Ithaca College

Siskel Film Center calls VARIETE, a revenge circus suspense drama, "one of the greatest German films of the 1920s."

Critics call the recent restoration, to be screened at the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, "glorious."

If that's not enough, it's got great "erotic and visual power."

But wait, there's more: Live zydeco music will be performed by local/regional favorites LI'L ANNE AND THE HOT CAYENNE.

Friday, April 13, 7:30 PM, Cinemapolis.

VARIETE tells the tale of former trapeze artist “Boss” Huller leaves his wife and child to go to Berlin with the younger, seductive Berta-Marie. They become the lead attraction at Berlin’s famed Wintergarten, where they perform as a trio with trapezist Artinelli.

That is, until Huller realises that Berta-Marie is cheating on him with their fellow acrobat.

As a journalist for Germany’s first tabloid newspaper, the “BZ”, Dupont introduced the “variety shows and film” column in 1915 and his film is a celebration of the best of both. He steers the blatant curiosity that dancer Berta-Marie provokes towards artificiality.

In Varieté, Karl Freund’s “unleashed” camera also executes daring feats of flying acrobatics.

The digital restoration was undertaken by the foundation Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung, working with the Filmarchiv Austria, using nitrate prints from both the US Library of Congress and the Filmarchiv Austria.

Review: 

"At last, an expressionist silent classic that takes full advantage of cinematic principles. The legendary E.A. Dupont goes in for subjective-emotional effects of which Hitchcock would approve, and cameraman Karl Freund and effects wizard Eugen Schüfftan pull off spectacular visuals and special effects. No wonder this was a huge hit in America, it’s way ahead of its time (and ours, in some ways)."--Glenn Erickson, DVDSavant

Trailer for VARIETE here.

To see the full FLEFF 2018 program, check out our website here.

FLEFF: A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Patricia Zimmermann at patty@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-3431. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.