This is great film making.
The whole 'James Bond' spy genre came from this film. It has it all. First, we have Haghi, the physically flawed (here wheelchair bound, and exhaling cigarette smoke out of only one nostril) but evil genius masterminding a global plot. He's played by the great Rudolf Klein-Rogge, who was the too hammy Rotwang in 'Metropolis' (1927); he totally dominates the film in terms of screen time and acting. In his 'evil' disguise (he has two others) he looks just like Lenin!
Then we have the Secret Service spy hero, known as Number 326 (Willy Fritsch), who falls in love and has an affair with his Russian spy counterpart, Sonya (Gerda Maurus). Even the 'dialog' sequences between Haghi and Sonya have a Bondish flair! There's the female spy who seduces the Japanese diplomat to steal the Secret Treaty with Japan. Then there's the (seemingly) international cast of Germans, Japanese and a black bartender, and the movement between countries. There are the high tech gadgets, from the buttons on Haghi's desk, to the lapel mini-camera, and the screen relaying spy messages and the abundance of spies, moles and counterspies. Then comes the suspenseful plot to kill 326 on a train going to 'the border.' Finally, the exciting, dangerous rescue of Sonya, and the last undoing of Haghi. All this in a silent movie of 1928!
The masterful cinematography by Lang and his crew make this film immensely watchable. There are fantastic dissolves and rapid cutting, great close framing, and wonderful tracking shots. What a text book of film making!
The addition of a modern soundtrack to the KINO version, which uses various instruments (piano, flute, bassoon, koto, bongos and other instruments) in solo, duet, trio and ensemble passages is little more than amazing, and is without a doubt one of the most appropriate soundtracks ever made for a silent film. The music adds emphasis and feeling to every shot. One of the best moments is when the Japanese diplomat, deeply guilt ridden for allowing the evil spy Kitty (Lien Deyer, in her first film) to seduce him and steal the Treaty, commits ritual suicide (seppuku) in a tatami mat room, with koto and piano playing a duet symbolizing the clash of cultures. Masterful! Another fantastic modern soundtrack is the KINO one for 'Woman in the Moon' (1929), also directed by Lang and also starring Gerda Maurus and Willy Fritsch.
There are a couple of minor glitches, however. Willy Fritsch is not a rough, tough sexy Bond figure, but just moons over Sonya like a little puppy dog whenever he sees her; but Gerda Maurus as Sonya, aware of her dual role as his enemy / lover though he at first is not, does a much better job because she displays the range of conflicted feelings appropriate to the role, and without overacting. The other problem is the train wreck. It's not really made clear what train Sonya was on and why she wasn't involved in the crash of the two trains. This problem may have stemmed from the fact that this film has been reconstructed from various sources, primarily from an Austrian print.
So I'll give it a 9, not a 10, but it is certainly a film to be seen, and guaranteed to be enjoyed by anyone whether knowledgeable about silent films or not.
The whole 'James Bond' spy genre came from this film. It has it all. First, we have Haghi, the physically flawed (here wheelchair bound, and exhaling cigarette smoke out of only one nostril) but evil genius masterminding a global plot. He's played by the great Rudolf Klein-Rogge, who was the too hammy Rotwang in 'Metropolis' (1927); he totally dominates the film in terms of screen time and acting. In his 'evil' disguise (he has two others) he looks just like Lenin!
Then we have the Secret Service spy hero, known as Number 326 (Willy Fritsch), who falls in love and has an affair with his Russian spy counterpart, Sonya (Gerda Maurus). Even the 'dialog' sequences between Haghi and Sonya have a Bondish flair! There's the female spy who seduces the Japanese diplomat to steal the Secret Treaty with Japan. Then there's the (seemingly) international cast of Germans, Japanese and a black bartender, and the movement between countries. There are the high tech gadgets, from the buttons on Haghi's desk, to the lapel mini-camera, and the screen relaying spy messages and the abundance of spies, moles and counterspies. Then comes the suspenseful plot to kill 326 on a train going to 'the border.' Finally, the exciting, dangerous rescue of Sonya, and the last undoing of Haghi. All this in a silent movie of 1928!
The masterful cinematography by Lang and his crew make this film immensely watchable. There are fantastic dissolves and rapid cutting, great close framing, and wonderful tracking shots. What a text book of film making!
The addition of a modern soundtrack to the KINO version, which uses various instruments (piano, flute, bassoon, koto, bongos and other instruments) in solo, duet, trio and ensemble passages is little more than amazing, and is without a doubt one of the most appropriate soundtracks ever made for a silent film. The music adds emphasis and feeling to every shot. One of the best moments is when the Japanese diplomat, deeply guilt ridden for allowing the evil spy Kitty (Lien Deyer, in her first film) to seduce him and steal the Treaty, commits ritual suicide (seppuku) in a tatami mat room, with koto and piano playing a duet symbolizing the clash of cultures. Masterful! Another fantastic modern soundtrack is the KINO one for 'Woman in the Moon' (1929), also directed by Lang and also starring Gerda Maurus and Willy Fritsch.
There are a couple of minor glitches, however. Willy Fritsch is not a rough, tough sexy Bond figure, but just moons over Sonya like a little puppy dog whenever he sees her; but Gerda Maurus as Sonya, aware of her dual role as his enemy / lover though he at first is not, does a much better job because she displays the range of conflicted feelings appropriate to the role, and without overacting. The other problem is the train wreck. It's not really made clear what train Sonya was on and why she wasn't involved in the crash of the two trains. This problem may have stemmed from the fact that this film has been reconstructed from various sources, primarily from an Austrian print.
So I'll give it a 9, not a 10, but it is certainly a film to be seen, and guaranteed to be enjoyed by anyone whether knowledgeable about silent films or not.