Critics compare this sophisticated spy thriller to Carol Reed’s earlier Triumph set in Vienna with Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles — but it’s a different story altogether, not about black-market evil but the perils of moral compromise in a divided Berlin. James Mason and Claire Bloom are stunningly good together, in a moody suspense that’s completely serious — no comic relief or ‘fun’ jeopardy to distract from the fascinating, you-are-there setting, a Berlin trying to rebuild itself. With Hildegard Knef, and an extended, beautifully filmed nighttime chase that seals an unlikely romance.
The Man Between
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: James Mason, Claire Bloom, Hildegard Knef, Geoffrey Toone, Aribert Wäscher, Ernst Schróder, Dieter Krause, Hilde Sessak, Karl John, Ljuba Welitsch, Reinhard Kolldehoff.
Cinematography: Desmond Dickinson
Film Editor: Bert Bates
Original Music: John Addison
Written by Harry Kurnitz,...
The Man Between
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 102 min. / Street Date November 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: James Mason, Claire Bloom, Hildegard Knef, Geoffrey Toone, Aribert Wäscher, Ernst Schróder, Dieter Krause, Hilde Sessak, Karl John, Ljuba Welitsch, Reinhard Kolldehoff.
Cinematography: Desmond Dickinson
Film Editor: Bert Bates
Original Music: John Addison
Written by Harry Kurnitz,...
- 11/9/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Muszely/Welitsch/Konetzni/Lane/Waechter/Vienna Volksoper Orchestra/Bauer-Theussl
(Arthaus Musik)
Gian Carlo Menotti's emotive 1950 opera about the soul-destroying nature of political bureaucracy is often seen as a cold war period piece, which ducks the complex issues it raises. Menotti always refused to associate the work with a specific political system, and his portrait of Magda Sorel – fleeing from a police state but thwarted by the consulate of the country that supposedly offers asylum – is as critical of the humanitarian failures of western democracies as of the former eastern bloc. This extraordinary film was made for Austrian TV in 1963. Directed by Rudolph Cartier, it's shot in relentless close-ups that give neither the performers nor the viewers anywhere to hide. Melitta Muszely charts Madga's progress from desperation to hope to suicidal despair with uncompromising veracity. There are equally impressive performances from Eberhard Waechter as her husband and Gloria Lane as the consular secretary,...
(Arthaus Musik)
Gian Carlo Menotti's emotive 1950 opera about the soul-destroying nature of political bureaucracy is often seen as a cold war period piece, which ducks the complex issues it raises. Menotti always refused to associate the work with a specific political system, and his portrait of Magda Sorel – fleeing from a police state but thwarted by the consulate of the country that supposedly offers asylum – is as critical of the humanitarian failures of western democracies as of the former eastern bloc. This extraordinary film was made for Austrian TV in 1963. Directed by Rudolph Cartier, it's shot in relentless close-ups that give neither the performers nor the viewers anywhere to hide. Melitta Muszely charts Madga's progress from desperation to hope to suicidal despair with uncompromising veracity. There are equally impressive performances from Eberhard Waechter as her husband and Gloria Lane as the consular secretary,...
- 12/10/2010
- by Tim Ashley
- The Guardian - Film News
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