Tartuffe

Beschrijving
An expressionistic retelling of the classic Moliere story, Murnau contemporized his version by setting the exploration of morality and hypocrisy amidst a housekeeper's murder plot. Here, the housekeeper (Rosa Valetti) schemes to poison her employer (Hermann Picha) in order to take control of his estate and fortune. However, the employer's grandson (Andre Mattoni) becomes wise to her plot, and shows his grandfather a film of Moliere's TARTUFFE to expose her plan.
A devious housekeeper convinces her master to cut his worthy grandson out of his will and to leave the riches to her instead. The grandson, disguised as the projectionist of a travelling cinema show, flatters his way into the home to project a film of Tartuffe in an attempt to open his grandfather's eyes. Emil Jannings plays Tartuffe with creepy panache in a tour-de-force turn alongside Lil Dagover and Werner Krauss. Unjustly neglected for decades, perhaps because of its low-key nature compared with Murnau's more grand masterpieces, this delightful curiosity is more than a mere trifle. Tartuffe affirms Murnau as a master of multifarious cinematic disciplines: from the set-based dreams of Faust and Sunrise, to the naturalist landscapes of Nosferatu, City Girl, and Tabu. In Tartuffe we find an intimate Murnau, relying on close-ups and the performances of his actors to create magic. This DVD contains the best surviving version of the film, German intertitles, optional English subtitles, tinting, and is presented at the correct speed. Restored in 2002 by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv Berlin/Koblenz and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung of Wiesbaden.

Regisseur: F.W. Murnau

Cast: Hermann Picha, Rosa Valetti and André Mattoni

Tussentitels: Duits Ondertiteling: Engels