for purposes of this review, and so I can't authoritatively comment on non-disc swag, though their website mentions an insert booklet with essays.

Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a wonderful set for either those who love Lubitsch's Hollywood era but know little of his Berlin output, or for those who know next to nothing about Lubitsch to begin with. While there are some deficiencies in the video department here due to the films' obvious age, overall technical merits are solid, and the accompanying documentary most interesting and even touching. Recommended.