The Student of Prague (1926 film)
7.4 /10 1 Votes
Country Weimar Republic | 7.2/10 Duration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Language SilentGerman intertitles Release date 25 October 1926 (1926-10-25) |
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The Student of Prague (German: Der Student von Prag) is a 1926 Expressionist silent film by actor and filmmaker Henrik Galeen. The film is a remake of The Student of Prague (1913). It is considered as Galeen's most important film since The Golem (1915) and is regarded as his magnum opus. The film draws on the Faust legend.
Contents

The film crew involved some famous names: designer Hermann Warm; cinematographer Günther Krampf; and the actors Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Dagny Servaes, Leni Riefenstahl and Elizza La Porta. Der Student von Prag made La Porta a well-known actress.

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Plot

The film is set in the year 1820 and centers around a student at a university in Prague, Balduin. At a student-led outing to a country inn, Balduin encounters the figure Scapinelli who offers him money "for very low interest." Balduin believes him to be a loan shark and ignores him to go engage in a fencing match with another student. After the match, the viewer sees Scapinelli on a cliffside, watching a young woman (later revealed to be Margit, the daughter of a count) on horseback who is participating in a fox-hunt. He manipulates the situation such that the animals run amok and head towards the inn. Balduin sees Margit on the horse and catches her when she falls off. As a reward, he receives an invitation to her father's house, Count Schwarzenberg. There he becomes aware of his own poverty in comparison to Margit's fiance, who is a baron. Later that night, Scapinelli again comes for Balduin and makes an offer. Balduin signs a contract stipulating that Scapinelli can have anything in the room he wants in return for 600,000 florin. Balduin signs and Scapinelli takes out a small bag and proceeds to pour the entirety of the 600,000 onto the table. Scapinelli then takes his part: Balduin's reflection.

The scene then shifts to show the new lifestyle that Balduin is leading with his newfound fortune. His happiness does not last long, because his reflection, free of the mirror, runs amok, causing havoc around town, which is blamed on Balduin. Balduin, in his final confrontation, shoots his reflection. This results in his own death. The movie closes as it opens: with a shot of Balduin's grave, upon which is inscribed "Here lies Balduin. He fought the devil and lost".
Cast


References
The Student of Prague (1926 film) WikipediaThe Student of Prague (1926 film) IMDb The Student of Prague (1926 film) themoviedb.org