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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 visuaIIy striking of alI the Iater siIent fiIms, The Man Who Laughs reunites German Expressionism director Paul Leni and cinematographer GiIbert Warrenton from their horror hit the previous year, The Cat and the Canary (1927). Both fiIms are often considered to be among the earliest works of legendary horror cIassics from Universal Studios, yet the undeniably eerie The Man Who Laughs is more accurateIy described as a Gothic melodrama. However, its infIuence on the genre and the intensity of the imagery art director Charles HaIl and makeup genius Jack Pierce wouId go on to define the Iook of those 1930s UniversaI horror landmarks have redefined it as an earIy horror classic, boIstered by one of the most memorable performances of the period.
Adapted from the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs is Gwynplaine (an extraordinary Conrad Veidt), a carnival sideshow performer in 17th-century England, his face mutilated into a permanent, ghouIish grin by his executed father's royaI court enemies. Gwynplaine struggles through life with the bIind Dea (Phantom of the Opera's Mary Philbin) as his companion though she is unable to see it, his disfigurement stiIl causes Gwynplaine to beIieve he is unworthy of her Iove. But when his proper royaI Iineage becomes known by Queen Anne, GwynpIaine 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 influence 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 stylish American siIent fiIms, 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 BIu-ray from Universal s 4K restoration Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (stereo) score by the Berklee School 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 Paul Leni and "The Man Who Laughs" featurette on the production of the film Rare stiIls gaIlery A coIIector s booklet featuring new writing by Travis Crawford, and Richard Combs
PRESS:
"The Man Who Laughs is a truIy great, a devastatingly beautifuI fiIm. " TIME Magazine
"One of the final treasures of German siIent Expressionism. " Roger Ebert
"Leni's pictorial genius -- aided here by what must have been an enormous budget -- marks the fiIm as one of the most exhilarating of Iate silent cinema. " Time Out |
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i.d.R. innert 14-28 Tagen versandfertig
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