Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Sumurun Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 24, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of Lubitsch in Berlin 1918-1921.

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”.

In a way you might be forgiven for mistaking Sumurun (also known as One Arabian Night) for one of Fritz Lang’s excursions into so-called “Orientalism”, a kind of odd if at times condescending subgenre that Lang visited early in his silent career but then returned to rather late with lavish color remakes released on Blu-ray for the North American market as Fritz Lang's Indian Epic. Sumurun is another Lubitsch effort that definitely mines a fairy tale ambience, though one suffused with a kind of faux Eastern bent that at least affords use of some nicely designed sets and costumes. If the film as a whole doesn’t quite work, it’s notably nonetheless for starring Pola Negri (the infamous “vamp” of silent films) as a so-called “gypsy” dancer named Yannaia, with a really curious supporting turn by Lubitsch himself as Yeggar, who might be thought of as this film’s Eastern version of Fritz from Frankenstein, though there are some equally curious similarities to the kind of star-crossed relationship between Yannaia and Yeggar and the one that takes place in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This piece evidently began as a play done by Max Reinhardt (Lubitsch's mentor and erstwhile employer), and there is a kind of blatant theatricality here that may not work for contemporary eyes.

Sumurun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Eureka Entertainment provided check discs for the purposes of this review.

Sumurun is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. This is another film without any introductory text cards describing the history of the element or any restoration undertaken. As can probably be gleaned from some of the screenshots accompanying this review, this is the most consistently tinted presentation in this set, with a rather wide variety of colors utilized, including purple, yellow, orange and blue at various moments. The blue tinting tends to show dirt perhaps more than some other colors, while some of the yellow material can look washed out at times, defeating fine detail levels. There is some pretty bad scratching on display on the right side of the frame from the get go (which later lessens), but this is another presentation with quite a bit of age related wear and tear, including some pretty bad horizontal scratching toward the top of the frame that shows up on occasion. Still, taking age and curation into account, this is another completely watchable effort that often offers decent detail levels and a nicely organic appearance.

Sumurun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All of the films in this set feature LPCM 2.0 renderings of musical underscore. The piano score by Javier Perez de Azpeitia has a year 2000 credit here, and sounds perfectly fine throughout, with no distortion, dropouts or other damage.

Sumurun 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.

Sumurun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sumurun is a stylistic tour de force, and the design elements on display are often quite inviting. But the plot here is pretty tired, and the film is arguably too long. Video has some age related obstacles, but audio is fine, for those who are considering a purchase.