''Desire'' (german: Sehnsucht) is a 1921
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
directed by
F. W. Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter.
He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...
and starring
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
. It tells the story of a male dancer who falls in love with a grand duchess, only to be arrested, and his subsequent attempt to find the duchess.
, it is believed to be a
lost film
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Conditions
During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
as no prints are known to exist.
worked as the film's
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
.
Plot
A young student from Russia (Conrad Veidt) is studying (art or dancing, records of the film are unclear) in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. He wants to go home for a visit, but has no funds. A group of
Nihilists
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
need someone to go to Russia for some plot (that plot is not clear, as the film has been lost). The student allows himself to be recruited as their agent, and he goes to Russia.
In Russia, the student meets a young, beautiful Grand Duchess (Gussy Holl), and they fall in love. The student attempts to complete his plot, but is arrested. After some time in prison, he escapes and begins searching for his lost lover. After some time, he discovers she died while he was in prison.
Cast
See also
*
List of lost films
For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films.
Reas ...
References
External links
*
''Sehnsucht'' at SilentEra
1921 films
Films of the Weimar Republic
German silent feature films
Lost German films
Films directed by F. W. Murnau
German black-and-white films
{{Germany-silent-film-stub