Destiny (Der mude Tod) (The Weary Death) (Between Two Worlds) Reviews

Like it. Very good plot

This 1921 silent feature written and directed by Fritz Lang is a fascinating fairly tale. The story involves Death, (Bernard Goetzke), who arrives at a small village and snatches a young man, (Walter Janssen). His distraught lover, (Lil Dagover), bargains with death who agrees to free her sweetheart if she can save the life of one of three men who are about to die.

Lang frequently uses shadow and light to emphasize features within the frame and to add a lively edge to the images. The screen is often split into light and darkness, with the image sometimes covered in part of the frame.

Although the performances by the actors portraying the lovers are ordinary and unmemorable, Goetzke's portrayal of the grim reaper with his silent authority and deathly features are unforgettable. When the actor stares vacantly at the camera, a creepy element is added to the film. Goetzke is staring at the audience, but also into the empty space that is perpetuity and death.

Amazing set design and lighting along with Lang's compelling script and Goetzke's superb performance as Death all work together to make this silent film an enormous enjoyment to watch.

Destiny filled my body and soul with awe...The use of special effects amongst other things was indeed stunning and for many this might be an over-exaggeration but the movie has become my favourite silent film.....

If I have to choose my favorite school of cinema, The German Expressionist school would be it. Destiny is another beautiful masterpiece of dark and philosophical themes that stands high on its contextual and visual achievements.

Just finished watching this movie and for a silent forgien it was amazing. Early movies always blow me away. Fritz Lang is a true cinematic genius.

A beautifully spooky and adventurous movie about death. It is sort of an anthology horror movie with three different stories of love and death told by the grim reaper. I really liked it, it's cool.

A well told story with great effects, especially for that time. I'm a big fan of Fritz Lang and have enjoyed M and Metropolis and I thoroughly enjoyes this well crafter story as well.This is a movie I wouldn't mind watching again.

Fritz Lang's Destiniy is a timeless Expressionist Masterpiece about the Death and how inescapable it is shown in 3 grandious Episodes in 3 different Times and Places it shows that you can't ran away from your Destiniy, how much the People hang on their Lifes and how unfair the Death can be old People live one Painful Day after another while little Babys die before they have the Chance to grown up

Without the romance story and its attached shenanigans, the focus would've been on the cool premise, which would've enabled me to like it more. Cool effects for its time.

a wonderful gothic romance like something from grimm's fairy tales. in his autobiography buñuel wrote that this inspired him to make films. there's an homage to it in un chien andalou. it was one of alfred hitchcock's favorites and a big influence on the thief of baghdad (both versions) and murnau's faust among many, many others

Fritz Lang réalise en 1921 Der Müde Tod, le film qui le rendra célèbre auprès de ses contemporains et qui marquera le cinéma dans son ensemble, faisant sentir ses échos à travers les années et ce jusqu'à nos jours. Aussi important que d'autres films muets de la même époque tels que Le Cabinet du Dr. Caligari et Nosferatu, mais ne bénéficiant pas de la même notoriété publique, ce classique de l'expressionnisme allemand jette les bases de plusieurs techniques visuelles et narratives qui seront récupérées par une foule de grands noms.

Film favori d'Alfred Hitchcock, encensé par Bunuel comme l'oeuvre qui lui a donné la piqûre du cinéma, inspiration du personnage de la mort dans le Septième Sceau de Bergman, les éloges ne se comptent plus et la portée de l'oeuvre ne saurait être décrite à sa juste valeur. Pionnier du film à sketch, du Décaméron aux Contes de la crypte, Der Müde Tod est également un film d'aventure, une méditation philosophique et une réalisation visuelle époustouflante.

Le spectateur moderne sera surpris de voir comme ce film a somme toute bien vieilli. Il faut évidemment laisser de côté ses habitudes de cinéphile gavé au CGI, mais le souci artistique et la débrouillardise dont fait preuve Fritz Lang ne manqueront pas de surprendre. Les moments d'ennui sont étonnamment rares et le tout demeure fort divertissant, surtout pour un film qui a plus de 80 ans. Dommage qu'aucune restauration sérieuse n'ait été effectuée. Croisons les doigts.

now that's good storytelling. rich in symbolism, gothic imagery, and imaginative fantasy & special effects, Lang's tale of the destiny of love transcends time and cinematic era. moving, enduring, and a truly beautiful silent film. the one thing that bothered me were the captions--the various fonts were challenging to read at times. but that varies from translation to translation, so it doesn't affect my overall judgment of the film.

Fritz Lang, whatelse to say? =)

death is portraited in a beautiful, imparcial and, sometimes, funny way.

Really ambitious, great story, not Lang's best, but still enjoyable, for me, the arabian part was the best one.

Utterly sublime. The effects are one thing, but the love story, the story of destiny, of going to the ends of the world, of fighting everyone from the Emperor to the Caliph, I was awe-struck, it brought a typical tale and warped it in a baggage that discovers the meaning of morality, of the human plight. The scenes are very mystical, like the one of the wall, what is it about? Why there? I feel that the idea of it is something I need to discover.

A masterpiece! The setting, the music, the actors... Truly beautiful.

This 1921 silent feature written and directed by Fritz Lang is a fascinating fairly tale. The story involves Death, (Bernard Goetzke), who arrives at a small village and snatches a young man, (Walter Janssen). His distraught lover, (Lil Dagover), bargains with death who agrees to free her sweetheart if she can save the life of one of three men who are about to die.

Lang frequently uses shadow and light to emphasize features within the frame and to add a lively edge to the images. The screen is often split into light and darkness, with the image sometimes covered in part of the frame.

Although the performances by the actors portraying the lovers are ordinary and unmemorable, Goetzke's portrayal of the grim reaper with his silent authority and deathly features are unforgettable. When the actor stares vacantly at the camera, a creepy element is added to the film. Goetzke is staring at the audience, but also into the empty space that is perpetuity and death.

Amazing set design and lighting along with Lang's compelling script and Goetzke's superb performance as Death all work together to make this silent film an enormous enjoyment to watch.