In "Der mude Tod" a young woman tries to reclaim her fiance, who had died suddenly, from Death.
Those familiair with Greek mythology immediatly think of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, although with genders reversed. Those familiair with film history think immediatly of "The seventh seal" (1957, Ingmar Bergman), in which a knight plays a game of chess with Death.
In both above mentioned cases Death wins. Also in "Der mude Tod" the boyfriend is and remains dead. The question is however if talking about "winning" and "losing" is the right thing to do in the very morally charged ending of "Der mude Tod"? Fact is that The Death (played by Bernhard Goetzke) is not a very unsypmpathetic character in this film. The term "mude", to be translated into English not only as "tired" but also as "weary" does not indicate a determination to end as many lives as possible.
Within the framework of the main story there are three loose episodes that are very reminiscent of "Waxworks" (1924, Paul Leni). Although these loose stories are sometimes entertaining, the film can do without them (although it then would become a short film).
Related with respect to subject but also with respect to film technique is "The phantom carriage" (1921, Victor Sjöström) from the same year. Both films experimented with "double exposure". With this technique it is possible to make persons walk through a wall or let a ghost rise from his own dead body.
Those familiair with Greek mythology immediatly think of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, although with genders reversed. Those familiair with film history think immediatly of "The seventh seal" (1957, Ingmar Bergman), in which a knight plays a game of chess with Death.
In both above mentioned cases Death wins. Also in "Der mude Tod" the boyfriend is and remains dead. The question is however if talking about "winning" and "losing" is the right thing to do in the very morally charged ending of "Der mude Tod"? Fact is that The Death (played by Bernhard Goetzke) is not a very unsypmpathetic character in this film. The term "mude", to be translated into English not only as "tired" but also as "weary" does not indicate a determination to end as many lives as possible.
Within the framework of the main story there are three loose episodes that are very reminiscent of "Waxworks" (1924, Paul Leni). Although these loose stories are sometimes entertaining, the film can do without them (although it then would become a short film).
Related with respect to subject but also with respect to film technique is "The phantom carriage" (1921, Victor Sjöström) from the same year. Both films experimented with "double exposure". With this technique it is possible to make persons walk through a wall or let a ghost rise from his own dead body.