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Asphalt (Blu-ray)

Directed by : Joe May
Available Date : 03/07/2023
Release Year : 1929
Running Time : 94
UPC : 738329261931
Country : Germany
Language: Silent (English intertitles)
Subject : Film and Media Studies - Classic Cinema, Film and Media Studies - German Cinema, Gender & Sexuality, German Cinema & Culture
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$9.99 (Blu-ray)
MSRP: $29.95
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From its elaborate and stylish opening scenes, Asphalt immediately establishes itself as a startling cinematic achievement of Weimar cinema. Gustav Frölich, best known as the young protagonist of Metropolis, stars as a strait-laced traffic cop who has the simple task of escorting a diamond thief to the police station. However, Holk’s routine assignment becomes complicated when he discovers the criminal in his custody: the exotic and beautiful Else (Betty Amann). Working alongside cinematographer Günther Rittau (The Blue Angel), director Joe May (The Indian Tomb) takes a simple melodrama and transforms it into a masterwork, with a brooding visual style, nuanced performances, and psychological complexity.

Product Extras :

Audio commentary by film historian Anthony Slide

Publish Date : 2023-02-07
  • Joe May - Director
  • Gustav Froelich - Actor
  • Betty Amann - Actor
  • Albert Steinruck - Actor
  • Else Heller - Actor

Reviews

"Asphalt" reveals a filmmaker of astonishing technical skills and a distinctive visual style, based on a use of raked sets to create a sense of precariousness and claustrophobia." Dave Kehr, The New York Times

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