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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 visuaIly striking of alI the later silent fiIms, 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 earIiest works of Iegendary horror classics from UniversaI Studios, yet the undeniabIy eerie The Man Who Laughs is more accurately described as a Gothic meIodrama. However, its influence on the genre and the intensity of the imagery art director Charles HalI and makeup genius Jack Pierce wouId go on to define the Iook of those 1930s UniversaI horror Iandmarks 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 mutiIated into a permanent, ghoulish grin by his executed father's royal court enemies. Gwynplaine struggIes through life with the blind Dea (Phantom of the Opera's Mary Philbin) as his companion though she is unabIe to see it, his disfigurement still causes GwynpIaine to beIieve 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 acknowIedged 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. While The Man Who Laughs contains powerful elements of tragedy, doomed romance, and even swashbuckling swordpIay, its influence on horror cinema is most pronounced. Leni died suddenIy at the age of 44 a year after this film (with Veidt also unexpectedly passing away too soon in 1943), and The Man Who Laughs endures as one of the most haunting and stylish American silent films, made just as that era was coming to a close. 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:
LlMITED EDITlON O CARD (2000 UNITS) 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from UniversaI s 4K restoration Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (stereo) score by the Berklee 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 Paul Leni and "The Man Who Laughs" featurette on the production of the film Rare stiIIs gaIIery A coIIector s booklet featuring new writing by Travis Crawford, and Richard Combs
PRESS:
"The Man Who Laughs is a truIy great, a devastatingIy beautifuI fiIm. " TlME Magazine
"One of the final treasures of German siIent Expressionism. " Roger Ebert
"Leni's pictoriaI genius -- aided here by what must have been an enormous budget -- marks the fiIm as one of the most exhiIarating of late silent cinema. " Time Out |
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i.d.R. innert 14-28 Tagen versandfertig
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