Inferno – A Game for the People of Our Age Dr Mabuse, the Gambler: Part 2 Film screening with live accompaniment
Fritz Lang’s Dr Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) is one of the legendary epics of silent cinema and the beginning of a series of films that Lang developed up until the very end of his career.
A masterpiece of conspiracy, it constructs its own dark labyrinth from the base materials of human fear and paranoia and is so epic, in fact, that German film studio Ufa had to release it in two parts.
Part Two (Inferno – A Game for the People of Our Age) sees Rudolf Klein-Rogge return as the very dangerous Dr Mabuse, the criminal mastermind whose nefarious machinations provide the cover for many a masterful crime set with the backdrop of Weimar Germany. A tale of cold-blooded murder, opiate narcosis and cocaine anxiety, Lang’s film maintains an unrelenting power all the way to the final act which culminates in the terrifying question: ‘Where is Mabuse?!’
A truly legendary silent film, Dr Mabuse, the Gambler had a major impact on the development of the crime thriller, building upon the work of the pioneering French film serialist Louis Feuillade (Les Vampires) and firmly establishing it as a significant film genre.
Live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.
Director: Fritz Lang
Starring: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede-Nissen, Bernhard Goetzke
PG / Germany / 115mins
This epic tale was originally released as two separate films (subtitled The Great Gambler – A Picture of the Time and Inferno – A Game for the People of Our Age) and that format is reproduced over the course of two screenings for Bristol Ideas and South West Silents’ Modernism 1922 season and Cinema Rediscovered Film Festival.
Modernism 1922 explores the worlds of film, literature, music, politics and more 100 years ago. It is run as a tribute to Kevin Jackson. His book, Constellation of Genius: 1922: Modernism and All That Jazz, tells the story of that remarkable year. Dr Mabuse, the Gambler is also being shown as part of Future City Film Festival.
We are grateful to the British Film Institute for their support.
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John Sweeney was born in New Zealand. He has worked in London for 25 years and is one of London’s favourite accompanists, composing and playing for silent film and accompanying ballet and contemporary classes. He has worked for many famous dance companies including Rambert Dance Company, Mark Baldwin Dance Company and LCDT. He currently accompanies class for the Richard Alston Dance Company. He is one of the world’s top silent film pianists and is a regular feature at the BFI Southbank, the Barbican and the major silent film festivals around the world. He is a founder member of the Kennington Bioscope.
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