The Essential Watchlist Similar Cinematic Experiences to Es werde L...

Dir: Richard Oswald

A demon, a reaper, and the ghost of a prostitute read gothic short stories and act them out.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Es werde Licht! 2. Teil perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The second syphilis film poses the moral question: namely how far an illness should be considered a human disgrace. The protagonist of this story, a young doctor, believes that only characterless people can contract the disease through reprehensible actions. At a meeting in honor of a venereologist, a violent dispute erupts between the doctor who applies moral categories and a colleague who argues more objectively. Two events make the dogmatic young doctor think: his sister marries a syphilitic who has not yet been completely healed, and he himself falls ill as a result of a kiss from a young woman who also suffers from syphilis. But the doctor is healed and reconsiders his previous attitude.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A variation of the famous Oscar Wilde tale in which Dorian Gray's soul is manifested in a painting instead of his own body.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Paul Mauthner, a painter, has syphilis. A quack who promises a cure cannot help. Paul seduces his brother's wife and infects her with syphilis. While he then flees, the young, infected woman dies of the disease. The daughter born of this liaison, also infected, is admitted to a special clinic and can be cured there.

Dir: Richard Oswald

In the third part syphilis is also at the center of the action. This time a landowner falls ill. He proves to be a real fiend, tyrannizes his wife and seduces the daughter of the forester he employs. When the young woman thinks she can't find a way out, she seeks suicide. Finally, the despot also dies and, post mortem, takes his son with him into the misfortune. The latter believes that he too is suffering from syphilis and is soon obsessed with this delusion.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Es werde Licht! 1. Teil perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

About alcoholism, which can develop into a terrible family tradition. Paul is the son of a drinker. One day his father is killed in an inn. Despite the bad example set by his father, Paul is also unable to give up alcohol.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Es werde Licht! 3. Teil perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Thomas Bezug, the richest man in the world, is a solitary, domineering and cruel cripple who hardly can move on his crutches. He dwells a fanatical love for his son, whom he holds like a monkey in a cage.

Dir: Richard Oswald

Characteristic for Hoffmann's work is his life-long fight against rationalism and for the revelation of nature morte, culminating mostly in carnival-like scenes anticipating literary techniques

Dir: Richard Oswald

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.