Home theater premiere: This darkly luscious horror classic is almost the precursor to “The Sadness”

It was celebrated for its astonishingly extravagant set and its hypnotic combination of magnificence, explosiveness and tragic horror. In addition it was banned for young people for a long time and was heavily censored: about 30 (!) minutes, which have since been carved out of the supernatural historical tragedy. Decades later, therefore, the original film version of “The Plague in Florence” had to be painstakingly reconstructed.

The uncut version of the film classic was broadcast on arte in 2015 – no less than 96 years after the world premiere of the morbidly monumental film. Finally, the hauntingly topical bombast work is also available in home theater: This week “Pest in Florenz” celebrated its HD premiere in limited edition, uncut and of the best possible quality.

The silent film, written by “Metropolis” director Fritz Lang and now approved for ages 12 and up, is based on the short story “The Mask of the Red Death”* by Edgar Alan Poe. Lang, however, only loosely interpreted Poe’s template, adding a concise, erotic note to the material.

“Plague in Florence”: Edgar Allan Poe – but seductive

Florence is considered a strict, albeit beautiful place. But then the courtesan Julia (Marga Kierska) appears and plunges the city into an intoxicating vortex of passion: Cesare (Otto Mannstaedt), the ruler of Florence, falls in love with her instantly – only to fall in love with her in favor of his son Lorenzo ( Anders Wikmann) the cold shoulder. Cesare condemns Julia to excruciating torture, which moves Lorenzo to a blood feud. A feud with dire consequences – all of Florence succumbs to debauchery and lust. Even the church surrenders to the intoxication of the senses, as does the hermit Francis (Theodor Becker), who initially warned…

Although Poe’s short story, which deals with the frivolous escapades in times of a deadly plague, is sexually charged. But Lang’s screenplay sharpens the erotic tensions of the original and interprets the plague as an incarnated seductress.

This eerily sensual reinterpretation of a fatal historical chapter was staged by film pioneer Otto Rippert, who had penned the sci-fi epic “Homunculus” a few years earlier. In “Pest in Florenz,” Rippert captures the magnificence of the eponymous setting gigantic set constructions but also exuberant mass scenes A.

The ill-fated self-indulgence is underscored with ambitious montages for the time and a frenzied cast, and a narrative pace befitting this debauchery. In a way, “Pest in Florenz” anticipated one of the biggest scandalous films of recent years.

Dance and frolic despite the danger

Hordes of people indulging in hedonistic pleasures – and ultimately in the delusion of their pleasure, evoke suffering and death: this is how not only “Pest in Florenz” can be summed up, but also “The Sadness”. In the ruthless ripper spawned during the coronavirus pandemic, a mutated virus causes the infected to pursue their basest instincts – regardless of the lives of others.

The gritty horror shocker was hotly debated not only for its drastic depiction of violence, but also for its statement: “The Sadness,” which took several attempts to get through German youth protection unadulterated in 2022, was a harsh comment on Taiwan’s lax Covid meant politics. It has not been recorded how much the message has been received by audiences hungry for blood and borderline experiences.

“Plague in Florence” was made at a time when the Spanish flu was rampant. The worst waves, which claimed several million lives, were already behind the population of Western Europe when they reached the cinemas, but local virus outbreaks continued to claim many victims.

It is precisely in this climate that “Pest in Florenz” depicted the plague of the same name as a sensual temptation on two legs, which lures people out of their safe havens and moves them to carefree fun, dance activities and ultimately to deadly actions. In the role of Julia, Marga Kierska was the vivacious and villainous ancestor of the terror virus “The Sadness”.