Von Stroheim, complete with monocle and cigarette-holder accessories, is an insufferable Prussian officer, who upbraids a legless cripple for not rising at the playing of the anthem, who dallies with whatever lady will play along, and who still tries to capture the attentions of the retarded girl in his household. …
The first in the procession of Dracula adaptations, and an early indication of the effects movies were to have on tales of the supernatural. With its monstrous vampire (pointed ears, long claws, a black-coated physique as thin as a popsicle stick), it represents a retreat from the internalized terrors of …
Benjamin Christensen's 1921 historical review of black magic was unburied in the 1960s and refurbished with a soundtrack, including a helpful narration spoken by William Burroughs and some tinny musical distraction. The documentary data — book plates, paintings, etc. — make elegant images on screen. Interspersed dramatizations (or psychologizations) of …