Michael (1924 film)
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''Michael'' (also known as ''Mikaël'', ''Chained: The Story of the Third Sex'', and ''Heart's Desire'') is a 1924 German silent
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...
, director of other notable silents such as '' The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (1928), ''
Master of the House ''Master of the House'' ( da, Du skal ære din hustru, literally ''Thou Shalt Honour Thy Wife'') is a 1925 Danish silent drama film directed and written by acclaimed filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film marked the debut of Karin Nellemose, ...
'' (1925), and ''
Leaves from Satan's Book ''Leaves from Satan's Book'', also known as ''Leaves Out of the Book of Satan'' ( da, Blade af Satans bog), is a 1920 Danish fantasy film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and starring Helge Nissen as Satan. This was only the third film directed b ...
'' (1921). The film stars Walter Slezak as the titular Michael, the young assistant and model to the artist Claude Zoret ( Benjamin Christensen). Along with '' Different From the Others'' (1919) and ''
Sex in Chains ''Sex in Chains'' (german: Geschlecht in Fesseln – Die Sexualnot der Strafgefangenen) is a 1928 silent film directed by William Dieterle. Plot The film opens with Franz Sommer (Dieterle) and his newlywed wife, Helene ( Mary Johnson). They are ...
'' (1928), ''Michael'' is widely considered a landmark in gay silent cinema. The film is based on
Herman Bang Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough. Biography Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar ...
's 1902 novel ''Mikaël''. It is the second screen adaptation of the book, the first being '' The Wings'', made eight years prior by director Mauritz Stiller. ''Michael'', however, follows Bang's storyline much more closely than the earlier film version did.


Plot

A famous painter named Claude Zoret falls in love with one of his models, Michael, and for a time the two live happily as partners. Self-conscious of being considerably older than Michael, Zoret acts jealous and possessive. Michael begins to drift from him, causing Zoret to passive aggressively drive Michael away further. When a bankrupt countess comes to Zoret to have a portrait made — with the real intent of seducing him and swindling his money — she finds Michael to be more receptive to her advances. At her lead, the two quickly become a couple and she immediately begins using Michael to steal from Zoret. When Zoret discovers what has been going on, he is crushed and his work suffers terribly. Michael sells the painting of himself that Zoret made and gave to him as a gift, and steals and sells the sketches Zoret made of their time in
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, where they first fell in love. Zoret begins work on his masterpiece: a large-scale painting of a man lying on a beach, using Algiers as a background, depicting "a man who has lost everything", as one character put it on first sight of the work. After completing the painting, Zoret falls ill. Charles Switt sits beside Zoret on his deathbed. Switt had always loved Zoret, and has stayed with him throughout, never criticizing Michael for fear of hurting his unrequited love. Switt sends a message to Michael, telling him that Zoret is dying and to come at once, but the Countess prevents him from getting it. Zoret's last words, which also serve as the prologue to the film, are "Now I can die in peace, for I have seen true love."


Cast

* Walter Slezak as Michael * Benjamin Christensen as Claude Zoret *
Nora Gregor Nora Gregor (3 February 1901 – 20 January 1949) was an Austrian stage and film actress. Biography She was born Eleonora Hermina Gregor in Görz, a town which then belonged to Austria-Hungary, but is now part of Italy, to Austrian-Jewish paren ...
as Countess Lucia Zamikow * Robert Garrison as Charles Switt, journalist * Max Auzinger as Jules, principal steward of the house * Didier Aslan as Duke de Monthieu * Alexander Murski as Mr. Adelsskjold *
Grete Mosheim Margarete Emma Dorothea "Grete" Mosheim (8 January 1905 – 29 December 1986) was a German film, theatre, and television actress. Early life Mosheim was born in Berlin, Germany on 8 January 1905, the daughter of a Jewish man, Markus Mosheim (18 ...
as Mrs. Alice Adelsskjold *
Karl Freund Karl W. Freund, A.S.C. (January 16, 1890 – May 3, 1969) was an Austrian cinematography, cinematographer and film director best known for photographing ''Metropolis (1927 film), Metropolis'' (1927), ''Dracula (1931 English-language film), Dracul ...
as LeBlanc, art dealer * Wilhelmine Sandrock as Widow de Monthieu


Release

''Michael'' was shown in Berlin on 26 September 1924.


Critical reception and legacy

Initial responses to the film included some major objections. Film critic
Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', pronounced:
"Chained" is a dull piece of work, redeemed only by some artistic scenes and Benjamin Christensen's able portrayal of Claude Zoret, an artist...The actress cast as a princess does not screen well, and Walter Slezak, who figures as the youth, gives a stilted, amateurish impersonation.New York Times
film review of ''Michael'', by Mordaunt Hall. December 15, 1926.
He criticizes the film for what he perceived as opportunism for a German director to take a "fling at France" by filming less than favorable national figures on the screen (Zoret was purportedly based on French sculptor
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
). The homosexual undertones also upset reviewers, since "''Michael'' asone of the very few big-budget mainstream studio productions from the silent period that ealtwith homosexuality; although it remains implicit, it was readily apparent to many contemporaries."Casper Tybjerg, ''The Makers of Movies: Authors, Subjects, Personalities, Agents?'' in ''Visual authorship: creativity and intentionality in media'', Northern Lights vol. 3., Torben Kragh Grodal, Bente Larsen, Iben Thorving Laursen (ed.), Museum Tusculanum Press, 2005. pp. 58–59. After Dreyer had further established himself as a prominent director through his later films – most notably '' The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (1928), which is considered a masterpiece – critics began to reevaluate ''Michael''. From the perspective of auteur theory, this film exhibits many trademark elements of Dreyer's personal directorial style, such as his use of
close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...
s in a "way that... makes a tranquil picture of overwhelming feelings." It has also been suggested that the film reflects personal feelings harbored by Dreyer after a purported homosexual affair. The film has been cited to have influenced several directors.
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
drew upon motifs from ''Michael'' for his script for '' The Blackguard'' (1925). The film is considered an important early work in gay silent cinema.


Home media release

The film was released in Region 2 by Eureka Entertainment Ltd. as part of the Masters of Cinema Series on 25 October 2004 with the title ''Michael''. Two months later on 14 December, Kino International released a Region 1 version with the title ''Carl Theodor Dreyer's Michael''.IMDb
DVD release details
Kino International retained the copyright in the United States until the film reached the public domain in that country in 2020.


References


External links

* * {{Thea von Harbou 1924 films German black-and-white films 1924 drama films Films directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer Films of the Weimar Republic German LGBT-related films German silent feature films Films based on Danish novels Films based on works by Herman Bang Films with screenplays by Thea von Harbou 1920s LGBT-related films Films produced by Erich Pommer German drama films UFA GmbH films Silent drama films 1920s German films