The films of Weimar Germany are an interesting and exciting period to study. They share a rich cultural heritage, similar themes and revolutionary film styles and techniques. "Destiny" (Der Müde Tod) is the earliest mature work I've seen from Fritz Lang, one of the period's principal filmmakers--much better than the Spiders series. It's somewhat expressionistic, in the loose sense usually applied to these films, which is to say it's thematically dark and, occasionally, photographed and designed intentionally to affect mood and express emotions. An exceptional crew of cinematographers and art directors, as in many of the best films of the period, support the director.

Yet, I think the narrative has its faults; the frame narrative is great, but only the last of the three episodes within was entertaining--for its light and magical treatment. In the film, a girl's young lover dies, and Death offers her three tries to resurrect his life. The episodes are flimsy at times, but some impressive imagery and powerful performances by Lil Dagover and Bernhard Goetzke make up for much of that. Additionally, the exotic Arabian, historical Venetian and Chinese settings for the three inner episodes are well rendered, surely, but it's the haunting graveyard scenes and the meetings with Death, especially the room of candles scenes, that I'll remember. They're not merely exotic; they're otherworldly--the atmospheric, moving and imaginative places I want movies to take me.

In a small village somewhere in time, a stranger lease for ninety-nine years a field annex to the cemetery and surround it with a very high wall without gate. When a young couple of travelers stop in a local tavern for resting, the fiancé vanishes and her fiancée seeks him and meets his spirit entering through the wall. She finds an entrance and finds that the stranger is actually Death, who is tired of bringing suffering to the world. She begs for the life of her beloved fiancé, and Death proposes her to save one of three lives that are in the end. If she succeeds, Death will bring her lover back to live. The lady becomes a woman in Persia, in Venice and in China, and in all situations she fails to save her respective lover. Death gives her one last chance, if she manages to find within one hour a person in the village that could give up living. When the local hospital is burning in fire, the young woman realizes the only way to stay with her lover.

"Der Müde Tod" is another magnificent fantasy of the genius Fritz Lang. Ingmar Berman was certainly influenced and inspired by this stunning film with his masterpiece "Det Sjunde Inseglet" (a.k.a. "The Seventh Seal"). It is amazing how Fritz Lang was able to generate shadows and special effects with the primitive apparatuses in the incipient cinema. Further, the originality of his screenplays is absolutely impressive. "Der Müde Tod" shows wonderful fantasy about the duel between love and death, with a beautiful message in the end, proving that love is stronger than death. My admiration for this master increases after watching each of his movies. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Morte Cansada" ("The Tired Death")

This was an early film of Fritz Lang--before he made his incredibly famous silent METROPOLIS. However, despite being a younger and less experienced director, this film shows a real deftness and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

This viewing experience was helped quite a bit by a nice musical score--something that not all silents come with on DVD. As musical scores were almost never written specifically for films, many DVDs have scores that often don't match up well with the films--this is certainly NOT the case with this lovely film.

The story is an allegory about death and it reminded me, in part, of Bergman's films "The Seventh Seal", as both films concerned a person trying to make a bargain with the Angel of Death--to somehow get a second chance. "Der Müde Tod" is a bit different because this time it is not the fated to die who tries to make the bargain but his new wife--who can't stand the idea of losing him right after the wedding.

Unfortunately, the middle portion of the film is a bit of a drag. While all three segments were well made, they weren't at all necessary to the plot. All three stories were apparently told by Death to illustrate that ones fate cannot be overcome--even by love. All this tended to do, though, was slow down the film. The first and last portions (which dealt with the Angel and the new bride) were exceptional--and just didn't need the three stories. In many ways, this style of filming was a copy of D. W. Griffith's "Intolerance"--as the three stories are meant to illustrate the premise.

Fortunately, when these three irrelevant stories are complete, the film jumps back into gear. The Angel tells the lady he is willing to return her husband IF she is able to find someone to take his place in the afterlife. She asks around and naturally no one wants to die. Later, when she comes upon the child in the fire, this leads to a terrific ending--one that really helps the movie to end on an excellent note.

Exceptionally beautiful throughout and compelling, this is a silent film worth seeing.