(aka "Spione" or "The Spy")
directed by Fritz Lang
USA 1928
Newly
restored to its original length, Fritz Lang's penultimate silent film,
Spione [Spies], is a flawlessly constructed labyrinthine spy thriller.
Hugely influential, Lang's famous passion for meticulous detail combines with
masterful storytelling and editing skills to form a relentless story of
intrigue, espionage, and blackmail.
An international spy ring, headed by
Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), uses technology, threats, and murder to obtain
government secrets. As master spy, president of a bank, and music hall clown,
Haghi leads several lives using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a
mad rush for secrets ?secrets that assert his power over others.
Setting in stone for the first time many elements of the modern spy
thriller, Spione remains remarkably fresh and captivating over 75 years
since its first release. Lang carefully reveals the elaborate methods of the
spies as they move through his unknown city, no doubt creating a mirror of
troubled Weimar Germany. Made by Lang's own production company and, like M and
Metropolis, written by Lang with his wife Thea von Harbou, Spione is "the
Grandaddy of decades of intrigue epics. In its rigorous austerity it remains the
most modern of the bunch." (Elliott Stein, Village Voice).
Poster
 |
Theatrical Release: March 22nd , 1928
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Kino - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Eureka (Master of Cinema # 9) - Region 2 - PAL
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
| DVD Box Covers |
|
|
| Distribution |
Kino Region 0 - NTSC |
Eureka Region 2 - PAL |
| Runtime | 2:23:25 | 2:24:35 (25fps film (not 24fps) transferred directly to 25fps PAL) |
| Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
| Audio | New score by Donald Sosin (2.0 Dolby Digital) |
New score by Donald Sosin (2.0 Dolby Digital) |
| Inter/Subtitles | English (non-removable) | Original German intertitles (and optional English subtitles) |
| Features | Release Information: Studio: Kino Video Aspect Ratio:- 1.33:1 Edition Details: Chapters 18 |
Release Information: Studio: Eureka Aspect Ratio: - 1.33:1 Edition Details: DVD Release Date: April 19th,
2005 Chapters 18 |
| Comments | The big issue - Kino have pre-translated the
title cards from their original German into English. This is totally
out-of-place or anyone respecting this films origins. The Eureka
intertitles can be optionally subtitled. The Kino may me marginally
sharper and the Eureka a little over-contrasted. Like the
Metropolis comparison HERE it appears as
though we have an example of PAL-NTSC ghosting derived from improper
conversion. The Kino - Region 0 - NTSC edition uses the same PAL master
from the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung, BUT they did not pre-convert
to NTSC for their standards' (Region 1) audience. Viewing the Kino edition
DVD will see all the prevalent flaws that this common transference
practice produces - 'ghosting' in motion sequences (see below),
blurriness, artifacts and in this case some dis-colorization. The Eureka
black levels are much richer and deeper than the Kino's, yet the Eureka
image is also brighter. We prefer the Rosenbaum essay in the Eureka
package to the text screens (and trailer) of the Kino.
Gary W. Tooze |
DVD
Menus
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL -
RIGHT)
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Screen Captures
As Eureka did with the Asphalt intertitles/subtitles. The English subs are removable, and they include a semi-transparent layer which dulls the German intertitles underneath. When you remove the English intertitles, it removes the semi-transparent layer also. It's a great system, I have never seen it before! -- The reason (I surmise) is that sometimes the German intertitles cover the whole screen, and they'd clash with the English subtitles at the bottom. Kino have replaced with mandatory English only.
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka -
Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
(Kino- Region 0 - NTSC - TOP vs. Eureka - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
|
|
|
|
Report Card:
|
Image: |
Eureka |
|
Sound: |
Tie |
| Extras: | Eureka |
| Menu: | Eureka |
DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive and advertisement free:
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze 1775 Rowntree Court Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4V3 CANADA |
|
Thank You!
Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies Fritz Lang Spies 1928 Spione DVD Review Masters of Cinema Eureka Kino Spies