Die ewige Nacht
director: Urban Gad
years: 1914/ 1915 country: Germany alternative titles: Mimisches Drama Sculptor Frank Norbert achieves success and recognition with the blind Marta as both his muse and model. After completing a statue of the blind woman, the commissions pile up. Frank then falls in love with one of his new clients, the beautiful Countess Ulrike von Barzau, and turns away from Marta. Soon thereafter, his art begins to suffer and his success crumbles. On his knees he begs the blind muse to return to him. Marta agrees. For some time they live together in harmony, but as soon as Frank has captured her likeness in an enormous monument, Marta once again loses him to the countess. In her anger, she decides to destroy the monument. The falling stone buries her alive. Screenplay: Urban Gad.
Director of Photography: Karl Freund, Axel Graatkjær. Set Design: Fritz Seyffert. Cast: Mr. Kronburger [aka Otto Kronburger?] (sculptor Paul Freund), Max Landa (sculptor Frank Norbert), Asta Nielsen (Marta, the blind girl), Hertha Schönfeld (Baroness Ulrike von Barzau). Production Company: Projektions-AG 'Union' (PAGU), Berlin. Producer: Paul Davidson. Unit manager: Ernst Körner. Initial Distributor: Nordische Film Co. GmbH, Berlin. Studio: Union-Atelier Berlin-Tempelhof. Length: 3 acts, 1039 m. Format: 35 mm, 1:1.33. Picture/Sound: b/w, silent. Censorship Details: 17 Sept 1915, forbidden during the war; Dec 1915, ban for young people. Première: 11 Feb 1916. Copyright Holder: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden |
A 75m fragment of this film was recently located in the collection of the Danish Film Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. The discovery came about as a result of the Danish Film Institute's project to locate all the surviving films featuring Asta Nielsen, which took place over 2005/2006. The project was announced in the 69th Journel of Film Preservation, published by FIAF in May 2005, and on the Danish Film institute's website. Thanks to Thomas Christensen, Danish Film Instsitute, for providing information about the discovery.
Oliver Hanley, Deutsche Kinemathek The views expressed here belong to the author of the comment and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Deutsche Kinemathek.
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