Asphalte

Have had a long-term interest and appreciation of silent films, of all genres, so that was just one reason to see 'Asphalt'. There are also many masterpieces of German cinema, especially the best of Fritz Lang and FW Murnau as well as very early Ernst Lubitsch. Who were/are truly wonderful and influential directors, with their best work masterpieces of their respective genres and of film in general (some being great influences on other fine directors).

It was interesting to see a German, a beautiful language by the way that may sound harsh when spoken but is actually very poetic when for example singing Schubert or reading Goethe, film not directed by either Lang or Murnau. And 'Asphalt' was one such film, directed by Joe May. Who was actually a big name pre-Lang and Murnau, with a solid career, but once those two hit their stride May became overshadowed sadly and it was a shame. Because his best work is great, as can be seen with 1929's 'Asphalt'.

'Asphalt' for starters looks absolutely amazing, one of the best-looking films of the 20s. Not just some of the dazzling photography, the most beautiful and atmospheric for any early film, any film of the genre and film overall. But also the meticulous interiors and eerie neon lihjting, not to mention sequence montage at its best. It is hauntingly scored too.

May directs superbly, who shows why it is a shame that he isn't better known now. It is pretty immaculate and especially inspired visually and at the start. The story may be cliched with all the story elements being hardly innovative, but it is elevated by its suspense, creepy atmosphere and that it has more complexity (while still being cohesive) than what sounds potentially simplistic on paper. My jaw hasn't dropped this much at an opening scene for any film in a long time.

The climax is also suitably suspenseful. The characters are all interesting psychologically. All the cast are strong, with Betty Amann being particularly beguiling, very expressive face and eyes. Gustav Frohlich brings plenty of nuance to his psychologically layered character.

Overall, excellent. 9/10

Joe May's "Asphalt" is not as well remembered as the other masterpieces of German silent expressionist cinema, possibly due to the lack of immortals in the cast and its decidedly commercial scenario. But it certainly deserves a mention alongside the great works of Lang, Pabst, Murnau, et al. The cop-seduced-by-the-sexy-crook plot is the prototype for many a great (and not-so-great) film noir to come, and the seduction scene certainly packs a punch. Like most films of the time, it eventually descends into melodrama, but Gunther Rittau's remarkably mobile and probing camera is so skillful in revealing the characters' thoughts and lending pathos to their plight that he and the director transcend the clichés in the manner of Stahl and Ophuls, with some Langian irony peeking through at times. The opening profile of the city is a justly famed visual tour-de-force, but the stark, expressionist compositions that highlight the climax are just as striking and iconic. May never made the big time in Hollywood, but spun a few good programmers for the B picture mill.

UFA helmer Joe May, once spoken of in tandem with F W Murnau or Fritz Lang, ended his career struggling for gigs on B-list Hollywood fodder. But this late silent, a superb psychological meller lovingly restored with a fine new score on KINO DVD, shows him in top form. It's the old story of a naive cop corrupted by a shady lady. He bends the rules for a night of love. But when her rich lover returns, tragedy strikes, and his disgrace can only be erased through her redemption. Thrillingly designed & shot in a studio-created Berlin, May uses the camera with Murnau-like freedom & expressivity, only stumbling over the pacing of a few scenes he has trouble ending. Gustav Frohlich will always be stamped by his silly perf in Lang's METROPOLIS, but in this more naturalistic mode, he's touching & handsome. As the femme fatale, Betty Amann leaves an odd taste. She's an obvious precursor/model for Liza Minnelli's Sally Bowles in CABARET (had Bob Fosse seen this film?), but she's also a dead ringer for Tony Curtis in his drag mode in Billy Wilder's SOME LIKE IT HOT. Perhaps not as much of a stretch as it sounds since Wilder was @ UFA in '29 and even wrote May's first Hollywood pic. (05/13/07)

In Berlin, the dedicated traffic officer Albert Holk (Gustav Fröhlich) is a young man that lives with his parents. When the elegant and charming Else Kramer (Betty Amann) shoplifts a diamond in the Bergen Jewelry, the officer arrests her despite the request of the owner to release the youngster after retrieving the stone. They take a cab to the police station and Else first cries and then she unsuccessfully tries to seduce the uncorrupted officer. When they are in front of the precinct, Else asks Albert to go to her house first to get her documents. The reluctant officer finally accepts her request to go to her apartment and once there, she seduces him. On the next day, Albert feels guilty for failing on his duty. Else decides to return his documents that she had stolen in the previous night with a box of cigars. When the carrier delivers the envelope to Albert, he goes to Else's apartment offended with the bribe. But sooner he succumbs to the gorgeous lady and proposes her. Else questions the future of a policeman with a thief and shows that she stole the diamond for greed and not for need. Meanwhile, Else's lover Konsul Langen (Hans Adalbert Schlettow) returns from Paris where he had heisted the safe of a bank and finds Albert and Else together in her apartment. When Konsul pushes Else on the floor, Albert defends her and himself and their fight lead to a tragic conclusion.

"Asphalt" is a dramatic German silent film and an early film-noir. The gorgeous dark-haired Betty Amann is one of the most expressive actresses I have ever seen, and her eyes are amazing in the close-ups. The sequence in the taxi with the tears in her eyes is fantastic. Her performance is remarkable and her character certainly is one of the first femme fatales of the cinema history. The dilemma of Albert Holk, shared between his duty and the seductive woman, is one of the best moments of this film. This film registers the streets of Berlin in the late 20's with a great traffic of buses and automobiles and crowded streets. The music score of this highly recommended DVD is also awesome. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Asfalto" ("Asphalt")

Outstanding German silent era crime drama; an early film noir about a young traffic officer who gets involved with a femme fatale he has just arrested for stealing a diamond from a jeweler's shop. This spit-curled, dark-haired beauty attempts to use tears, tricks, Cognac, a pillow-laden couch proportioned like a king-sized bed, and finally a black-laced bodysuit/nightie to seduce our officer into letting her off. These two soon become emotionally involved with each other, but the officer is feeling guilt over shirking his duty to arrest her.

The photography in this film is really excellent - the film as a whole is very visual, with lots of facial close-ups, softly filtered lighting along with shadowy rooms and hallways, and an interesting montage at the beginning of the asphalt streets of Berlin and it's fast moving crowds of people and traffic, all shown with interesting overlapped and angled photography. The actors all give excellent, emotional performances. The actress, Betty Amann, who portrays the thief is especially good here, seducing both our officer and the viewer with just her eyes, showing a great range of emotion in close-up. The print on the DVD of this looks good, the orchestral score is really great and suits this to a tea. I have seen many, many silent films and I would certainly count this one among the best I've seen.