Review of The Student of Prague (1926) by Brandon S — 25 Jul 2010
OK so here we have Conrad Veidt starring as Balduin, in this remake of the 1913 version of The Student of Prague. Also know as The Man Who Cheated Life. This is a fantastic film that I believe falls short of Caligari and Der Golem. I really enjoy the acting here from Conrad as he is quickly becoming one of my favorite Silent actors along with that Nazi actor Werner Krauss. This film is one of the first remakes that I have watched, I haven't seen the 1913 original yet but I will soon enough.
The film is a Faustian tale of a young, poor, student named Balduin. Who is in love with a rich heiress. She wants money and Balduin being poor, has none to give. So he makes a deal with a seedy man named Scapinelli (Krauss), to sell anything in his flat in exchange for 600,000 bucks. After signing the contract with Scapinelli, the man takes Balduin's reflection in the mirror.
From what I understand this is a more lavish and better acted version of this film. It is perfectly cast and amazingly directed but on the scare and horror level I don't think it meets the standard. There are parts to this, most notably in the end, that are kinda creepsville. All in all I would have to give this here movie a 6/10. Again it is wonderfully acted and brilliantly told. It is worth seeing here on the Internet but as for buying this one, hold on to your money.
Hope it helped.
Sid.
This review of The Student of Prague (1926) was written by Brandon S on 25 Jul 2010.
The Student of Prague has generally received positive reviews.
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