Sappho (1921)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Sappho |
| Country of production | German Empire |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1921 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Dimitri Buchowetzki |
| script | Dimitri Buchwetzki based on the novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas the Elder |
| production | Paul Davidson |
| camera | Arpad Viragh |
| occupation | |
| |
Sappho is a German silent film drama from 1921 directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki with Pola Negri in the leading role.
action
The engineer Andreas de la Croix came across a society lady named Sappho, who turned his head a lot and whose erotic charisma and seduction games drove him insane. As a result, Andreas was sent to a mental hospital where his infatuation with that lady became delusional. When the bon vivant took Teddy Andreas' brother Richard to the Odeon one evening, he also met Sappho without knowing that this uninhibited woman was responsible for the downfall of Andreas. Richard therefore wants to take revenge on this woman, but it turns out as was to be feared: Richard also falls in love with Sappho, and contrary to expectations, this siren develops serious feelings for a man in him for the first time. Sappho decides to leave her life as a "man-murdering vamp" behind, while Richard, after knowing about her past and her offenses against Andreas, wants to end his relationship with her.
Richard, whose state of mind is now marked by dangerous delusions, suddenly turns away from Sappho. To get rid of her for good, he throws himself into a marriage with the good Maria Garden, a childhood friend. But like Andreas once upon a time, Richard cannot give up the demonic power of Sappho. He is almost urged to see the female siren again and to meet her. When they meet again, Sappho seems transformed. Richard's love for her has made Sappho a different, decent and sincere person over time.
Meanwhile, Andreas fled the insane asylum after killing his escape helper. In the chaos of the big city, he falls on a well-dressed man in a car, strangles him and snatches the clothes he is putting on. In his madness, Andreas is only interested in murdering the person who has caused him all this suffering: Sappho! At a festival, a masked ball, in which Richard and Sappho also take part, he can put them both in an intimate situation in one room. In the brief scuffle that follows, Andreas throws his brother, who was just closely entwined with Sappho, out of the room. Then he forces his kiss on the terrified Sappho and chokes her until she sinks lifelessly on his lap. Richard returns to the room with the help of ball guests and finds that Sappho is no longer alive. Weeping, he collapses on her dead body. In the final scene, Sappho's body is carried out of the room, Andreas looks frozen.
Production notes
Sappho was created in the Ufa-Messter-Atelier in Berlin-Tempelhof and was premiered on September 9, 1921 in the UT Kurfürstendamm. The length of the five-act act, which was banned from young people, was 1665 meters. The film opened in Austria on February 10, 1922, in the USA by Samuel Goldwyn on March 4, 1923 under the title Mad Love .
The buildings were designed by Robert Neppach .
Reviews
Paimann's film lists summed up: "The subject varies a theme that has already been used frequently, the presentation in the first acts is above average, but only in the last part does it become generous with excellent festival scenes, so that it can be seen in the pictures before and after the murder of the glamorous To reach climax. The game was consistently excellent, the photography was very good. "
“… In terms of technical quality, the film is worse than American films ten years ago. The idea shows trash, sex confusion and vulgarity, and the implementation is absurd. The only thing that this film has are the extensive film structures and some crowd scenes. [...] Pola Negri, with a hideous German make-up applied, may correspond to the Berlin idea of an irresistible siren, but her work is too crude for Broadway. Everything she does is nothing more than a new edition of the Theda Bara type, which America has removed from the screen for several years. "
In the March 5, 1923 edition of the New York Times , on the occasion of the US premiere of Mad Love, the following read: "... the same dynamic, lively, virtuoso Pola that Dubarry, Carmen and the Lady of the Camellias live on screen played as real people they might get to know or, if they are wise, would stay away from them. This time their roles are different but still of the same kind. Only their diversity makes the difference after all. It convinces them one more time that she is a very special person who plays her and nobody else, but in fact she is just another Carmen or another lady of the camellias. Well, this time it's Sappho. […] And in the end this woman dies of course. The story may be amoral if she doesn't, or possibly not convincing, which is just as bad. "
“Showing this film is an imposition for the public. While better than all Pola Negri films shown in America with the exception of "Madame Dubarry," this one is not one of those that appeal to American moviegoers. There is absolutely nothing likeable about him. "
“Pola's game is devoted, but it's too excessive. There is no subtlety that she once showed under Lubitsch. The male roles are all characterized by exaggeration in the game, and the handling of their various episodes are extremely clumsy. "
Individual evidence
Web links
- Sappho on silentsaregolden.com
- Sappho in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sappho at filmportal.de