Das indische Grabmal

I just watched this on DVD--I wasn't aware of two important factors when I did. One, that this was a remake of a 1938 film, and two that it was actually the last part of a typical Lang epic-length film! I wonder how both films were ever condensed into a mere ninety minutes for domestic release? What an extraordinary feat in itself!

I can see the influence on Speilburg and Luca quite clearly. This does have numerous external similarities to TEMPLE OF DOOM, as well as several motifs common to other Lang films.

There are some amusing blunders. The Priest talks about Allah, then a few scenes later, cautions that THE GODS will be displeased. Islam is monothestic!

There was a line uttered by the Priest: "There will be darkness over Eschanpur." That would have been a most intriguing title, nothing so bland as THE Indian TOMB, and would have also linked TIGERS OF ESCHANAPUR to this film. Both were released in that one 90 minute Americanized version, JOURNEY TO THE LOST CITY. As far as I could tell from this half, the city was far from "lost"! The Maharajah is proclaimed as RAJ of this state and that, master of the realms of Yadda-Yadda, and so on. I got out my map of India and was easily able to locate the areas he mentioned.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and recommend it highly, especially to those who love a good rollicking adventure. I intend to secure the rights and bring this to the screen, before all the tigers are extinct.

This is the first part of Lang's storybook romance between an architect/adventurer in India falling for an exotic temple dancer belonging to the Maharajah. It's an exotic B-movie with low-budget charm and expert craftsmenship, a throwback to old-time matinee adventures. Lang's gift for stylized storytelling is evident throughout. This is part one of two, THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR continues the story right where this one leaves it; so be sure to obtain both films.

Seetha (Debra Paget) and Harold Berger (Paul Hubschmid) are rescued from the desert by a caravan and brought to a small village. However, the greedy owner of the house where they are lodged betrays the law of hospitality and reveals their location to Prince Ramigani (René Deltgen). The couple tries to escape but is hunted and captured by Ramigani and his men. Meanwhile Irene Rhode (Sabine Bethmann) and her husband Walter Rhode (Claus Holm) suspect that Maharaja Chandra (Walter Reyer) is not telling the truth about Harold's destiny. The conspirator Ramigani forces Seetha to accept to get married with Chandra to provoke the wrath of the priests and get the alliance of Prince Padhu (Jochen Brockmann) and his army. In the meantime, Harold succeeds in escaping from the dungeon and seeks out Seetha to save her.

"Das Indische Grabmal" is the delightful conclusion of a romantic adventure in the exotic India. This family movie seems to be a matinée with wonderful moments, like for example, the spider building its web and protecting the lovers after the offering of Seetha to her god Shiva; or the sexy dance of Seetha; or the maze in the underground of the palace; or the dead bodies without gore. The colors are splendidly restored in the DVD released in Brazil by Continental in the beautiful locations and sets, and it is possible to see the strings controlling the snake while Seetha is dancing. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sepulcro Indiano" ("Indian Tomb")

Done with Hollywood by the mid 1950s, Fritz Lang returned to Germany and decided to remake THE INDIAN TOMB , a legendary German silent film from 1921 that he thought he was going to direct before producer Joe May (pronounced MY) decided to do it himself. Lang had co-written the script with future wife Thea von Harbou based on her novel. Just as in the case of the first film, the remake was epic in scope and was divided into two features THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR (TIGER OF BENGAL in 1921) and THE INDIAN TOMB. This time around the film was in color and definitely wasn't a silent. It runs 201 minutes only 10 minutes shorter than the original.

The movie was butchered for its American release (it was reduced to 90 minutes) and released here as JOURNEY TO THE LOST CITY. The film features a stalwart cast of German actors. The male lead, Paul Hubschmid, was in BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS and billed as Paul Christian. The one exception is American actress Debra Paget. She was criminally underused in American movies and here she gets a chance to shine in the pivotal role of Seetha the temple dancer around which the film revolves. Her dances and costumes (or lack of them) are remarkably exotic and are a main highlight of the film. Paget did study dance before she became an actress.

Much has been made in other reviews of THE INDIAN EPIC about how cheesy some of the effects are (the Fakir's decapitated head is especially bad). I thought the Cobra was deliberately meant to be unrealistic and it's quite clear that no live tigers were harmed in the making of the movie. Ultimately the less than stellar effects are unimportant. What is important are the overall look of the film (the Temple set is amazing) and the way the episodic narrative moves along. It manages to draw you in despite its shortcomings. It's also an opportunity to watch a great director at the end of his career receive a first class homecoming in this expensive German production.

This new Blu Ray edition from Film Movement looks great but is problematic. First up it's not in Lang's original aspect ratio which crops some of the picture. More importantly, unlike the earlier DVD packaging by Fantoma, there is no English language version which will put off many viewers. The Fantoma DVDs are absolutely top notch and is how it should be done. Not only is the print beautifully transferred but you get the English dubbed soundtrack for those who can't abide subtitles (I prefer the German soundtrack as being less artificial). If you have to have Blu-Ray then this is the one to get. BTW, even though it's over 100 years old, THE INDIAN TOMB is still the better film...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

The second part of "der Tiger von Eschnapur" begins with a de rigueur summary .Although it's the same movie divided into two for business concern,"das Indische Grabmal" surpasses its predecessor and makes it sometimes look like a trailer.

All promises are fulfilled ;Everything Lang threatened to achieve in "der Tiger " materializes here.Here the two worlds (the luminous world of the maharajah and the subterraneans where the darkest secrets are hidden ) play an equal part .How can't we think of "Metropolis" when the lepers come up the stairs and force their way in the light of day?The maharajah is much more than a comic strip character here.He appears as a tortured man -the actor who plays this monarch is actually a German one,the one who plays count Andrassy is the "Sissi" saga-.Little by little ,we discover that he's in fact the real hero of the story-Mercier is absent during an hour in this part-:his evolution is downright intriguing .At the end of the story he found peace of mind in a completely unexpected way.

Remarkable scenes :the spider that spins its web and thus protects the lovers;their enemies seen behind this providential shield.Paget's erotic dance in front of the snake (which echoes to the long scene in the first part when Mercier watches her dancing).And mainly, mainly,these labyrinthine subterraneans which may represent the dark side of the mind .The two worlds (he said that in "die Nibelungen" (1924),there were four worlds!) are a permanent feature in Lang's canon:of course "Metropolis " springs to mind.But think of the underworld of "M";the double life of Andrews in "beyond a reasonable doubt" ;the child's world and the adults' one in "Moonfleet";the "normal "side of life and the secret one beyond the door in the eponymous movie;real life and dream (but where is the frontier?) in "woman in the window" .

Fritz Lang's holiday homework is actually his testament.He would do one more movie ("die tausend Augen des Doctor Mabuse"),but it seemed that,like his hero,he had found peace of mind in this movie.You can forget,unless you're a highbrow,his part in Godard's notorious "le mépris".

Like John Huston or Joseph Mankiewicz ,Lang finished his career brilliantly.