Waxworks Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Waxworks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 12, 2021

What is it about wax dummies that make them such redolent “characters” in so many horror tinged films? Maybe it's their "doppelgänger" aspect, or the fact that there is definitely something creepy about watching a wax face melt, as they are prone to do in at least some of the films featuring such mannequin like elements. Many American film fans in particular probably think automatically of either 1933’s Mystery of the Wax Museum or its kinda sorta remake from 1953, House of Wax, when mentioning this admittedly kind of peculiar subgenre, but cineastes with an interest in world cinema will know that there was a forebear of both of these films that appeared during the silent era and which didn’t just help establish “wax museum” tropes, but which also helped to introduce audiences to what ultimately became known as a “horror anthology”. Even that descriptor may be a bit misleading, as some of the supplements included on this Blu-ray disc get into, since Waxworks, whose original German title was the somewhat more baroque Das Wachsfigurenkabinett, includes vignettes that are arguably not really in the horror idiom.

While some of the supplements get into the iconic status of some of the German Abstract Expressionist actors who are in the film, including such renowned names as Conrad Veidt, Emil Jannings and Werner Krauss, there may be a bit of "meta" interest for those interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood, since a focal character uniting the three vignettes in Waxworks is played by William Dieterle, who emigrated to the United States and directed a number of high profile films, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Life of Emile Zola, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Devil and Daniel Webster. Dieterle portrays a poet hired by a waxworks in order to write "back stories" for three of the characters on display, Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), Harun al-Rashid (Emil Jannings) and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss).

The poet then imagines tales for the first two (the Jack the Ripper sequence was evidently an afterthought of sorts, and serves as a rather brief coda that is essentially a dream, or nightmare), and in fact becomes a character in those stories. The Harun al-Rashid episode deals with a baker (Dieterle) whose smoke causes problems for the ruler, putting the baker in jeopardy. The baker decides to steal al-Rashid's valuable ring in order to improve his finances, but in the meantime al-Rashid has become entranced by the baker's comely wife. This opening vignette is kind of whimsical, but it's interesting to see it play out in what is at least a somewhat Abstract Expressionist framework, especially in terms of some of the sets.

The Ivan the Terrible sequence is decidedly more serious, with hints of madness and mortality, with Ivan's twin sins of enjoying torture and suffering from increasing paranoia playing into the proceedings. The Jack the Ripper sequence is a weird, montage laden trip through superimposed imagery that gives the film a deliberately surreal feeling wind up. While probably best appreciated as something other than a traditional "horror" film, there is a rather unsettling ambience to the film which is only highlighted by the stylistic flourishes that Paul Leni offers. Jannings basically disappears underneath what must have been pounds of makeup, but ironically it's a rather gaunt looking Veidt who may make the strongest impression.

Waxworks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Waxworks is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Eureka only sent a check disc for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer contained in the insert booklet. However, several text cards appear before the actual feature which contain the following relevant information:

Waxworks by Paul Leni premiered in 1924 in Vienna. The original German version of the film has not survived. Only shortened vintage prints of the English, French and Czech distribution versions are preserved.

The film was digitized in 4K resolution and restoredin 2K in a cooperation project between Deutsche Kinematek and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna. The restoration is based on a tinted and toned 35mm vintage print on nitrate film held by the British Film Institute National Archive (BFI).

Due to heavy decomposition of the print, parts of the film had to be taken from other film elements: a duplicate negative from the BFI and a vintage print from the Cinémathèque Française.

The text of the German intertitles is lost, therefore the English intertitles of the BFI print have been kept. Also the colouring corresponds to the colours of that print. Hence the restoration represents the English version of the film, which is about 1640 feet (25 mins. at 18 fps) shorter than the lost original version.

While there's the typical kind of age related wear and tear that lovers of silent cinema are used to seeing in high definition presentation of films from long, long ago, this is a rather winning overall presentation that delivers some surprisingly strong detail levels at times. There are definitely fluctations in clarity and thickness of grain, which I'm assuming may be due at least in part to differing elements, but considering some of the pretty aggressive tinting and toning that can be seen in many of the screenshots accompanying this review, detail levels are typically consistent and decently precise looking. Purples and blues are especially evocative and help to add a kind of gothic, spooky element to the visual presentation.

Waxworks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Waxworks features two radically different but very enjoyable scores available in either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. A piano score by Richard Siedhoff is more "traditional" in a silent cinema way, but is colorful and sounds nicely warm. An instrumental score by Ensemble Musikfabrik is a little more experimental, but is also wonderfully supportive of the action. There's surprising spaciousness in the stereo score, even in the solo piano version, but the surround tracks really open things up nicely, especially in the orchestral version.

Waxworks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with film critic and author Adrian Martin


• In Search of the Original Version of Paul Leni's Das Wachfigurenkabinett (HD; 20:29) is a really interesting interview with Julia Wallmuller from Deutsche Kinemathek.


• Kim Newman on Waxworks (HD; 17:14) is yet another fun interview with Newman, whose vest may attract considerable attention.


• Paul Leni's Rebus-Films Nr. 1 (HD; 15:24)

While Eureka only sent a check disc for purposes of this review, both a press sheet accompanying the check disc and Eureka's website mention that this release includes a collector's booklet featuring new essays by Philip Kemp and Richard Combs on the film's history and significance, notes on the restoration process by the Deutsche Kinemathek, and rarely seen production photographs and promotional material.

Waxworks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you were under the impression that this kind of peculiar subgenre got started with Mystery of the Wax Museum, you may find a lot to like in this odd but almost weirdly endearing film. There's a lot of style here, an if some of the performances seem a bit overwrought to modern day eyes, Leni's aesthetic is visceral and uniquely captivating. Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint regularly offers film fans unusual offerings with typically excellent technical merits and appealing supplements, and that's certainly the case here. Highly recommended.