andyterry Switching from expressionism to kammerspiel was only for the best for F.W. Murnau. Turning from pure fiction to reality, the director and his cinematographer Freund introduced, quite revolutionarily, moving camera (and also POV-shots) and abandoned intertitles. Intertitles do often kill film's dynamics, and "Noseratu," which is apparently the most famous Murnau's title, was in a way spoiled by texts of all kinds. To abandon intertitles completely was an obvious decision, but difficult to realize and demanding a great skill. Murnau did a brilliant job: there isn't a sequence or a shot which is hard to get despite no lines heard or seen and no explanation given.Admirably, even from external difficulties Murnau managed to benefit. I mean the ending forced by the movie producers. Murnau had to obey; but he made an obviously unrealistic farce instead of regular happy ending, and also preceded it with a sardonic commentary. As a result, the final sequence underlines picture's message: the second change of protagonist (now to a tux and a top hat) is not a random detail. Furthermore, it's not Hollywood-like idealism we feel here, but a hysterics, some desperate hope. We can even suppose that everything after the only intertitle with Murnau's commentary is a dream, protagonist's insane fantasy.Funny enough, this forced ending not only gave an additional dimension to "Der Letzte Mann," but also would be used as a narrative technique on its own right by other filmmakers: see Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" and Kusturica's "Underground," both featuring corresponding unrealistic epilogues.

wes-connors This classic silent film about the proud old "Atlantic" hotel doorman who is demoted to bathroom attendant due to his advancing years certainly lives up to its reputation as, "The crowning achievement of the German expressionist movement." Director F.W. Murnau and storyteller Carl Mayer "tell" the story in pure visual style - there are no "title cards" to help with dialogue, and none are necessary. Without language to translate, silent films were universally understood. The piece is superbly photographed by Karl Freund and equally superbly performed by lead actor Emil Jannings.The film was an immediate worldwide critical and financial success, with high placement in the 1925 "New York Times" and "Film Daily" polls, at #2 and #5 respectively. Moreover, the "Motion Picture Magazine" had "Der letzte Mann" (as "The Last Laugh") beat out its "Hollywood" competition as "Best Picture" of 1925, with Mr. Jannings receiving the equivalent "Best Actor" prize. The nightmare of growing old and unneeded is so forcefully conveyed, filmmakers included an inappropriate, theme-busting ending; but, even this arguable lapse in storytelling judgment is brilliantly done.********* Der letzte Mann (12/23/24) F.W. Murnau ~ Emil Jannings, Hans Unterkircher, Maly Delschaft, Georg John

JoeytheBrit In 1920s Germany, a hotel doorman takes great pride in both his job and the grand uniform that denotes his position. The uniform earns him the unquestioning respect of his neighbours, so when he is demoted through no fault of his own to the lowly position of lavatory attendant, the doorman is devastated. Stealing the uniform that once was his, he makes a sad attempt to fool his neighbours into thinking he still manages the door of the prestigious Atlantic Hotel but, before long, the truth is uncovered, and the respect they once paid him quickly dissolves.The Last Laugh stands as one of the finest creations of a remarkable director, F.W. Murnau, whose credits include Nosferatu, Faust and Sunrise. Filmed without use of subtitles – and to appreciate what an astounding achievement this is, try imagining a dramatic film made without any form of dialogue today – Murnau crafts a beautiful, compelling and tragic tale that stands as both testimony to his undoubted skills and to the artistic heights to which silent cinema often aspired.The venerated German actor Emil Jannings was only 40 when he took on the role of the unnamed porter, and yet a combination of Waldemar Jabs painstaking make-up and Jannings' own ability to convey his character's heartache in simple ways, such as the stoop of his shoulders or a bent leg, means he gives a towering performance that never threatens, however, to overshadow the story being told.The story revolves as much around the grandiose uniform Jannings wears as it does the man. A symbol of the contemporary German importance attached to uniforms and their unavoidably militaristic connotations, the uniform is portrayed as making the man – and it is only the contentious ending that spins the message that it is not uniforms but compassion and kindness that make men great – not only through the respect he receives from all around him, but in the transformation the porter undergoes whenever he is parted from it. From a ramrod-backed creature of magnificence, with elaborately arranged hair and whiskers, he turns into a fumbling old man with bowed back and shaking hands. In the hands of a lesser actor, the demands of this transformation may have descended into cheap caricature, but Jannings never lets us lose sight of the proud man lurking within the bowed and beaten body.Karl Freund's camera-work is a revelation in this film, right from the opening shot as we descend with the lift into the foyer of the opulent Atlantic hotel. Numerous tricks are used without drawing attention to their use and thus distracting the viewer from the tragedy that is taking place: the drunken POV shot (achieved by strapping the camera to Freund's chest) in Jannings' flat after his niece's wedding reception; the blurred fantasy sequences (themselves a breakthrough in film narrative) achieved by smearing Vaseline onto the camera lens, and the use of dialectic montage and dolly shots, were all groundbreaking techniques never before used, but copied forevermore.Murnau directs the film with the assurance of a man at the top of his form – where he would arguably remain until his tragically early death – and the care taken with this film is evident throughout every shot. This is why Murnau made relatively few films in an era when many directors churned them out at a rate of a dozen or more per year. The degree of a director's conscientiousness is always evident on the screen, and it is always a pleasure to view a Murnau film, because it is clear that his commitment to his work was always second to none.

Boba_Fett1138 This is such a great- and even better told story. It features normal average persons who get in some realistic difficulties and struggle with life. You can just feel how heartbroken the old man is after loosing his job and the respect he had among the community because of his uniform. Yeah, uniforms were still a that big thing at that time. The movie especially does a good job with showing the contrasts between the 'two worlds', of money and respectability and poor and being just considered average, or even less. It makes "Der Letzte Mann" such a powerful and effective movie!I love it when a silent movie doesn't use too many or hardly any title cards. Just let the images tell the story. It takes a great director to do this but F.W. Murnau was obviously one of the best, not just of his time but of all time!The movie is filled with some greatly made and looking memorable sequences, such as a couple of great dream-like- and surrealistic sequences. In those sequences it becomes once all the more obvious how great of a director F.W. Murnau was.The movie is filled and even more uplifted by its fantastic camera-work! I love it when old movies use early movement-effects and pans and zooms, though obviously the movie doesn't use this all the time. Especially the beginning is memorable, when the movie opens with one of the first ever hand-held camera shots. It's different from the normal usual static camera-work from the '20's and '30's. But also the lighting of the movie is absolutely phenomenal. It gives the movie such a good, warm and effective powerful look. The same goes for the fast and nimble editing and compositions, that make the story flow extremely well. Old movies normally feel distant because of the old fashioned style and look. But not this one!The movie was obviously mostly shot at studios and the street sets look like they were made out of cardboard (which they most likely also were) but that is all part of the charm of these expressionistic German movies from the '20's, such as also "Metropolis", "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari" and "Faust".The make-up effects are perhaps an underrated aspect of the movie. I mean it's not a 'make-up' movie, such as "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens" or "Faust" (both also directed by F.W. Murnau by the way) but remember that Emil Jannings was in his early 40's during this movie, though he truly looked like he was in his 60's or so. So some really effective and convincing make-up effects here! If you didn't knew any better you would just think that this movie had a 60 year old playing the main character.A great, powerful- but also beautiful movie experience, from F.W. Murnau!10/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/