Kameradschaft (1931)

[Scottie]

When a coal mine collapses on the frontier between Germany and France, trapping a team of French miners inside, workers on both sides of the border spring into action, putting aside national prejudices and wartime grudges to launch a dangerous rescue operation. Director G. W. Pabst brings a claustrophobic realism to this ticking-clock scenario, using realistic sets and sound design to create the maze of soot-choked shafts where the miners struggle for survival. A gripping disaster film and a stirring plea for international cooperation, Kameradschaft cemented Pabst’s status as one of the most morally engaged and formally dexterous filmmakers of his time.

• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interview with German film scholar Hermann Barth on the film’s production
• 1988 interview with editor Jean Oser
• 2016 interview with film scholar Jan-Christopher Horak on the historical context of the film
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by author and critic Luc Sante