Eternal Love (Movietone)

UCLA restored Movietone version viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 4 Nov 2008. - Excellent restoration from probably very difficult materials, it looks like a very well made dupe. The image is a little on the soft side, and there are contrast questions in some scenes. The overall impact is consistent and pleasant. - See entry 20 March 2008, when we screened the silent (not-Movietone) version. - The Hugo Riesenfeld score is a good example of a music score of a late silent film. It is interesting to notice how the most important sound elements (the bells, the gunshots, the door knockers) work perfectly even as silent film images. - "My gun is my life. Who will dare take it away from me?" Ciglia steps forward. - The heavy make-up is distracting. - The influence of Murnau's Faust both in the choice of Camilla Horn and in the final visionary image, so untypical for Lubitsch. - I feel this is an important Lubitsch film, although it is not completely realized and although he himself disowned it.