This DVD is much better than the three pack of Golem/Caligari/Nosferatu released several years ago, because like the individual DVD releases of Caligari and Nosferatu (with the curious exception of Metropolis) the film's actual tints and title cards are restored, thus viewers are able to see what they initially missed through earlier VHS releases.

Paul Wegener's Golem is very much portrayed as a precursor to Karloff's Frankenstein Monster. Hulking, sympathetic, misunderstanding, easily crossed, and feared by all except children. The films imagery is remarkable with the astrological symbols and sights of the stars in the sky, making the film atmospherical and at the same time suspenseful. The scene in which Rabbi Loew (Albert Steinruck) harbors black magic by spawning a ring of fire about him whilst spelling the magic words of ASTAROTH is still spellbinding after 80 years.

Legends of creatures made from clay are as old as recorded history. These were artificial men made of clay or mud, which was brought to life when the name of God is pronounced over it. Some stories say that it is then able to understand orders and is just great for doing housework. Others say that it can be used as a frightening type of bodyguard. Either way, it seemed that if you had a pet golem, there would be trouble right around the corner. On its' forehead is written the Jewish word EMETH, which means "truth". Every day the golem would become bigger and bigger, and heavier and heavier. Finally it would become a nuisance, if not a downright danger, to have it around the house. So the first letter of the word on his forehead must be rubbed out. The inscription now would read METH, which now would mean "he is dead". The golem would collapse and turn into clay once again. One story w䁡s told of a golem that grew so tall and large that its' master could not reach its forehead to rub out the magic letter. So the golem was ordered to take off its shoes. When it bent over to do this, its' master quickly erased the first letter. Unfortunately the golem turned into a huge lump of clay and fell on top of its' master, thereby crushing him to death. Rabbi Loew has a different method by simply snatching the magical symbol from the Golem's chest.

For those of you who own the recent VHS releases and want to know the name of the beautiful music piece heard throughout the film, it is "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Minor" composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Karl Freund and Edgar G. Ulmer (who later directed the 1934 classic THE BLACK CAT) give the film their usual fantastic photography to the film. Lyda Salmonova is still an eye opener as Miriam, and look fast for Greta Schroeder (who appeared later as Ellen in NOSFERATU) as a flower girl.


Silly Rabbi, Tricks Is For Kids   July 30, 2005
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I first saw The Golem when I was 12 and have loved it ever since. At the time I had to go to the public library, and borrow an actual film reel, and watch it inside their film vault, because this was not only before the DVD, but even before the VCR became so prevalent. I've always been a fan of the old Univeral studio horror movies, and I wanted to see how The Golem might have influenced Frankenstein. I found that the costume and makeup may have been influential, but little else, other than minor plot points. The key to the Frankenstein film was that the monster became murderous because of a damaged brain, and in the source novel because he was tormented by society. It's questionable whether a clay statue even has a brain to damage, and he certainly wasn't tormented. As he did his daily chores around the village, people seemed to be used to his presence. So there was no torchlit chase scene to cap the movie either.

The Golem's costume with its padded up bulk, although Paul Wegener was a big man already, and his huge boots, clearly were echoed in Frankenstein. Some photos of Hamilton Deane in the Peggy Webling play Frankenstein (that the movie was based on) suggested a makeup inspired by The Golem. However, some of the appearance, especially the built up forehead, seemed to be already present in Thomas Edison's 1910 version of Frankenstein, with Charles Ogle. Edward Van Sloan compared Bela Lugosi's monster makeup, in a test reel for the part of the monster, as being very much like the Golem. Lugosi was described as having a polished clay-like skin and broad wig that made his head a bit large. Since Lugosi designed much of his own makeup with Jack Pierce's help, Pierce's claim about all the research he did for Karloff's make-up sounds like hot-air. Although there are no pictures of Lugosi's makeup, it sounds like all Pierce did was give the monster a haircut, and put in the electrodes and stitches the script called for.

The only other places where one might see a similarity between The Golem and Frankenstein was in the scenes between the monster and girls. The Golem fell for Rabbi Lowe's grown daughter, and was destroyed by a little girl named Maria. Karloff's monster seemed to be always eloping by force, and of course he killed a little girl named Maria. The Rabbi had an assistant, but Frankenstein worked alone in the novel, but had an assistant named Fritz in the movie, a character that appeared in some form in the play, which is unfortunately now out of print. Of course most people remember the assistant's name as Ygor now, because of the broken necked shepherd Bela Lugosi played in The Son of Frankenstein and The Ghost of Frankenstein.

Although there are legends about Rabbi Lowe and his Golem, only the Rabbi is historical, and some Golem legends made another Rabbi the creator. But nevertheless the movie is good historical spectacle, and moves remarkably fast for a silent movie.




a five star movie from the silent era,but a three star transfer from today   May 17, 2006
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

the golem is a classic from the silent era and one of the first "monster" movies made. this german(intresting when you see what the story is about "jews" and made in germany no less)!! the story is an old jewish legend of the "golem" a clay figure made by a rabbi to protect the jews of a polish getto during a time of percusion(sound a little like a call from the future) and how it is used by a bad man to get the things he wants. the transfer is spottie at best and could have been better,but this classic is still so powerful that it over comes this poor transfer and is a very important movie to add to your collection if you like monster movies!



The most underappreciated of the classic silent horror films   November 24, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This 1921 version of "The Golem" ("Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam") is a remake of a 1915 silent film. In both the Golem is played by Paul Wegener, who also played the title character in the 1917 "The Golem and the Dancing Girl" ("Der Golem und die Taenzerin"). The Jewish legend of the goldem is set this time around in 16th century Prague, which is supposedly when Rabbi Loew (Albert Steinrueck) created the giant golem from clay to defend the Jews from the persecution by the local despot. However, the rabbi's assistant, Famulus (Ernst Deutsch) takes control of the golem and sends it forth to do his nefarious bidding, which includes abducting the beautiful Miriam (Lyda Salmonova), the Rabbi's beloved daughter. However, the Golem's will can not be perverted in such a manner. Much is made of "The Golem" being one of the first monster movies, and certainly this film incorporates a lot of elements that would become basic components of a lot of classic horror films. But I think "The Golem" deserves to be considered the first superhero film. After all, the creature was not created to be a monster, but to be a heroic figure of deliverance, and I would suggest that is the more important reading of the film in the long run.

None of this detracts from the point that "The Golem" is a classic silent monster movie, that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with "Nosferatu" and "The Phantom of the Opera." I would agree that "The Golem" is a lesser example of German expressionism; certainly it is not as textbook as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" or "Nosferatu." Certainly Wegner, his figure esconced in "clay," is not capable of over emoting in any way. This leads me to another coment: Granted, there are strong similarities between the Golem and Karloff's performance in "Frankenstein" and it would not be surprising if Karloff had seen this silent film. But I would like to point out that the shuffling movements of both performances are logical consequences of being either a figure made out of clay or reanimated dead body parts. Karloff was a fine enough actor to have figured this out, even without the inspiration offered by this film.

Ultimately, I am more concerned over the attempts to make a political reading of the film, premised on the fact that this is a German film (read "proto-Nazi"). In terms of the film this idea is premised on the contrast between the shabby, dark-haired children of the Jewish ghetto shown throughout most of the film with the happy, blonde-haired children that surround the Golem at the end. For the latter, of course, there is a temptation to read the children as being Aryan and to comment on the irony of the impending Holocaust given such the visual oxymoron. But the simpler explanation to me is the contrast between the dark and the light as reflecting the oppressive Dionysian part of the film with its happier Apollian conclusion. Besides, I would have a hard time arguing a film where the main characters are Jewish can be rightly characterized as Anti-Semetic. The film employs stereotypes, but that was a cultural commonplace that extended beyond Jews at that time in popular culture (cf. the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs). Certainly the Emperor Luhois (Otto Gebuehr) is a stereotypical despot.

There are lots of ways of reading "The Golem," so in the final analysis the important thing would be that you see it for yourself and make up your own mind on these issues. I think that however you read this film, it will end up high on your list for silent films in this genre.


Yet another fine DVD release from Kino   June 14, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

The Golem is a terrific film from the silent era. The story is compelling, the setting is marvellous, and the look of the film overall is perfect for a story such as this. I won't bore everyone with a summary, but merely say that this film is for anyone who likes gothic horrors/thillers and maybe has an interest in reliogious issues.
Kino's DVD is the finest version of the film yet. Not all films are given the treatment that Metropilis recently got, but the restoration done of The Golem is quite nice. I can't say I care much for the colour tinting, but that's a small quibble. The music composed for the film is appropriate, but not great. Certainly not as good as the very fine scores written by Timothy Brock for Kino's releases of Faust and The Last Laugh - I wonder what he could have done.
In any case, The Golem is worth adding to your collection if you like silent classics and supernatural thillers. I wouldn't rank it as high as Lang or Murnau's work, but it IS a terrific film.