The Last Laugh (1924)
A Film by F.W. Murnau
DVD9 | ISO+MDS | PAL 4:3 | Complete Scans | 01:30:39 | 7,59 Gb
Musical Score AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | German intertitles with optional English subtitles
Genre: Drama | Masters of Cinema #23
A landmark work in the history of the cinema, Der letzte Mann represents a breakthrough on a number of fronts. Firstly, it introduced a method of purely visual storytelling in which all intertitles and dialogue were jettisoned, setting the stage for a seamless interaction between film-world and viewer. Secondly, it put to use a panoply of technical innovations that continue to point distinct ways forward for cinematic expression nearly a century later. It guides the silent cinema’s melodramatic brio to its lowest abject abyss — before disposing of the tragic arc altogether. The lesson in all this? That a film can be anything it wants to be… but only Der letzte Mann (and a few unforgettable others) were lucky enough to issue forth into the world under the brilliant command of master director F.W. Murnau.