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Dupont's most celebrated film (it was one of the most famous films in the world in 1925) unfolds in a long series of flashbacks from a prison straight out of a Van Gogh painting: prisoner No 28 is granted remission, and in return tells the story of his crime to the governor.

Former trapeze artist “Boss” Huller leaves his wife and child to go to Berlin with the younger, seductive Berta-Marie. They become the lead attraction at Berlin’s famed Wintergarten, where they perform as a trio with trapezist Artinelli. That is, until Huller realises that Berta-Marie is cheating on him with their fellow acrobat ...

BD50 + DVD9 | 1080p AVC, NTSC | 01:34:28 | 45.8 Gb + 6.17 Gb
Language: German intertitles
Subtitles: English
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Silent

Director: Ewald Andre Dupont
Cast: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Lya De Putti
Country: Germany

Variety was heavily censored for its American release. In the censored version, the story is a classic love triangle of husband (Emil Jannings), wife (Lya De Putti), and wife’s lover.

In its original version, Variety began with a lengthy section showing how Jannings fell in love with De Putti, left his wife for her, and then created the trapeze act with his lover. This part of the story was excised completely by the American censors and title cards added to redefine Jannings and De Putti as the married couple of the U.S. release version.

The censors’ intent was plainly to erase the objectionable plot point that cast adulterous lovers as the established couple of the love triangle. They succeeded in radically transforming the story. The unfaithful husband who is in his turn betrayed by his unfaithful lover is transformed by the censors’ scissors into a sympathetic cuckold.

Extras:
• Three scores: one by Stephen Horne; one by Johannes Contag; and one by the Tiger Lilies
• The complete American version of the film