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Post by monica on Oct 6, 2011 14:00:11 GMT -5
I decided to open a new thread on this board, and to dedicate it to Connie's lost films. My top lost film that I would like very much to see one day is The General, made in 1931, with Olga Tschechowa. Connie gave a splendid performance there, and I am sure it was a powerful role. Incidentally, Die Nacht der Entscheidung is one of his very few sound films considered lost nowadays. Here is a link to one of my great scans of magazines from my collection. conradveidt.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/bp2831.jpg |
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Post by monica on Oct 6, 2011 14:11:03 GMT -5
Another film that interests me very much is Tempete sur l'Asie (1938). Officially is considered lost, but in fact there is a copy at La Cinématheque Française. Moreover, the film was shown several years ago at a film festival in the honor of the director, Richard Oswald. The film is interesting to watch because it features also the great Asian actor Sessue Hayakawa. Here is a link to another of my magazines with Conrad, in Storm Over Asia. conradveidt.wordpress.com/movies-ii/bp2776/ |
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Post by monica on Oct 7, 2011 15:14:11 GMT -5
Another motion picture that I would like to see Connie in is the French silent film Le Comte Kostia - a superb production and an unusual scenario, just like in the case of The Flight in the Night. For both of these films Connie wore a lot of make up, but he also excelled in his powerful scenes, worthy of his talent. I read the plot of Le Comte Kostia and it is so complex, that it's difficult to describe in words. But here is the cover of the very rare French magazine I have with this film. conradveidt.wordpress.com/movies/bp2272/ |
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Post by AtramentumRubrum on Dec 11, 2011 2:12:29 GMT -5
For me, it would have to be Kurfürstendamm (Ein Höllenspuk in 6 Akten) all the way, in which Connie plays the Devil, who leaves Hell to have adventures in the Kurfürstendamm—and through this satirise society in ‘Weimar Germany’. I find this scenario intriguing in and of itself, but what then really sold me on the film were some of the reviews reprinted in Soister’s wonderful Conrad Veidt on Screen. For example: ‘Conrad Veidt—the Devil, complete with hooves—is unbelievably agile. Truly bizarre, he hops over tables and chairs like a kangaroo, and—with the total lack of self-consciousness that only a film actor can have—rushes headlong down the street in broad daylight costumed as the Devil’. Connie played so few comic parts as it is, it’s a shame this one has to be lost—I for one would love to see him doing something Truly Different in this!
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Post by monica on Dec 11, 2011 6:57:20 GMT -5
You are right, I agree with you, only that I am afraid that these films, that are very, very old, must have disappeared even during Connie's lifetime. It is so sad... I wish we could find them one way or another.
But Connie is still alive, he is HERE, and this is the MAGIC of the fascination and emotion that he conveys through his persona, his charisma, his enormous talent, his humanity, all of which have so much relevance even nowadays...
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Post by AtramentumRubrum on Dec 12, 2011 8:46:52 GMT -5
Yes, I'm sure you're right. I'm also a big Lon Chaney fan, and it's the same situation with much of his early work. What makes it especially sad is the fact that so many films were purposely scrapped by the studios—alas, had someone had a little more foresight!
And nicely phrased! It is indeed a special kind of magic Connie wields, that holds us enthralled to his every word and gesture...
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