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Hard To Find Films
Films From the Silent era and up that you can't find anywhere else!
Harakiri aka Madame Butterfly rare Fritz Lang 1919
The most difficult to see of the extant Fritz Lang films, "Harakiri"
was believed lost until 1987, when a print was discovered in
Amersterdam.
Harakiri,
or Madame Butterfly is a 1919 silent film directed in Germany by Fritz
Lang. It was one of the first Japanese themed films depicting Japanese
culture. The film was originally released in the United States and
other countries as Madame Butterfly because of the source material on
which it is based. The film starred Lil Dagover as O-Take-san.
Synopsis
The Buddha priest wants the Daughter of the Daimyo to become a priest
at the Forbidden Garden. The Daimyo thinks, if he was in Europe, that
his daughter should decide on her own, but he is denounced and has to
commit harakiri. She meets Olaf, a European officer, falls in love and
marries him but after a few months he has to return to Europe. She gave
birth to a child and is waiting for him, while he marries in Europe.
When he comes back to Japan four years later, he is accompanied by his
European wife.
Production
Indulging his taste for Japanese exotica, this early Fritz Lang film is
a loose adaptation of the opera Madame Butterfly. Leaving most of the
plot intact, Lang does little more than change the names of the lead
characters (the opera's heroine Cio-Cio San becomes O-Take-San and the
sailor who seduces and abandons her is now European). He also fills the
frame with meticulously detailed sets and costumes that demonstrate a
real familiarity with Japanese culture. Refreshingly stereotype-free,
though the actors are all European, this film demonstrates that silent
film can rival opera in emotional impact. When O-Take-San's father,
sentenced to death by harakiri, reaches out to her as she walks away
from him for the last time, his simple gesture calls up more emotion
than any line of ever dialogue could. An uncharacteristic film for Lang
in that it strays from his normal themes and settings, it nonetheless
illustrates his considerable skill as a director, even at this early
stage in his career.
Now...the bad news if you will is that the quality on this, though not bad, is not great either. About a 6 or 6.5 out of possible 10. However, the good news is that it has English subtitles!
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http://www.dvdmadeeasy.com/ (once on the site, click the 'compatibility' link on the left-hand menu.)
Though many do, for the most part, these discs usually do not contain any type of additional or "bonus" materials sometimes associated with commercial or factory releases.
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