ASPHALT (1929)

[David Alp]

Hi Guys;
I don't know whether to watch "Asphalt" (1929) on YouTube or not?? It's on there at 480 so is of relative good quality, although not HD. Is it a good film guys?? It says on IMDb that is is Produced by Murnau? Is this true??? If so it must be good?? However in the credits it says Produced by Erich Pommer. I might watch it?

[boblipton]

While Murnau's credit as producer of Asphalt does not mean it has to be good -- after all, it's not Smucker's -- it's a pretty good flick. Joe May is forgotten these days, but was pretty d**ned good in his day, even if Fritz Lang complained that May stole a lot of his credit.

Bob

[entredeuxguerres]

May, Murnau, Pommer--you're all missing the salient point...which is Betty Amman (who has much in common with Smucker's).

[rogerskarsten]

As far as I know, Murnau did not have anything to do with the production of ASPHALT. It's a terrific film, by the way, well worth your time.
~Roger

[David Alp]

I'm loving this film!! I have downloaded it off YouTube and I'm watching it on the TV.. (I feel really guilty for not buying it, and supporting film preservation as its $18 on Amazon). Mind you I think I will buy it anyway to see it more clearly.

Oh?? I'm confused?? So Murnau had nothing to do with it? Is that right?? It's SO atmospheric isn't it! The actress reminds me of Louise Brooks. Exact same hairstyle.

I am up to the fight scene where he kills the gangsters moll guy in her bedroom.

What confused me is, in the opening scenes, how did the diamond end up on the floor? I never saw it drop? I rewound it to check, but no, I never saw it actually drop on the floor?? So I don't know if she made it drop?? Or if the assistant dropped it??

[Mike Gebert]

The Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung is a modern film preservation foundation, owned by the German government, that holds the copyrights for a number of classic German films, including some of Murnau's. It did not exist in 1929.

[David Alp]

May, Murnau, Pommer--you're all missing the salient point...which is Betty Amman (who has much in common with Smucker's).

She wasn't very pretty I have to say... Betty Amman I mean. She was covered in thick make up so I never got to see her real face, it was like a mask. And those hats she wore were like helmets, they really used to PULL them down hard in the late 20's; it's a wonder that their hair underneath kept any bounce or life? The bit where she was lead off by the police, and she said goodbye to Gustav, she looked a bit like a man in drag.

[Big Silent Fan]

She wasn't very pretty I have to say... Betty Amman I mean. She was covered in thick make up so I never got to see her real face, it was like a mask.... The bit where she was lead off by the police, and she said goodbye to Gustav, she looked a bit like a man in drag.

Well I suppose this proves the old saying that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
I was as captivated by her charms just as the old jeweler was. Not that it matters, but did you know she was born in Germany to American parents, and that she grew up in the U.S.?

If you really feel the way you do, I recommend you not look for an even sharper image.

[Mitch Farish]

May, Murnau, Pommer--you're all missing the salient point...which is Betty Amman (who has much in common with Smucker's).

She wasn't very pretty I have to say... Betty Amman I mean. She was covered in thick make up so I never got to see her real face, it was like a mask. And those hats she wore were like helmets, they really used to PULL them down hard in the late 20's; it's a wonder that their hair underneath kept any bounce or life? The bit where she was lead off by the police, and she said goodbye to Gustav, she looked a bit like a man in drag.

Betty Amman may not be the greatest looking actress in the world (I remember reading where someone compared her to Liza Minnelli as Sally Boles). But drop-dead-gorgeous or not, she is sexy as hell in this movie. And I prefer the cloche caps women wore from the mid '20s to early '30s rather than the monstrosities they put on their heads in the late '30s to early '40s.

[entredeuxguerres]

...And I prefer the cloche caps women wore from the mid '20s to early '30s rather than the monstrosities they put on their heads in the late '30s to early '40s.

ABSOLUTELY! The most flattering femme-fashion statement ever conceived! Especially so for the most beautiful women, because of the way a cloche frames, & concentrates attention on, the face. (Probably pretty practical, too, when everyone who could do so rode in an open car.)

It went hand in hand of course with the bobbed cuts of the time, likewise the most flattering hair-treatment ever conceived. And notice in any picture from that time that includes women of college-age, middle-age, senior-age--this cut looks terrific on all of them.

[David Alp]

Well; I really enjoyed this film! It reminded me in a way of "The Last Laugh" because it had minimal title cards. The industry was definitely gearing more towards visuals, and leaving all of the title cards behind; which was such a brilliant move. It's almost a double edged sword shame that sound came in and took off so fast. We never got to see what silent films were ultimately capable of, [apart from Chaplin of course], and how they would have developed and flourished.

I loved the initial scenes most of the Big City, and the gliding camera movements that weaved and winded, and gradually lead us to the jewellers. I am guessing the camera was on a big boom? The camera just seemed to glide -- or float -- from the street, right into the shop, and then right up to the girl and the jeweller. We didn't need any title cards to tell us what was happening! And it was so clever and ingenious the way she kept the smile on her face, and her eyes on his eyes as she poked her umbrella down to the floor to retrieve the diamond! I loved that bit of business. And then her sobs when she was caught; And the jeweller saying "Oh -- poor thing, let her go" -- but obviously the policeman wouldn't do that.

There were also very close resemblances to "SUNRISE" with the photography. In one of the scenes with the old couple, (i.e. the policeman's Mother and Father), there was a bit which copied Murnau's scene in "SUNRISE" with the old couple who were sheltering/lodging The Woman From The City. The scene with the lamp dominating the forefront, where the woman from city comes into the kitchen to get her shoes cleaned by the old woman. In "ASPHALT" we get to see almost the exact same composition; an old man and an old woman sitting in a kitchen; the lamp being at the forefront of the scene, dominating the whole composition, and the camera slightly tilted to give an impressionistic feel to the whole scenario. It was excellent!

I'm surprised this film isn't more widely known than "SUNRISE" and/or "CITY GIRL" - because it had all the ingredients of such films, but maybe it is because it was not directed by Murnau? I don't know?

[Mike Gebert]

Joe May is definitely underrated, because his films have been hard to see-- or maybe the reverse is true. I saw references to The Indian Tomb in books for ages before I ever had a chance to see it when David Shepard put it out on DVD, but I loved it-- and the same for Asphalt. Maybe he isn't quite an auteur like Lang, in terms of having a set of consistent themes (or a long Hollywood career; he directed a few things but never really took off). But I think he also got sideswiped a bit by Lang's dismissal of him, for directing The Indian Tomb instead of Lang, yet I think it's much more assured and stylish than Lang's similar work (particularly The Spiders) of the same time. Anyway, based on those two he was a stylish and talented hand, and I'm reminded of Fedor Ozep's situation, where an interesting and highly capable director is dismissed not based on actually seeing his flms, but on the say-so of his rivals at the time. (I also picked up Grapevine's DVD of Homecoming (1928) but have yet to watch it.)

Oh, and yeah, Betty Amann in Asphalt is about the hottest thing in silent pictures.

[fredhedges]

Homecoming (Heimkehr), released in 1928, is a wonderful film and, like Asphalt, shows Joe May to be a real master. Unfortunately, both "The Haunted Screen" and "From Caligari to Hitler", probably the two most influential works on German film criticism written, dismiss May: Lotte Eisner calls him a "small talent", and Kracauer, while admitting that Homecoming contains an "interesting scene", says that it excels in "misrepresenting emotions". And these types of criticisms were echoed through the years by critics who never actually saw the films in question.
I suggest that anyone interested download the longer (nearly 2 hours) version of Heimkehr to be found linked to the European Film Gateway, or go to the source at:
http://www.filmportal.de/video/heimkehr" target="_blank

[Jess McGrath]

I completely concur on HOMECOMING - a great and very underrated film. I caught this at MOMA last month and was blown away.

And thanks for the sharing the link to the European version. The version shown at MOMA was the American release version and appeared to be in 16mm. That print also ended fairly abruptly, with a staff member speculating that it wasn't clear if that's how the American version really ended, or if the original American ending had been lost due to deterioration. It was great to see the European ending on this print - and to see a much higher quality print as well - it does a nice job of capturing the beautiful photography.

[David Alp]

Wow, thank you, that's a clear print! But how come there is no music? Very odd! And how come it's just there for free for anyone to download? I was thinking I was going to have to pay for it?? But it seems that its free?

(I haven't had time to watch it all yet; but I shall do... And will report back).

[Agnes]

If it had music( which would, of course have to be added more recently by musicians who need to be paid to keep themselves alive) ,it might not be free.

AND no music is better than bad music( think Maria Newman).
I would rather play appropriate music on my CD player, or in my head than to try to get a terrible score out of my head.

[David Alp]

If it had music( which would, of course have to be added more recently by musicians who need to be paid to keep themselves alive) ,it might not be free.

AND no music is better than bad music( think Maria Newman).
I would rather play appropriate music on my CD player, or in my head than to try to get a terrible score out of my head.

Good idea Agnes. I think what I shall do is burn it to a DVD-R, play it on the television set, and then put on the music to either "Sunrise" or "Street Angel" or "7th Heaven"... Can't beat those scores!

[Big Silent Fan]

Good idea Agnes. I think what I shall do is burn it to a DVD-R, play it on the television set, and then put on the music to either "Sunrise" or "Street Angel" or "7th Heaven"... Can't beat those scores!

I rented this from Netflix with a musical score nicely timed to the action. I was very pleased.

[FrankFay]

All of them are fine scores, but "7th Heaven" and "Street Angel" do plug the theme songs to the point of absurdity. DIANNE is a beautiful tune and is very effective in spots, but it gets used twice as much as it should be- and the same with "Angela Mia". Other than that, the scores are beauties.

[fredhedges]

Filmportal.de is a terrific site in general that bears exploration by anyone interested in German films. I have found, among other things, a beautiful and apparently complete version of Karl Gruene's Am Rande der Welt, Brigitte Helm's second film, after Metropolis. Also a pretty crude old Lubitsch, Das fidele Gefaengnis, Asta Nielsen's Hamlet (newly restored), advertising films, newsreels, lots of cool stuff, and all for free.

[oldposterho]

Am I the only one who can't get Heimkehr to play? Is filmportal.de only for European eyes and us 'Mericans are left out? The 'loading' circle dealie just spins and spins in both Firefox and IE. Some great stuff there that I'd love to see.

--Peter

[Big Silent Fan]

Am I the only one who can't get Heimkehr to play? Is filmportal.de only for European eyes and us 'Mericans are left out?

Apparently, it's you.

Here in Florida, the video loads quickly and plays just fine...without sound of course.

[oldposterho]

Doh. Figures...

Thanks for the reply.

[Salty Dog]

Good idea Agnes. I think what I shall do is burn it to a DVD-R, play it on the television set, and then put on the music to either "Sunrise" or "Street Angel" or "7th Heaven"... Can't beat those scores!

Unless I am missing something, I don't see an option to download the movie (to burn to a DVD-R);
only to play a stream.

[David Alp]

Good idea Agnes. I think what I shall do is burn it to a DVD-R, play it on the television set, and then put on the music to either "Sunrise" or "Street Angel" or "7th Heaven"... Can't beat those scores!

Unless I am missing something, I don't see an option to download the movie (to burn to a DVD-R);
only to play a stream.

Oh I've given it to my friend to do... I wouldn't have the least idea of how to burn it to a DVD-R??? He is a techy whiz kid and will know how to do it for me...