The Man Who Laughs (1928)

[GeoffOliver]

Flicker Alley, in partnership with Universal Pictures, are proud to present Universal Picture's new 4K restoration of the 1928 silent classic, The Man Who Laughs, accompanied by a newly recorded orchestral score by the Berklee School of Music. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the story centers on the extraordinary adventures of Conrad Veidt s Gwynplaine, whose wide and mirthless grin inspired DC Comics legendary Batman villain, the Joker. Veidt's character has become well known to most cinephiles. Orphaned as a child, Gwynplaine is punished by the king for his father s transgressions, by having face carved into a hideous grin. Disfigured and alone, Gwynplaine rescues a blind girl Dea, and both end up staring in a sideshow where they fall in love. Because she cannot see, Dea does not know about her lover s tormented grin.

Masterfully directed by Paul Leni, The Man Who Laughs marks Leni's penultimate work. Having grown up in Germany during the era of Expressionism, Leni embraces haunting characters, twisted sets, harsh angles, and deep shadows. Heralded as one of the best American silents emulating German Expressionism, The Man Who Laughs presents Leni at his creative directorial peak. Originally released silent, the film was enough of a hit for Universal in 1928 that the studio released it with a synched musical score using the Movietone sound-on-film process, presented here as a secondary audio track.

Part of Universal Picture's ongoing silent restoration initiative, The Man Who Laughs honors the studio's rich film history that has spanned more than a century. The primary source element for this restoration was a 35mm composite fine grain from the Universal Pictures vault, created in 1954 from the nitrate original camera negative. NBCUniversal's restoration team was able to stabilize and deflicker the film as well as repair scratches, warps, and dirt. The 4K digital restoration was completed by NBCUniversal StudioPost.

BONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE:

Paul Leni and The Man Who Laughs: A visual essay by film historian and author, John Soister, on Leni's work at Universal during this period.

Celebrating Universal's Masterpiece: A new booklet essay written by renowned film historian and author, Kevin Brownlow.

Notes On the New Score: A short essay by composer Sonia Coronado of the Berklee School of Music on their new score for The Man Who Laughs.

Secondary Audio Track: In addition to the new Berklee School of Music score, the film's original 1928 Movietone score presented here as a secondary audio track.

Rare Image Gallery: A slide show presentation of vintage marketing materials, trade ads, memorabilia and more from The Man Who Laughs, courtesy of the Reel Heroes of Film.

[BluBonnet]

Really exciting news!!

[Michael24]

Excellent! Saw this for the first time last year and really enjoyed it.

[DrCushing]

The preview looks stunning!

[movieben1138]

One of my favorite silent films! Thank you, Flicker Alley!

[GeoffOliver]

Amazon pre-order

[bgart13]

Nice Joker colors on the cover...

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by bgart13

Nice Joker colors on the cover...

Well the Joker was inspired by the movie, and specifically that image of Veidt, so it's just returning the favor

[Egbert Souse]

One of the all-time greats of the silent era. It should be every bit as well known as The Phantom of the Opera. Pre-ordering along with The Last Warning!

[The Great Owl]

I don't think that I've ever pre-ordered something this fast. It's a great announcement.

[evilive]

The cover art sucks ass, but I've always wanted to see this. Can't wait.

[Evan Meadow]

Curious to see how well the Batman fanbase goes for this. I’m sorely tempted just because of the historical context.

[Jexes23]

I literally just bought the French copy a week ago.

I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same scan so I’ll probably just stay put.

[MTRodaba2468]

My brother and I were just talking about adding more films from the 20's to my collection. Talk about perfect timing...

[Gacivory]

Part of Universal Picture's ongoing silent restoration initiative

Well that’s good to hear! Silents being restored!

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by MTRodaba2468

My brother and I were just talking about adding more films from the 20's to my collection. Talk about perfect timing...

Probably a demand thing, but I have quite a few films I want from that era that are DVD only right now, so I know they have the elements.... Just wondering if they have the desire.

Really would like Able Gance’s “The Wheel”. Quite a few others too, but that one I’ve wanted for a while.

[Baron Blood]

Great news.

The purple Flicker Alley part should have been solid and given as a removable slip cover revealing the grin

Anyways, this gives me hope for Veidt's The Student Of Prague.
Unlike this film it didn't get even a DVD release.

Cat & The Canary would be great in HD too.

[MartinScorsesefan]

The French release just arrived in my mailbox today. I guess I should've waited. This is truly one of the great films.

[Bluebolt]

Originally Posted by Jexes23

I literally just bought the French copy a week ago.

I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same scan so I’ll probably just stay put.

Originally Posted by MartinScorsesefan

The French release just arrived in my mailbox today. I guess I should've waited. This is truly one of the great films.

Thank you.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by Baron Blood

Anyways, this gives me hope for Veidt's The Student Of Prague.
Unlike this film it didn't get even a DVD release.

.

Well, it kind of did...

http://www.silentera.com/video/studentPrague1926HV.html