Powerful

A Masterpiece!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

"Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam" or "The Golem: How He Came Into the World" is a German, 100-minute (the version I saw) movie from 1920, so 5 years from now it will have its 100th anniversary. It is a silent film, don't be fooled by soundtracks added later and there is of course no colors in here. Paul Wegener (whose wife plays the female lead, which was pretty common back then) is co-writer, co-director and also the one who plays the title character. He made another Golem movie in 1915, which is apparently lost, but he was not too happy with the outcome and reception, so he gave the subject a new try 5 years later. In-between, in 1917, there is another Golem movie, in which he meets a dancer. I must say, even if I liked the looks of the Golem, I was mostly underwhelmed by this silent film here. Historic references are possibly the most interesting aspect and with the way it references antisemitic people as the Golem has to protect Jews, it is also a bit of a forecast of what is going to happen in Germany in the next 25 years. Anyway, this film here is considered one of the best expressionism films from silent movie Germany, but I cannot share that sentiment. Then again, the genre is not exactly my favorite either. Still, not recommended.

"The Golem" lays the cinematic groundwork for the 1931 motion picture version of "Frankenstein" . In character design, wardrobe, and interaction with its creator and the world around it, the two monsters do resemble one another. In this case, "The Golem", is a monster created from clay and magic rather than from spare body parts and science, and the monster's creator is a Rabbi. I think I was more shocked to see a Rabbi portrayed as someone who openly dabbled in the black arts and astrology than anything else the film offered. The Rabbi is even shown conjuring up a "god" - Asteroth - and forcing him to produce the life-giving word to bring "The Golem" to life. Any casual reader of the Old Testament will see that the Jews were repeatedly warned against having anything to do with the occult - it was considered blasphemy and worthy of the death penalty under Jewish law. If this is how Germans perceived the practice of the Jewish religion in 1920, fifteen years before the Holocaust began, it might explain a great deal, but nothing about this aspect of the film is mentioned in the extra features of the Kino set in which I saw it, "German Horror Classics".One more interesting parallel to the 1931 film "Frankenstein" is in how the Golem, originally created to protect the Jews but now on a rampage, is destroyed. It is a twist on a similar innocent act in "Frankenstein", one so horrific in its effect that the scene was exorcised from prints of Frankenstein throughout the production code era. I suggest you watch both films and see what I'm talking about.

The giant frame of Paul Wegener as the Golem is one of the best known characters from the silent era, and one of the first icons of horror. Der Golem is actually the third film to feature the character, the first being The Golem (1915), and the second The Golem And The Dancing Girl (1917), which is a short comedy with Wegener donning the costume to frighten a girl he is in love with. Tragically, those two films are now considered lost, and only fragments equalling about 14 minutes of the first film remain. This film is actually a prequel, and it's full title is Der Golem: Wie Er In Die Welt Kam (How He Came Into The World), but is now commonly know as simply Der Golem.The Jews of medieval Prague face persecution from the townsfolk. Terrified of their doomed fate, Rabbi Loew (Albert Steinruck) uses his skills in black magic to create The Golem, a mythical figure from Jewish folklore. He is made entirely from clay, and has an amulet in his chest that gives him power, and when removed turns him back into lifeless clay. He is initially used as a servant, and then to terrify the townsfolk who are threatening them. The Golem eventually gets tired of being used as a tool of fear and begins to turn on his creator, and starts to lay waste to the Ghetto.Like the majority of films made in Weimar Germany, the film has an expressionist tone, with lavish, artistic sets that dominate the frame. Similar in feel to the great Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari, it is however more subtle in its artistic flair, and lacks Caligari's rickety (although wonderful in its own way) sets. It is also quite terrifying in its realisation of a segregation that would occur in the country only a decade later, although it does portray the Jews as vengeful and as studying the dark arts.The Golem itself is a great movie monster. Tragic in the same way as Frankenstein's monster, he is brought into the world without having asked to be, and is expected to carry out terrible acts against his will. Paul Wagener portrays him with all silent intensity and uncontrollable rage, with his towering frame sending his enemies running for the hills. He also impressively co-wrote and co-directed the film. This is an enjoyable film that breezes by in its rather slight running time, and can be forgiven for some over-acting and the occasional tedious scene. It also has some interesting social comments, and is a frightening prelude to one of the most horrific periods in Europe's history.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Most of what we see here we saw first in DER GOLEM, the initial entry in this series ("History's first horror series!"). That's not a criticism, per se, just an observation. The true marvel of this movie (aside from the Golem himself, of course) is the fidelity to the illustrations in the book: the sets are literally three-dimensional representations of the artwork therein. For those who feel that the tale here told is almost prescient, consider this cold, hard fact: the Nachtmare to come might not have occurred at all without the anti-semitism festering in this country during the early part of the 20th century. I refer those interested to the book THE NAZI NEXUS. As for this movie, see it for the stunning sets if nothing else.