"Berlin-Alexanderplatz - Die Geschichte Franz Biberkopfs" or just "Berlin-Alexanderplatz" is a German black-and-white film from 1931 and it is among the earliest sound movies from Germany. The director here is Phil Jutzi and a duo of writers adapted the novel by Alfred Döblin for the screen here. It is probably Döblin's most known work and he was still very much alive back in the early 1930s to see this film. I wonder what he thought of it. It came out 2 years before the Nazis came into power, so this 90-minute movie has its 85th anniversary this year. The lead actor here is played by Heinrich George (father of Götz) who also starred in some of the Nazis' most infamous propaganda films in years after this one and I must say he gave a pretty good performance. Unfortunately I must say that the story never really captured my interest. It is the tale of a man who gets released from prison and who afterward tries to adapt to life and society once again, but all kinds of factors (more exterior than interior, he really tries his best) always lead him to failure again. It was not a failure completely, but also not really interesting for the most part and I did not care a whole lot for Biberkopf or the other characters. Rainer Werner Fassbinder created a much more well-known mini series in the year 1980 and my overall verdict is that I prefer this one, even if it is a whole lot longer, which makes it almost impossible to compare these two achievements. As for the 1931 version, I do not recommend the watch.
