Tartuffe Blu-ray - Emil Jannings

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

(aka 'Tartüff' or 'Tartuffe')

directed by F.W. Murnau
Germany 1925

The most gifted visual storyteller of the German silent era, F. W. Murnau crafted works of great subtlety and emotional complexity through his absolute command of the cinematic medium. Known for such dazzling films as Nosferatu (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), Faust (1926), and Sunrise (1927), Murnau was also drawn to more intimate dramas exploring the dark corners of the human mind. In Tartuffe (Herr Tartüff), he revisits Moliére's fable of religious hypocrisy, in which a faithful wife (Lil Dagover) tries to convince her husband (Werner Krauss) that their morally superior guest, Tartuffe (Emil Jannings), is in fact a lecherous hypocrite with a taste for the grape. To endow the story with contemporary relevance, Murnau frames Moliére's tale with a modern-day plot concerning a housekeeper's stealthy efforts to poison her elderly master and take control of his estate.

***

F. W. Murnau made this film adaptation of Molière's satire for UFA early in 1925 and it was released the following year, shortly followed by Faust. By presenting the play as a film-within-a-film, Murnau takes the opportunity to place the material in a contemporary setting, sandwiched inside a morality lesson about greed and hypocrisy.

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 traveling 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.

From the MoC website located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 16th, 1925

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	US Version: 1:04:11.625 / German: 1:10:35.856
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 33,665,137,842 bytes US Version: 15,336,668,352 bytes German Version: 18,214,776,192 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.60 Mbps / 29.87 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Masters of Cinema (2005) DVD:
Bitrate Kino (2009) DVD:
Bitrate Masters of Cinema (2016) Blu-ray:
Bitrate Kino US version Blu-ray:
Bitrate Kino German version Blu-ray:
Audio	US Version: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit German version: DTS-HD Master Audio English 2103 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2103 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 384 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / DN -2dB
Subtitles	English, None (for German version only) / English Intertitles
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 33,665,137,842 bytes US Version: 15,336,668,352 bytes German Version: 18,214,776,192 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.60 Mbps / 29.87 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth • restored German release version with orchestral score by Robert Israel • U.S. release version with music by U.S. release version (SD) with music by Giuseppe Becce, adapted by Javier Perez De Azpeit Blu-ray Release Date: April 28th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9 X 2

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (April 2020): Kino have transferred F. W. Murnau's Tartuffe to Blu-ray. They are offering both the German and US versions in 1080P.

The US version is preceded by this text "Four separate negatives of Tartuffe were assembled. One negative was used to strike prints for German release and the remaining three were used for the international markets. Not one of these original negatives survives. A photochemical restoration of the U.S. release version was performed in 2002 by Luciano BerriatUa on behalf of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung,Wiesbaden. Its basis was a tinted nitrate print preserved by the Library of Congress and donated to the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv in Berlin. Labwork was performed by L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna. The preservation negative was the basis of this 2K restoration, performed in 2013. "

The German version has this preface text screen: "Four separate negatives of Herr Tartuff were produced for the German and international markets. One of the export versions survives in its entirety, a duplicate copy preserved by Gosfilmofond, Moscow. It contains German intertitles of unknown origin. For this digital restoration, the image was tinted orange, as usual for export versions. The inserts are tinted yellow, while the intertitles remain black and white. Some insert shots were added from a fragment of the Swiss version, preserved by the Cinematheque Suisse in Lausanne. Additional shots were sourced from a nitrate print of the U.S. version preserved by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv in Berlin. ".

The Masters of Cinema and Kino DVDs were compared HERE. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray was from their Early Murnau Blu-ray Boxset is reviewed HERE. There are differences between the US and German release that can make some exact frame matches not possible, but the 'book' text capture for the MoC and Kino German version is exact and can highlight significant yellow tint differences with the Kino being much bolder (as stated in the preface text.) Anyway, I appreciate that there are differences and I enjoy my viewing of the new Kino HD presentation.

On their Blu-ray for the restored German release version there is an orchestral score by Robert Israel in 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master (16-bit) of a 2.0 channel transfer and for the U.S. release version - the score is via a linear PCM (16-bit) with music by Giuseppe Becce, adapted by Javier Perez De Azpeit. It is lively and crisp. As the US version has English intertitles, Kino offer optional English subtitles on the German version (only) for their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Troy Howarth (on the German version only) who states how Tartuffe is underrated as it is flanked by such strong masterpieces by the director (released after The Last Laugh and before Faust and Sunrise.) He goes on to provide salient information, in a relaxed tone - and although Troy might be more associated with Giallo, Horror and Hammer Studios as a commentarist and supplement contributor - I thought he did an excellent job here. Really very good! I hope he partakes in future silent-era film commentaries, further enriching his repertoire. Bravo!

F. W. Murnau is a master of mood through camera movements. It's easy to immerse yourself. Tartuffe shouldn't be neglected. I think it's an incredible film adaptation of Moliere's famous play. The Kino Blu-ray offers both US and German versions in 1080P from extensive restorations and offer a valuable commentary. This is top shelf 'Silent Era' digital library content, imo. Absolutely recommended!