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Alraune
''Alraune'' (German for ) is a novel by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911. It is also the name of the female lead character. The book originally featured illustrations by Ilna Ewers-Wunderwald. Legend The basis of the story of Alraune dates to the Middle Ages in Germany. The humanoid-shaped mandrake root or ''Mandragora officinarum'' was widely believed to be produced by the semen of hanged men under the gallows. Alchemists claimed that hanged men ejaculated after their necks were broken and that the earth absorbed their final "strengths". In some versions, it is blood instead of semen. The root itself was used in love philtres and potions while its fruit was supposed to facilitate pregnancy. Witches who "made love" to the mandrake root were said to produce offspring that had no feelings of real love and had no soul. Fiction The novel deviates from the myth by concentrating on the issues of artificial insemination and individuality: genetics versus environment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alraune (1928 Film)
''Alraune'' is a 1928 German silent science fiction horror film directed by Henrik Galeen and starring Brigitte Helm in which a prostitute is artificially inseminated with the semen of a hanged man. The story is based upon the legend of Alraune. In this version, the blasphemous sexual union causes the progeny (a daughter) to grow to adulthood quickly, behave in a sexually promiscuous fashion and cause the men who fall in love with her nothing but hardship, heartache and financial ruin, if not death. Plot A wealthy Professor specializing in genetics is ambitious to conduct an experiment with a woman of "low social status", by impregnating her with a mandrake. The plant is believed by legend to sprout from the semen of hanged prisoners. He instructs his young nephew, Franz, to obtain a woman from the "scum of society". Franz reluctantly retrieves a prostitute, and the experiment is performed on her. The child from the experiment, Alraune, grows up to become a beautiful woman with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alraune 2
''Alraune'' (German for ) is a novel by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911. It is also the name of the female lead character. The book originally featured illustrations by Ilna Ewers-Wunderwald. Legend The basis of the story of Alraune dates to the Middle Ages in Germany. The humanoid-shaped mandrake root or ''Mandragora officinarum'' was widely believed to be produced by the semen of hanged men under the gallows. Alchemists claimed that hanged men ejaculated after their necks were broken and that the earth absorbed their final "strengths". In some versions, it is blood instead of semen. The root itself was used in love philtres and potions while its fruit was supposed to facilitate pregnancy. Witches who "made love" to the mandrake root were said to produce offspring that had no feelings of real love and had no soul. Fiction The novel deviates from the myth by concentrating on the issues of artificial insemination and individuality: genetics versus environment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanns Heinz Ewers
Hanns Heinz Ewers (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilogy of novels about the adventures of Frank Braun, a character modeled on himself. The best known of these is ''Alraune'' (1911).Henry and Mary Garland, ''The Oxford companion to German literature''.Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1997. (pp.221–222).Mary Ellen Snodgrass,''Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature''. New York, Facts on File (2004). (p.106-7) Career Born in Düsseldorf, Ewers started to write poetry when he was 17 years old. His first noticed poem was an obituary tribute to the German Emperor Frederick III. Ewers earned his Abitur in March 1891. He then volunteered for the military and joined the ''Kaiser-Alexander-Gardegrenadier-Regiment No. 1'', but was dismissed 44 days later because of myopia. Ewers's literary career b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alraune (1918 Film)
''Alraune'' is a 1918 Hungarian science fiction horror film directed by Michael Curtiz and Edmund Fritz. It starred Géza Erdélyi. Little is known about this film which is now believed to be lost. Alraune is German for "Mandrake". The film is based on a novel by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911. The plot is a variation on the original legend of Alraune in which a Mad Scientist creates a beautiful—but demonic—child from the forced union between a woman and a mandrake root fed by the blood of a hanged man. Cast See also * Michael Curtiz filmography * List of lost films * Alraune (1928 film), remake References * Wingrove, David. Science Fiction Film Source Book ''The Science Fiction Film Source Book'' is a book by David Wingrove published in 1985. Plot summary ''The Science Fiction Film Source Book'' is a book consisting of list of science fiction film plot summaries, with information about producers, di ... (Longman Group Limited, 1985) Exter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alraune, Die Henkerstochter, Genannt Die Rote Hanne
''Alraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote Hanne'' (''Alraune, the Hangman's Daughter, Named Red Hanna'') is a 1918 silent science fiction horror film directed by Eugen Illés and Joseph Klein and starring Max Auzinger. The film was produced by Luna-Film and distributed by Natural Film GmbH. The art direction was by Artur Günther. ''Alraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote Hanne'' was released in the US under the title ''Sacrifice''. Inspiration Despite the title, this film has very little connection to the 1911 novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers, with the only reference being to the Mandrake root which plays a role in saving the dying child. In contrast to the Hungarian film by the same name, and released the same year, an intact version can still be found at George Eastman International Museum of Photography and Film. Plot A doctor uses the sperm of a dead man to impregnate a prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigitte Helm
Brigitte Helm (born Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm, 17 March 1906 – 11 June 1996) was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, ''Metropolis''. Early life and film career Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm was born on 17 March 1906 in Berlin, the daughter of Gretchen Gertrud Martha Schittenhelm (née Tews) and Edwin Alexander Johannes Schittenhelm. Helm's first role was that of Maria in ''Metropolis'', which she began work on while only 18 years old. After ''Metropolis'', Helm made over 30 other films, including talking pictures, before retiring in 1935. Her other appearances include '' The Love of Jeanne Ney'' (1927), ''Alraune'' (1928), '' L'Argent'' (1928), ''Gloria'' (1931), ''The Blue Danube'' (1932), '' L'Atlantide'' (1932), and ''Gold'' (1934). Helm was considered for the title role in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' before Elsa Lanchester was given the role. She signed a ten-year contract with U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henrik Galeen
Henrik Galeen (7 January 1881 – 30 July 1949) was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionism, German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. Early years Considerable mystery exists about Galeen's early life, and for many years it was uncertain where exactly he was born. Galeen came from a Jewish family in Lemberg, Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. He moved from Austria to German Empire, Germany before the First World War, and became assistant to the leading theatre figure Max Reinhardt. Galeen subsequently became an actor in Berlin and touring other German-speaking cities. German silent films Galeen first became involved in film in 1913 when he worked on the screenplays for several uncredited films. In 1914 he wrote, directed and acted in ''The Golem (1915 film), The Golem'' the first of several depictions of the mythical figure Golem, The Gole ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Wegener
Paul Wegener (11 December 1874 – 13 September 1948) was a German actor, writer, and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema. Acting career At the age of 20, Wegener decided to end his law studies and concentrate on acting, touring the provinces before joining Max Reinhardt's acting troupe in 1906. In 1912, he turned to the new medium of motion pictures and appeared in the 1913 version of '' The Student of Prague''. It was while making this film that he first heard the old Jewish legend of the Golem and proceeded to adapt the story to film, co-directing and co-writing the script with Henrik Galeen. His first version of the tale '' The Golem'' (1915, now lost) was a success and firmly established Wegener's reputation. In 1917, he made a parody of the story called ''Der Golem und die Tänzerin'', but it was his reworking of the tale, '' The Golem: How He Came into the World'' (1920) which stands as one of the classics of German cinema and help ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries AD.Principe, Lawrence M. The secrets of alchemy'. University of Chicago Press, 2012, pp. 9–14. Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical ''magnum opus'' ("Great Work"). The concept of creating the philosophers' stone was variously connected with all of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heredity
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic information of their parents. Through heredity, variations between individuals can accumulate and cause species to evolve by natural selection. The study of heredity in biology is genetics. Overview In humans, eye color is an example of an inherited characteristic: an individual might inherit the "brown-eye trait" from one of the parents. Inherited traits are controlled by genes and the complete set of genes within an organism's genome is called its genotype. The complete set of observable traits of the structure and behavior of an organism is called its phenotype. These traits arise from the interaction of its genotype with the environment. As a result, many aspects of an organism's phenotype are not inherited. For example, suntanned skin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Eastern Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humanoid
A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it is now considered rare. More generally, the term can refer to anything with distinctly human characteristics or adaptations, such as possessing opposable anterior forelimb- appendages (i.e. thumbs), visible spectrum-binocular vision (i.e. having two eyes), or biomechanic plantigrade-bipedalism (i.e. the ability to walk on heels and metatarsals in an upright position). Science fiction media frequently present sentient extraterrestrial lifeforms as humanoid as a byproduct of convergent evolution. In theoretical convergent evolu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
