Der letzte Mann (1924)
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Fri 27 Sep 202420:15 - 22:00Grote Zaal
Program
Der letzte Mann (1924), a film by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau with music by Alfredo Casella, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, Sergei Rachmaninov, Gioachino Rossini, Franz Schubert, Erwin Schulhoff, Jean Sibelius and Clara Schumann, compiled by Jed Wentz
Credits
Olga Pashchenko piano
Acclaimed performer Olga Pashchenko plays a piano score compiled by Jed Wentz, as she did previously for Der Golem, Herr Tartüff, and Nosferatu. She accompanies this gem from director F.W. Murnau with music that was popular when the film was released a century ago. Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) shows the director’s ability to turn a small story into great cinema through innovative camerawork, leaving an indelible mark on the history of film.
Dressed in his long, braid-trimmed uniform coat, the doorman (Emil Jannings) of a grand hotel welcomes the chic guests. On the eve of his daughter's wedding, after years of loyal service, he faces a crushing blow: demotion to a toilet attendant. The shame keeps him silent. The freely moving camera, which often adopts the doorman’s point of view, immerses the audience in a personal tragedy. 
Film from the holdings of the the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung (www.murnau-stiftung.de) in Wiesbaden
