The Spiders Blu-ray - Fritz Lang

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See' or 'Die Spinnen, 2. Teil - Das Brillantenschiff')

Germany 1919 - 1920

In San Francisco, well-known sportsman Kay Hoog announces to a club that he has found a message in a bottle with a map drawn by a Harvard professor who has gone missing. The map tells of a lost Incan civilization that possesses an immense treasure. Hoog immediately plans an expedition to find it. But Lio Sha, the head of a criminal organization known as the Spiders, is determined to get the treasure for herself and plans a rival expedition.

***

Fritz Lang's Spiders is about the adventures of high-society adventurer Kay Hoog (Carl de Vogt, whose gaunt, expressionless face resembles a younger William S. Hart) and his arch nemesis, a secret criminal organization known as the Spiders. Part 1 (''The Golden Lake'') is a treasure hunt that takes both Kay and Spiders mastermind Lio Sha (Ressel Orla) to Peru, where they battle primitive Incas (who capture Lio for a human sacrifice) and each other for a fortune in hidden gold. Part 2 (''The Diamond Ship'') is a longer and far more intricate conspiracy involving a hidden criminal underground beneath the streets of Chinatown, a legendary lost jewel known as the Buddha Head Diamond, and an ambitious plot to rule all of Asia. Full of secret passages, coded messages, treasure maps, double-crosses, and death-defying escapes, Lang's pulpy action-fantasy borrows from the wacky serials of Louis Feuillaude (notably the deliriously entertaining Les Vampires). But behind the wild plots, gorgeous sets, and driving, breakneck-paced direction lies a dark undercurrent of death and doom that transforms his gallant hero into a brooding, vengeful spirit.

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 3rd, 1919 - Premiere (Germany)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Kino - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC	Kino Lorber Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:54:00	1:09:01.804 + 1:44:41.733
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.83 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,068,536,619 bytes Part 1: 14,509,166,592 bytes Part 2: 22,004,004,864 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 24.99 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Part 1 Blu-ray:
Bitrate Part 2 Blu-ray:
Audio	(Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles	None (English translated intertitles)	None (English translated intertitles)
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: February 28th, 2012 Keep Case Chapters: 16	Release Information: Studio: Kino Lorber 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,068,536,619 bytes Part 1: 14,509,166,592 bytes Part 2: 22,004,004,864 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 24.99 Mbps Edition Details: • None Standard Blu-ray case Blu-ray Release Date: August 23rd, 2016 Chapters: 9 X 2

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray August 16': The Blu-ray is from the same Murnau-Stiftung restoration supervised by Blazena Urgoskova and Ingrid Tetkova via the Dupe negative created by Cinematheque Royale de Belgique from a print by Filmovych laboratorich Barrandov Praha - same damage marks, same intertitles. But the higher resolution - around 5X the bitrate of the DVD - shows superior contrast, slightly tighter and different, sometimes dampened, tinting... and, hence, the scratches etc, become slightly more prominent. It looks impressive despite some remaining damage (see last capture) that is generally isolated to limited frames. It is still divided into the two parts - Episode One: The Golden Sea 1919 69 minutes and Episode Two: The Diamond Ship (Das Brillantenschiff) 1920 104 minutes. We also get Ben Model's score in lossless via a linear PCM (16-bit) and the intertitles have been translated, and redone, in English (see samples below.)

There are no extras but this remains an amazing pulp-oriented adventure - probably my favorite of the Silent Era. It's filled with treasure hunting, primitive Incas, hidden gold, a hidden criminal underground beneath the streets of Chinatown, a legendary lost jewel known as the Buddha Head Diamond, secret passages, coded messages, treasure maps, double-crosses... a wonderful film to own for those rainy Sundays - immerse yourself in Fritz Lang's rapidly paced gem. Strongly recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: Image Entertainment brought out a disc similar to this (with both parts of Lang's 'The Spiders') from 1999. I *think* that this is a new as it mentions the Murnau-Stiftung Transit Film restoration (where this source presumably came from.)

It looks very strong - typical Kino they have pre-translated the intertitle cards into English. The image is decent - a shade of brightness boosting, cleaner than I would have anticipated (light vertical scratches, frame specific damage etc.), tinting and surprising detail - considering the age. I'm surprised the bitrate is reached the level it has considering the 3-hour (both parts) film on the dual-layered SD disc.

No extras (aside from a stills gallery) but a new (Oct 2011) Dolby audio. This is solid 'Lang' adventure - all VERY cool! but my only question is 'Why not Blu-ray, Kino?' The restoration is good enough and I'll bet a nice super-grainy 1080P image would have been... magnificent!