The Golem: How He Came Into the World
Paul Wegener and Carl Boese
Initial release: (Germany)
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| images c/o IMDB |
Jewish history isn't always a happy tale. Centuries of discrimination and murder from the Christians of Europe eventually culminated in the Holocaust, but that was just one more pogrom in a long line of them. Little wonder, then, that a lasting Jewish folk tale tells the story of a man of stone, built for the express purpose of protecting the Jews of 16th century Prague. And why not? Sometimes, when nobody is willing to stand for you, you have to stand for yourself. When Paul Wegener, one of the greats of the German film industry before and during the Wiemar period, heard the legend of the Golem of Prague while making The Student of Prague in 1913, he set out to make a movie about it. While 1915's The Golem and its sequel, The Golem and the Dancing Girl, were big hits, Wegener wasn't satisfied, and sought to really bring the story to life. The result is The Golem: How He Came Into The World, probably the first film prequel ever made and the only extant film of the trilogy.
While
there are many variations on the tale of the Golem of Prague, the gist of it is that in 16th
century Prague, as the Jewish ghetto faces a pogrom from the Holy Roman Emperor, Jewish mystic Rabbi Loew constructs a golem to defend the ghetto using
clay and a piece of paper with the true name of God on it. In the 1920 film (usually referred to simply as The Golem
given its status as the only survivor of the trilogy) is at times a
trippy or even comedic take on the tale. In Wegener's version, the golem (played by Wegener himself, with the greatest case of helmet
hair I have ever seen) ends up being corrupted by the demon Astaroth and
wreaking havoc. In between he goes shopping and rescues the Emperor’s
court from a collapsing roof.
Wegener brings some seriously amazing facial expressions to his performance; silent film by necessity requires skill in visual acting, but Wegener runs circles around the rest of the cast, which is pretty good given that he’s supposed to be a lump of clay. The set design is weird and almost dreamlike at times, really driving home the aesthetic that would come to define German expressionism. there’s an almost organic flavor to the Jewish ghetto, especially in comparison to the Emperor’s court, that speaks to the fantastical tone of the film. But speaking plainly, The Golem's biggest draw is in its parallels to Frankenstein; while the concept of a man-made monster is not new, The Golem walked so Universal Studios' Frankenstein... could walk slower, I guess? You know what I mean. But more than that, while the novelty of a film based on Jewish folklore (in 1920s Germany no less!) is certainly worth seeing this movie for, it’s also worthwhile for its triumph in acting, set design and overall atmosphere. Also watching the fuckboy knight character get thrown off a tower is gratifying.
The Golem is over a century old by now; for many years, the original score was considered lost. As
such, you can expect to find a variety of different musical
accompaniments among the various home video releases of the film. But if you're looking for the authentic score, your best bet is the 2020 Kino Lorber Blu-Ray, which builds on their already-pretty-good DVD release for probably the closest you're going to get to an authentic viewing of this film.