Michael [Blu-ray]

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer

Overview

Filmed in 1924 by the brilliant Danish director Carl Theodore Dreyer, the German drama Michael (Mikael) was released in the U.S. three years later under the more lurid title Chained. It was subsequently reissued as The Story of the Third Sex, an unsubtle allusion to the plotline's homosexual subtext. Fellow director Benjamin Christensen stars as "The Master," a world-renowned painter. Celebrated for his portrait of a "beautiful" young male art student named Mikael (played by a slim, 22-year-old Walter Slezak), the Master graciously accepts the plaudits of his acolytes. Inwardly, however, he is tormented by his strong, passionate feelings for Mikael. Ironically, both men have a falling out over the affections of a woman (Nora Gregor) -- and when The Master dies, Mikael is accused of his murder. It turns out that the old artist actually died of natural causes, but Mikael is condemned in the court of public opinion for turning his back on The Master during his last days on Earth. Astonishingly, Chained was dismissed as "junk" by the reviewer for the trade magazine Variety, who felt that the film would have been better if Michael had murdered The Master in actuality rather than symbolically.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/18/2023
UPC:	0738329263294
Original Release:	1924
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	22,147

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Benjamin Christensen	Claude Zoret
Walter Slezak	Michael
Max Auzinger	Jules
Nora Gregor	Princess Lucia
Dider Aslan	Duc de Monthieu
Alexander Murski	Adelsskjold
Rob Garrison	Switt
Grete Mosheim	Alice Adelsskjold
Alexander Mursky	Mr. Adelskjold
Karl Freund	Leblanc, arl dealer

Technical Credits

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Thea von Harbou

Carl Theodor Dreyer	Director,Screenwriter
Erich Pommer	Producer
Thea von Harbou	Screenwriter