The silent anthology comes to UK blu in November.
Widely considered the first ever horror anthology, director Paul Leni's 1924 film Waxworks stars William Dieterle as a poet hired to create three backstories for exhibits in a wax museum. Each story plays out with the poet encountering historical figures Caliph Harun al-Rashid (Emil Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss). Leni was promptly brought to Hollywood by Universal’s Carl Laemmle, leading to the birth of Universal horror.
Newly restored, Waxworks makes its UK blu-ray debut on November 9th, courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
Special features include a choice of two newly created scores, by Ensemble Musikfabrik and composer Richard Siedhoff; commentary by critic Adrian Martin; Paul Leni’s Rebus-Film Nr. 1-8 – Courtesy of Kino Lorber, these Leni-helmed cinematic crossword puzzles were originally screened in 1920s German cinemas as featurettes accompanying the main film. Each of these animated shorts was split into two parts—a clue and an answer—and presented before and after the visual presentation; interview with film restorer Julia Wallmüller; and an interview with critic Kim Newman.
The disc comes packaged in a limited edition slipcase (first 2000 copies only) and with a collector’s booklet featuring new essays by Philip Kemp and Richard Combs on the film’s history and significance, notes on the restoration process by the Deutsche Kinemathek, and rarely seen production photographs and promotional material.
Check out Eureka's new trailer below.
The three separate episodes of Waxworks are united by the character of a young poet (William Dieterle), who is hired by the owner of a wax museum to create backstories for a trio of the museum’s figures: Caliph Harun al-Rashid (Emil Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt), and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss). The stories are depicted in succession (one per episode), the poet casting himself—as well as the daughter of the wax museum’s owner—at the centre of each tale. Though the poet and the daughter play different characters in the corresponding plots, they are always lovers whose relationship is threatened by the personages of the wax figures.
