Der Letzte Mann (1924)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 77 minuten / 90 minuten (gerestaureerde dvd-versie)
Alternative title: The Last Laugh
Country:
Germany
Directed by: F.W. Murnau
Stars: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft and Max Hiller
IMDb score:
8,0 (16.423)
Releasedate: 23 December 1924
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Der Letzte Mann plot
The porter of Hotel Atlantis takes pride in his job and is more than willing to perform all his duties, even deciding to carry a heavy suitcase inside if there is no bellboy to be found. After this great effort, he decides to sit down to recover, but at that very moment the manager comes by to inspect how he is doing his job. The manager decides to demote the doorman to a toilet cleaner.
Actors and actresses
Hotelportier [Hotel Doorman]
Seine Nichte [His Niece]
Ihr Bräutigam [Her Bridegroom]
Geschäftsführer [Hotel Manager]
Spitzbäuchiger Gast [Potbellied Guest]
Tante des Bräutigams [Bridegroom's Aunt]
Nachtwächter [Night Watchman]
Dünne Nachbarin [Thin Neighbor]
Wedding Musician (uncredited)
Wedding Musician (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
Dievegge
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- 3180 messages
- 8228 votes
The clothes make the man, they say. This certainly applies to the character that Emil Jannings portrays here. His uniform as a doorman at a luxury hotel is a status symbol. His impressive mustache is still in the style of Emperor Wilhelm. There is often a light source in the picture, which increases the contrast between light and dark.
He lives in a poor working-class neighborhood, but works in an environment where caviar, champagne and shiny shoes are the norm. When he is relegated to a ball job without uniform due to old age, he does not want to face reality. You see him physically shrink. He is laughed at by the gossipers. His clouded perception under the influence of alcohol is shown. He daydreams about being able to lift a heavy suitcase with one hand. The ending, in which the cliché of the unexpected inheritance is used, comes across as unrealistic. wishful thinking.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2301 messages
- 2092 votes
I already knew that FW Murnau is much more than a horror icon since watching Sunrise. With Der Letzte Mann it quickly became clear to me that this was also about the film adaptation of a deeply human story, and artistically at a very high level. Brilliant direction and camera work from Murnau and cinematographer Karl Freund. The POV opening shot is immediately great and I immediately had the urge to stop the film and watch the shot again. Freund's camera is extremely mobile and seems to have no obstacles. Also brilliant is the depiction of Emil Jannings' delirium and his decline tout court. Emil Jannings plays his role brilliantly, with the content of the story, Jannings' act and the visual work of Freund and Murnau forming one whole, as it should ideally always be in film. And all this without subtitles!
So I saw a masterpiece unfold before my eyes… during the first 70 minutes. However, then came the epilogue and like a sledgehammer it smashed the entire fragile masterpiece in the making to pieces with a pompous, unbelievable finale, stuck to the film like pliers to a pig. Any ending - or having the film stop just before the epilogue - would have been better for me than the ending where Emil Jannings is not just a little more lucky than before, but for a moment unexpectedly becomes the heir of a deceased oil millionaire, at a totally unbelievable way. It may well be that this kind of ending was considered necessary in those uncertain times of the Weimar Republic, but for me this means that a masterpiece has died with the finish line in sight.
Translated from Dutch · View original
filmfan0511
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- 1099 messages
- 1127 votes
A very nice piece of silent cinema. Der Letzte Mann is beautifully filmed, with some ingenious pieces of camera work for the time (that building that seems to be moving toward the main character in a hallucinatory way, for example, clever!) and very atmospheric set decoration. That opening scene at the entrance to the hotel, with the hustle and bustle on the street and in the hotel and the first glimpse into the life of the main character, immediately grabbed me. Of course, it's a relatively different mindset that you need when watching a silent film, and it may take a little more active empathy to fully 'get' the character, but Der Letzte In any case, Mann is still very approachable in this regard. You are immediately drawn into a separate universe that is at the same time very recognizable, and it is absolutely not difficult to spend an hour and a half in the life of our ex-porter. Director Murnau knows how to keep his audience interested without any problems. The pace is slow (although that is of course a bit of an anachronistic statement, viewed from our 'contemporary' perspective), but that actually helped to get fully into the world of the main character, and to sympathize with his misfortunes and fortunes. Emil Jannings also portrayed the doorman fantastically, what facial expressions, facial expressions and gestures. Above all, it is he who completely draws you in as a viewer.
I have slightly more ambiguous feelings about the last ten minutes; that whole happy ending wasn't really necessary for me. A slightly more negative outcome would have been more appropriate here, and in principle the director himself admits this in his text. But hey, so be it for the film, and it's not a major blemish; just a small break in atmosphere perhaps.
3.5*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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