Destruction, repression, negligence, and indifference have eradicated the vast majority of cinema's early legacy. Studies have estimated that between 75 and 90 percent of all silent films have been lost forever. Despite this, the survival of the medium persists, and long lost films continue to be rediscovered in often bizarre and unexpected places. Ashes to Classics is an effort to record these forgotten histories for posterity, to explore the histories of their creation, discovery, and preservation. Every week we'll be bringing you a new film that was once lost, discussing its merits...
The last of our key figures of Weimar era cinema, as well as the last to leave the country to find sanctuary and prestige in America, Fritz Lang may be the most enduring name silent neophytes would be familiar with. The titanic impact of films like Metropolis (1927) and M (1931) solidified his...
Published 04/06/23
The most prolific director to make his way over to America after breaking ground and blazing trails in Germany was none other than Ernst Lubitsch—the legendary comic filmmaker who made Garbo laugh in Ninotchka (1939) and Hitler the fool in eviscerative satire To Be or Not to Be (1942). His...
Published 03/16/23