7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Prologue: The murderer "Boss" Huller - after having spent ten years in prison - breaks his silence to tell the warden his story. "Boss", a former trapeze artist, and his wife own a cheap side-show that displays ''erotic sensations''. But he longs for his former glamorous life in the circus. When he meets the orphan Berta-Marie, he falls under her spell and leaves his wife and young son behind. He makes Berta-Marie his partner in a new trapeze number. One day, the famous trapeze artist Artinelli takes note of them and engages them for his trapeze show in Berlin. Their salto mortale becomes an immediate sensation. Calculatedly and cold, Artinelli seduces Berta-Marie and destroys "Boss'" happiness.
Starring: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Lya De Putti, Warwick Ward, Alice HechyForeign | 100% |
Drama | 24% |
Romance | 5% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The story of “Variete” offers broad swings of drama and disaster, and it’s only fitting that the filmmaking follows suit. The 1925 silent picture is directed by Ewald Andre Dupont, and he puts in an energetic effort to help articulate the moods of the feature, with his camera playing a key role in the tale. However, there’s more than cinematographic tricks in play here, with “Variete” also making room for star Emil Jannings, who delivers powerful work as a haunted man sabotaged by his own impulses.
Pieced together from elements found all over the world, "Variete" makes an impressive debut on Blu-ray. The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation remains consistent, with impressive sharpness that brings out the best in facial details, picking up on aging, make-up, and emotive acting. Production accomplishments are also on view, preserving depths and decoration. Delineation is generally strong, handling shadowy encounters, and whites are steady. Grain is intact and filmic. For a nearly 100-year-old feature, distracting damage is surprisingly limited, with restoration work capably managing age and multiple sources.
The LPCM 2.0 track presents a new score from the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra. Instrumentation is crisp and inviting, while musical moods, from mounting suspense to circus atmosphere, are cleanly communicated. Also offered is a 2015 score performed by The Tiger Lilies.
Visually, "Variete" is lively, with Dupont matching the masters of the era with his command of silent storytelling, unafraid to move his camera or permit it time to articulate psychological spaces. It's an interesting feature to explore, but thankfully there's a human element to it that reaches out, almost 3D-style, to the viewer.
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