German Cinema in Focus
We invite you to
Waxworks (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett), directed by
Paul Leni and Leo Birinski. This screening is part of our ongoing film series German Cinema in Focus. Waxworks will be the last film we are showing from the movement of German Expressionism.
Waxworks is an anthology film by filmmaker Paul Leni and playwright Leo Birinski. The film follows a poet who is hired by a show-booth owner to invent stories for the waxwork figures he exhibits. The poet accepts the commission so that he can be close to the owner’s beautiful daughter.
Waxworks shows three of these stories, as inserted episodes. “Sultan Harun al Rachid” falls in love with the beautiful wife of a pie-maker, and comic-dramatic intrigues ensue. This is followed by the episode “Ivan the Terrible”. Czar Ivan has conceived a plan whereby his enemy is poisoned by a specially mixed brew; but he becomes obsessed by the fear that he himself will be poisoned and finally goes mad. The episode “Jack the Ripper” is particularly sinister. Real and invented characters whirl around to an eerie rhythm. But this turns out to be the poet’s dream vision - he has fallen asleep while writing - and he wakes up in the arms of his lover.
The film stands as a wonderful example of the expressionist movement in German cinema, spanning over various genres of fantasy, adventure, history, and horror.
Waxworks by Paul Leni and Leo Birinski
1924 | 83 min.
b/w, silent
German Expressionism was a radical movement in various cultural fields which, like Dada and Surrealism, was largely a reaction to the horrors of World War I. The movement in cinema saw a rejection of traditional approaches in favor of depicting bleak themes. Regarded as one of most important film movements, it is marked by its non-realistic set designs and geometry, exaggerated worlds, chiaroscuro lighting, sharp angles, and an exterior depiction of the interior unconscious mind and reality. German Expressionism included themes of horror, psychosis, murder, dreams, class struggle, among many others.
Paul Leni was one of the key figures in German Expressionism who is known for works such as The Man Who Laughs, The Chinese Parrot, Backstairs, The Last Warning etc. Starting out as an avant-garde painter, he has worked in various fields as a set designer, costume designer, writer etc. His Hollywood debut The Cat and the Canary (1927) greatly influenced Universal Studio’s Haunted House series and the titular character from his The Man Who Laughs (1928) served as an inspiration to DC’s Joker from The Batman.
Leo Birinski was a playwright and screenwriter who contributed to various films and stage plays both in Germany and the USA. He has contributed to various pre-code films like Mata Hari, The Song of Songs, Love and the Devil etc. The events of his life are not known much, except for the stories he has penned.
Entry free!
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