Algol: Tragedy of Power
(Algol – Tragödie der Macht)
Germany 1920, 102'
Director: Hans Werckmeister
Screenplay: Hans Brennert, Friedel Köhne
Cast: Emil Jannings, John Gottowt, Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Hanna Ralph, Erna Morena
Producer: Deutsche Lichtbild-Gesellschaft e.V. (DLG)
DCP, tinted
Source: Filmmuseum München
Translation: ENG / PL / Introduction in the Polish Sign Language
“A thousand roads lead to the light / Don't be afraid, Algol will take you ...away from the troubles of the night. It will be yours the Earth's might.” This is the promise that a miner, Robert Herne, receives one night from a mysterious stranger. The Mephistophelian figure shows Robert a small machine powered by energy beams from a distant planet named Algol.
Robert, a hitherto honest and poor miner, succumbs to temptation and accepts the offer. He founds BIOS Enterprises, a company whose enigmatic energy source renders coal mines obsolete, granting Herne near-total control over the energy supply.
Algol is the second of the feature films produced by the Deutsche Lichtbild Gesellschaft (DLG), a studio that mainly specialized in educational and industrial films during WWI. The director, Hans Werckmeister, was responsible for its ambitious fiction projects. He collaborated on this one with Walter Reimann – a screenwriter and costume designer best known from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
Although the creators of Algol consciously refer to the success of Caligari and use similar means of expression, both films significantly differ in terms of style. The unique feature of Werckmeister’s work is the contrast between expressionistic interior shots and realistic documentary-style sequences. The contrast between realism and expressionism is further heightened by the film’s original vibrant tinting, faithfully recreated in the restored version.
The film simultaneously does not shy away from references to the reality of its time. Clearly influenced by the shadow of the energy crisis and resource shortages during World War I, the film reflected social discontent following the Treaty of Versailles while also alluding to post-war protests in the Ruhr Region. Many of its themes are still relevant as of today, for instance, the search for clean and affordable energy, questions about whether technology liberates us or deprives us of work, and reflections on whether technological innovations promote equal opportunities or deepen social inequalities.
Although Algol met with mostly enthusiastic reviews, it began to fade into obscurity in the 1920s, overshadowed by the success of other works of German expressionism. Its rediscovery and appreciation by the audience became possible only thanks to the new, digital reconstruction.
By Elżbieta Wysocka-Koerber
The film’s reconstruction was carried out by Filmmuseum München in collaboration with Cineteca Nacional in Santiago de Chile, using two copies: a black-and-white acetate film sourced from a dupe negative held by the Russian Gosfilmofond, and an incomplete tinted nitrate film with Spanish intertitles from Cineteca Nacional. The tints of the latter had degraded to the point of solarization. Detailed analysis of the aging processes enabled a digital reconstruction of the original color scheme, while the partially surviving intertitles were recreated using rediscovered original graphic designs.
The screening will be preceded by a lecture by Elżbieta Wysocka-Koerber and a set of short films, accompanied by music by the band T'ien Lai featuring a guest performance by Marek Pospieszalski
music: T'ien Lai + Marek Pospieszalski
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 18 | 6:00 PM | SALA STOLICA
KUP BILET
