This past Christmas, I was glancing through a bargain bin of DVDs and found a compilation of Christmas shorts. While several of the titles in the collection turn up on numerous other compilations (the hazards of public domain!), I was surprised to find that one of the shorts was Lotte Reiniger's STAR OF BETHLEHEM. This is, perhaps, one of three titles by her still available. The only other early cut-out animation from this pioneer of the process is the excellent DVD of THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED, which not only contains that Arabian Nights feature, but a documentary on Reiniger, as well as an animated silent theatrical commercial by her for a popular bath soap. It's a pity that a more comprehensive compilation of her fairy tales has not been put together.
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