a silent movie by Robert Wiene
Social & External
The people behind it
Erika Glässner
Mary Wilford
Friedrich Fehér
Ludwig Hartau
Reinhold Köstlin
Hermann Vallentin
After the death in suspicious circumstances of Charles Baskerville, the last descendant of the lineage of the Baskervilles, Henry, returned to the old family mansion. The charismatic detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful assistant, Dr. Watson, investigating the case, and discover the existence of a supernatural hound that in addition murderer according to history, killed many years ago Hugo Baskerville, the first of the line, and it seems that the curse stalks his descendants.
In 1916 the Santiago society shuddered with the crime of a wealthy businessman. Corina Rojas, his young wife, was the first woman sentenced to death in Chile and her story inspired the first national feature film.
Big Bill Branigan, one of the tough characters of London's Limehouse district, falls in love with Curlytop because of her sweet innocence. He leaves his sweetheart, Bessie, for her and resolves to go straight. When he sets out to find a job, the jealous Bessie gets Curlytop drunk and hacks off her long curls.
Bhadon, an aged chemist, actuated by the decree of Buddha that in America the secret of making artificial diamonds would be discovered, gives his life to the cause and succeeds. Elated at his titanic success. Bhadon sends his trusted Hindoo servant to the high priest in India, pleading that Shedah might be spared to assist in disposing of the product. Shedah, the powerful emissary for the cause, is dispatched with her two bodyguards to American soil, where, through her wiles and marvelous beauty, she is enabled to effect sale after sale to the wealthy. This monstrous flooding of the American market with gems of astonishing brilliancy and value alarms, to a marked degree, the Kimberly interests, who controlled this outlet.
New York society member Priscilla Maine is troubled by strange dreams in which she vividly sees members of the underworld involved in a murder. She confides this to her admirer, Dr. Philip Fosdick, who undertakes to solve the mystery.
William Dale, a servant for Lord Barradine, marries Mavis, a maid. Dale wants to move up in life, and with Lord Barradine's influence, becomes district postmaster. When he vents his anger at a soldier however, Dale is in danger of losing his job.
About the booming of smuggling alcohol across the Baltic Sea between Estonia and the neighboring and alcohol prohibited Finland. Fiery love relationships are another theme of the film.
A three-card-trick player wins at strip-poker.
This film sticks very closely to the Edna Ferber novel, rather than the musical based on the novel. There are only two major changes from Ferber's book : *Julie in this version is a white woman, not a racially mixed one; therefore she and her husband are not unlawfully married. * Ravenal returns at the end, instead of dying as in the novel
The dashing but arrogant Prince Michael Fedor Lubimoff has to flee Tsarist Russia after falling into disgrace and settles in Monte Carlo, where he resumes his life of debauchery while World War I ravages the fields of Europe… (Partially lost film; reels 3 and 9 of a total of 11 are missing.)
A BFI collection of 7 short films from the USA, England and Italy scored for Piano, Guitar and String Quartet.
Bear (10 minutes, 35 seconds) was Steve McQueen's first major film. Although not an overtly political work, for many viewers it raises sensitive issues about race, homoeroticism and violence. It depicts two naked men – one of whom is the artist – tussling and teasing one another in an encounter which shifts between tenderness and aggression. The film is silent but a series of stares, glances and winks between the protagonists creates an optical language of flirtation and threat.
In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperinflation.
Miha invites his fiancée Minka to the dance, but he's tempted by another big desire of his - climbing. Frustrated Minka insists on the festivity, where she finds herself in a company of older hiker. However, all ends happily, as Minka and Miha, after many smaller adventures, meet at the top of Mount Triglav, where they sign the marriage contract, but also confirming their love for the mountains. In addition to its charming story, the movie features footage of picturesque Slovenian mountains.
A 1920 film directed by Roy William Neill.
A hobo takes revenge to a miller who didn't give him something to eat.
This film begins with the invocation of 'almighty god' at a river where several people are gathered. The child god Krishna rises out of the water astride the demon snake Kaliya. Then we see Yashoda as she rocks the sleeping Krishna's crib and imagines the god as Gopala. The next scene shows Kamsa fantasizing about Krishna threateningly duplicated many times around him. Kamsa then imagines himself dead as his severed head rises up and descends again. People of all castes pay obeisance to the deity with the title-card: 'may this humble offering be accepted by the Lord'.
A tramp cares for a boy after he's abandoned as a newborn by his mother. Later the mother has a change of heart and aches to be reunited with her son.
A gangster falls for a blind violinist, only for his mobster rivals to kidnap her.
A nobleman vows to avenge the death of his father by the hands of pirates. To this end, he infiltrates the pirate band; Acting in character, he single-handedly captures a merchant vessel, but things are complicated when he finds that there is a beautiful young woman of royal blood aboard.
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement, only to discover the horrifying truth behind her success.
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
At the dawn of World War II, a young motorcycle courier in the Austrian army encounters a wounded fox cub and takes it with him to occupied France. The soldier and the fox develop an unlikely bond. Based on the true story of Franz Streitberger, director Adrian Goiginger’s great-grandfather.
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
