Silent Film

NATHAN THE WISE

NATHAN DER WEISE

Directed by Manfred Noa

TUESDAY JANUARY 16 6:30PM CASTRO

Based on the 1779 play by Enlightenment dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Manfred Noa’s NATHAN DER WEISE ) presents a topic as timely today as it was in pre-Nazi Germany—religious tolerance. Nathan, a Jewish merchant, councils restraint in Moslem Saladin’s dealings with invading Christian crusaders by relating a parable about religious “truth.” Lessing’s play was banned by the church during Lessing’s time, and Noa’s film adaptation was attacked by rightwing extremists and later banned by Nazis. Ironically, Werner Krauss, who portrays the wise Jew Nathan in this film, went on to portray notoriously racist Jewish stereotypes in JUD SÜSS (1940) in Nazi-era cinema. Thanks to Filmmuseum München’s restoration efforts, the audience can again reconsider Lessing’s plea for religious brotherhood while enjoying the luminosity of the silent screen and the musical accompaniment of organist Dennis James.

INTRODUCTION Stefan Drößler, Director Filmmuseum Munich

Co-presented by the SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL and the SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

PURCHASE TICKET

Country
Germany
Year
1922
Run Time
122 min, 35mm, black and whiteSilent with German intertitles read live in English
Cast
Werner Krauss, Carl de Vogt, Fritz Greiner, Lia Eibenschütz, Margarete Kupfer, Rudolf Lettinger, Ferdinand Martini
Camera
Hans Karl Gottschalk, Gustave Preiß, Georg Schubert
Screenwriter
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Printsource
Filmmuseum München
Email
filmmuseum@muenchen.de
Director

Manfred Noa
was born in 1893 and died in Berlin in 1930. He began his directing career in 1916, and his filmography includes works completed every year until his death at age 37. As a Jewish filmmaker, he came into conflict with political extremists early, especially once NATHAN DER WEISE (1922) began screening. Other Noa films include DIE ACHTZEHNJÄHRIGEN (1927), LEUTNANT WARST DU EINST BEI DEN HUSAREN and DER WALZERKÖNIG (1930).