Fritz Lang: The Early Works

A survey of the prolific director’s early works. In Harakiri (Paul Biensfeldt, 1919/80 min.), the beautiful O-Take-San is chased by a vile monk who wishes to make her a geisha of the Forbidden Palace, and finds brief solace with a Danish officer before he, too, abandons her. In The Wandering Shadow (Mia May, 1920/67 min.), a young woman is pursued by the fanatical and eerie twin brother of her former lover and the father of her child. Finally, in Four Around a Woman (Ludwig Hartau, 1921/52 min.), a jealous husband trails a man he suspects of having an affair with his wife, only to realize that her history is far more complicated—and dangerous—than he had imagined. Silent. Directed by Fritz Lang. B&w/NR/fullscreen.