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A top movie monster is back from filmic perdition, restored to his full might and power. Rabbi Lowe’s answer to the persecution of the ghetto is a mysterious unthinking automaton capable of terrible destruction. Paul Wegener’s indelible clay statue stands as a core myth in Jewish lore. But he’s still here, usually in allegories about mankind losing control of its own creations. With its imposing architecture and impressive special effects, this early expressionist masterpiece is one of the design highlights of silent cinema.

The Golem

Blu-ray

Kino Classics

1920 / B&w with tints / 1:33 silent ap. / 76 min. / Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam / Street Date April 14, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Lyda Salmonova, Ernst Deutsch, Lothar Müthel, Fritz Feld.

Cinematography: Karl Freund, Guido Seeber

Art Direction and design: Hans Poelzig, Kurt Richter, Edgar G. Ulmer

New Music scores: Stephen Horne, Admir Shkurtai,...

With the arrival of a new week comes a new batch of Blu-ray & DVD releases to keep you busy as you continue to hunker down at home. If you missed out on seeing it on the big screen earlier this year, now is your chance to finally catch up on William Eubank's Underwater, which is one of the best aquatic horror films to come out over the last few years. Scream Factory is showing some love to Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter on Tuesday with a brand new HD release of this cult classic from Hammer Films. Kino is resurrecting The Golem on Blu, and if you’re a big Sarah Michelle Gellar fan, her mind-bending 2008 thriller Possession is getting the HD treatment as well.

Other releases for April 14th include Hanukkah, Abominable, V: The Final Battle, Lycanimator, Getaway, and Ouijageist.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

In a small village in the remote English countryside,...

The Loves of Pharaoh: Ernst Lubitsch early historical epic (photo: Emil Jannings [center] in The Loves of Pharaoh) Ernst Lubitsch’s The Loves of Pharaoh (1922) exists only in a truncated version, with some stills and title cards inserted into the lost footage. Lubitsch’s early epic was screened at the 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The film tells the familiar story of the lustful, evil King Amenes (Emil Jannings), Pharaoh of Egypt, and his unrequited love for the Greek slave girl Theonis (Dagny Servaes), who loves the gallant Ramphis (Harry Liedtke), who, for his part, is being kept prisoner in a rock quarry. Pharaoh Amenes makes Theonis his Queen, but she manages to avoid getting in bed with him. Then those pesky Ethiopians want their Queen / Slave for their own and invade Egypt. Needless to say, Ramphis escapes to claim Theonis. The Loves of Pharaoh‘s tale of treachery and...

Thought lost for eighty years Ernst Lubitsch’s silent epic The Loves of Pharaoh, originally released in 1922, is now playing as part of the wonderful ‘Treasures’ strand in this year’s London Film Festival. Compiled from multiple prints the film has undergone an impressive restoration by the Bundesarchiv, The Munich Film Museum and George Eastman House, including the addition of stills and text to fill in for scenes that are still missing. These do not, thankfully, detract too much from a fluid viewing experience and are certainly essential in fully appreciating the story on screen. Work has also been done to restore the film’s original tints, which for the most part follow a stylistic logic, and the original score by Eduard Kunneke has been re-recorded and provides a rousing accompaniment to this rather bombastic affair.

It is obvious when watching The Loves of the Pharaoh that a lot of...