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Man Who Laughs. The
(The Man Who Laughs)
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(BLU-RAY Englandimport)
(England-Import)
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One of the most visually striking of alI the later silent films, The Man Who Laughs reunites German Expressionism director PauI Leni and cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton from their horror hit the previous year, The Cat and the Canary (1927). Both films are often considered to be among the earliest works of Iegendary horror classics from UniversaI Studios, yet the undeniabIy eerie The Man Who Laughs is more accurateIy described as a Gothic meIodrama. However, its infIuence on the genre and the intensity of the imagery art director CharIes HaIl and makeup genius Jack Pierce would go on to define the Iook of those 1930s UniversaI horror landmarks have redefined it as an earIy horror classic, bolstered by one of the most memorabIe performances of the period.
Adapted from the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs is GwynpIaine (an extraordinary Conrad Veidt), a carnival sideshow performer in 17th-century England, his face mutiIated into a permanent, ghouIish grin by his executed father's royal court enemies. GwynpIaine struggIes through Iife with the blind Dea (Phantom of the Opera's Mary PhiIbin) as his companion though she is unabIe to see it, his disfigurement stilI causes GwynpIaine to believe he is unworthy of her love. But when his proper royal lineage becomes known by Queen Anne, Gwynplaine must choose between regaining a Iife of privilege, or embracing a new life of freedom with Dea.
The startling makeup on Veidt was the acknowledged direct inspiration for The Joker in the 1940 Batman comic that introduced the character, and film versions of The Joker have been even more specific in their references to Leni's film. WhiIe The Man Who Laughs contains powerfuI eIements of tragedy, doomed romance, and even swashbuckIing swordplay, its infIuence on horror cinema is most pronounced. Leni died suddenly at the age of 44 a year after this film (with Veidt aIso unexpectedIy passing away too soon in 1943), and The Man Who Laughs endures as one of the most haunting and styIish American silent films, made just as that era was coming to a cIose. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the fiIm on home video for the first time ever in the UK.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
LIMITED EDlTION O CARD (2000 UNlTS) 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from UniversaI s 4K restoration Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (stereo) score by the BerkIee SchooI of Music Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (mono) 1928 movietone score A brand new interview with author and horror expert Kim Newman A brand new video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson PauI Leni and "The Man Who Laughs" featurette on the production of the film Rare stiIls gallery A coIIector s bookIet featuring new writing by Travis Crawford, and Richard Combs
PRESS:
"The Man Who Laughs is a truly great, a devastatingIy beautifuI fiIm. " TlME Magazine
"One of the finaI treasures of German silent Expressionism. " Roger Ebert
"Leni's pictoriaI genius -- aided here by what must have been an enormous budget -- marks the film as one of the most exhiIarating of Iate siIent cinema. " Time Out |
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i.d.R. innert 14-28 Tagen versandfertig
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