"Die Freudlose Gasse" (1925) By G. W. Pabst

[Ferdinand Von Galitzien]

It is of course an excellent plan for a gloomy German count to begin a new and modern year watching again an appropriately gloomy film, an Expressionist classic that fits perfectly with any German aristocrat’s dour mood.

For that reason this German count decided to watch Herr G. W. Pabst’s “Die Freudlose Gasse” (1925). Of course it is always a pleasure to revisit this film especially now that has been restored and those Expressionist old reels edited in a pristine modern way. However, it was a risky venture for this aristocrat to walk through Melchior Strasse because, natürlich!!... this Herr Von prefers to be a guest at the Carlton Hotel where the richest, most idle men and women without scruples or morals, enjoy their decadent lives in time to the sound of the stock market bell. This way of enjoying life has nothing in common with the neighbours at Melchior street where squalor and desperation are part of their daily and miserable lives.

“Die Freudlose Gasse” is a superb oeuvre and exemplifies German Expressionist silent film . It has the expected claustrophobic sets which have a dark and suffocating atmosphere. We experience the poverty ( emotional and tangible ), the misery and hopelessness that engulfed Central Europe ( Austria this time ) during the first part of the last century. It is a story without compassion for the main characters be they rich or poor. It doesn’t matter which social class they belong to or the particular sins of each ( mockery, sarcasm, debauchery, social climbing, prostitution ). Both classes suffered and adapted themselves to their surroundings in a complex social situation. It is a story of a corrupt society and Herr Pabst’s social portrait of its members results in a dark and disturbing film, one without even a glimmer of mercy for its characters or hope for the future.

In this vast darkness we see the shining lights of Dame Greta Garbo and Dame Asta Nielsen, two of the best actress of the silent world. It is a privilege to watch them together in the same film; such splendid actresses who capture completely decadence, desperation and the loss of innocence.

“Die Freudlose Gasse” is an essential German Expressionist film; one of those films that from time to time must be watched again for its shocking audacity and excellent artistic merits. It is a down to earth, raw version of human society during the mid 20’s of the last century, a desperate and unscrupulous society that will finally plummet into an even bigger disaster.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must go from Melchior Strasse to the Carlton Hotel.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

[Murnau]

I have seen only the old and mutilated version but it was worth watching. Great drama about years of depression in Austria. Very effectively created milieu and Greta Garbo and Asta Nielsen in main roles. What more can I say? That I should buy Edition Filmmuseum’s new release as soon as possible.

[Einar the Lonely]

I wouldn't call the film "expressionist", though.
_________________
Kaum hatte Hutter die Brücke überschritten, da ergriffen ihn die unheimlichen Gesichte, von denen er mir oft erzählt hat.

[Ferdinand Von Galitzien]

[Einar the Lonely]

[Einar the Lonely]

GEHEIMNISSE EINER SEELE (Secrets of a Soul) includes both styles, but doesnt blend them, rather sets them apart (unlike CALIGARI which is more ambivalent even with the ending). It makes the secrets of the haunted soul look like a cross-word-puzzle that can be solved by benign Sherlock Freud shrinks as if it was some mathematical equation. Hitchcock later adapted that for SPELLBOUND...
_________________
Kaum hatte Hutter die Brücke überschritten, da ergriffen ihn die unheimlichen Gesichte, von denen er mir oft erzählt hat.

[Lokke Heiss]

[Einar the Lonely]

Agreed!

If I remember correctly (has been ten years since I saw this film on screen) even the acting is not homogenous. Also if comparing Werner Krauss in CALIGARI and FREUDLOSE GASSE it is hard to believe that this is the same man. The looks, the body language, etc. In GASSE he could as well be a character from Stroheim or some play by Ödon von Horvath, whereas Dr. Caligari is a pure expressionist abstraction (thats what tempted Herr Kracauer maybe.)
_________________
Kaum hatte Hutter die Brücke überschritten, da ergriffen ihn die unheimlichen Gesichte, von denen er mir oft erzählt hat.

[Harlett O'Dowd]

What is the state of this title on DVD? Wasn't there a recent German restoration? Will there be an american (Kino?) DVD release?
_________________
Harlett O'Dowd

[Lokke Heiss]

[Arndt]

[Einar the Lonely]

There is an odd review by a 20 year old Rudolf Arnheim published in 1925, "Dr. Caligari revisited", where he complains that the acting in the film is far too naturalistic and not expressionist enough, so it doesnt fit the sets. I'll translate here (excuse for the occasionally twisted unfunny "funny" style, it's like that in original):

[Einar the Lonely]

With all respect, even granted that audiences in 1925 perceived things differently Arnheim was obviously exaggerating far too much to make a point here. How is Krauss's and Veidt's make-up "not stylized", and how would it have looked to be dressed up like them while chilling in some Kurfürstendamm-Café...?? (But then maybe it wasnt so odd in some places in Berlin where it was fashionable "to wear Death"... )
_________________
Kaum hatte Hutter die Brücke überschritten, da ergriffen ihn die unheimlichen Gesichte, von denen er mir oft erzählt hat.

[Harlett O'Dowd]

[LouieD]

[Harlett O'Dowd]

[davidgasten]

Finally got this Region 0 PAL DVD. It is FABULOUS! A true epic of a movie with that hard, spooky lighting that most all the G.W. Pabst movies have. I would say of all the German silents I've seen (and I've seen a bunch), this is the sleaziest one I've seen yet; you can really feel the decadent, despairing vibe of the period. Makes the anarchy of the 70's look pretty happy in comparison. I can see why The Joyless Street got the scissors as much as it did, but it's good to have it back in all its sleazy, Cecil B. DeMille done German-style glory.

Supposedly there is still about 30 minutes missing from the movie, and I would say most of the missing footage that matters is toward the end of the movie. I wish they would have added some stills to fill out the missing footage a bit, but there is enough footage remaining that you still get a good idea of what is happening.

Really the only problem with The Joyless Street is that Asta Nielsen is miscast in it. Five years prior she could have played a teenage runaway turned hooker and pulled it off, but she looks every bit of 44 in the movie, so it doesn't look right. But she puts on a great show, and looks absolutely gorgeous in the glamorous "lady of the night" outfit with the blonde wig and the tiara/headdress. Now when she played the middle-aged prostitute in Dirnentragödie two years later in 1927, she was perfect in that role because she was the right age for it. It's just that her age betrays her in The Joyless Street. I would definitely not recommend The Joyless Street as a starting point for Asta; get the Asta Nielsen DFI DVD or wait for Hamlet (1920) to come out on DVD for a better idea of what Asta was all about.

Anyway, I'll have a review of The Joyless Street up on the Pola site before too long. Get this one as soon as you can!
_________________
David Gasten
Webmaster, The Pola Negri Appreciation Site
http://www.polanegri.com

[Spiritus]

[Einar the Lonely]

Having seen the film again now, there is one thing that strikes me, being born Viennese: for a film set in Vienna there is a complete lack of "Viennese" feeling. It has much more of a "Berlin atmosphere". The few exterior sets don't look much like Vienna, but rather like Babelsberg ateliers, which they were. Asta Nielsen and Greta Garbo, as great as they may be, are as far from being authentic "Wiener Mädel" (Viennese girls) as it gets (check Ophüls' LIEBELEI for comparison). The only identifiable "Viennese" type is the Werner Krauss character, a stereotype that appears again in Stroheim's WEDDING MARCH.
_________________
Kaum hatte Hutter die Brücke überschritten, da ergriffen ihn die unheimlichen Gesichte, von denen er mir oft erzählt hat.