New on Blu-ray: Ernst Lubitsch's CARMEN (1918) Starring Pola Negri

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Product Description: Polish-born actress Pola Negri was already popular when she began appearing in German silents in the 1910s, but it was her collaborations with Ernst Lubitsch that transformed her into a silver screen goddess, a mesmerizing presence as formidable in comedies (The Wildcat) as in tragedies (Madame Dubarry). Released in the U.S. as Gypsy Blood, Carmen retells Prosper Merimée’s classic tale of a Romani woman who seduces a military officer and sends each of them on a trajectory of dramatic self-destruction. Restored in 4K by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Carmen features a lively score by Tobias Schwenke, performed by the orchestral ensemble Kontraste.

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New on Blu-ray: Ernst Lubitsch's MADAME DUBARRY aka PASSION (1919) Starring Pola Negri

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Product Description: Mesmerizing silent film icon Pola Negri stars as Jeanne Bécu, Countess of Barry, who rises from humble origins to become a plaything of the rich and powerful during the firestorm of the French Revolution. But it is her romance with King Louis XV, (Emil Jannings, The Last Laugh) that ends her ascent to power, and brings her into the shadow of the guillotine. Though he would later be associated with visually inventive (and sexually suggestive) romantic comedies, Ernst Lubitsch was a master of the historical epic during his years working in Germany. Released in the United States as Passion, Madame Dubarry was produced on an extraordinary scale, with enormous sets and literally thousands of extras. Yet Lubitsch’s mastery of the psychological complexities of romance keep the human drama from being overwhelmed by the visual spectacle, cementing his reputation as one of the great directors of Europe and earning him an invitation to Hollywood.

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New on Blu-ray: THE SPANISH DANCER (1923) Starring Pola Negri & Antonio Moreno

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Product Description: Pola Negri (The Wildcat) was already an international star. Antonio Moreno (The Searchers) was her equal in terms of talent and sex appeal. The director Herbert Brenon (Beau Geste) was one of the greatest directors of his day and he was assisted by his cinematographer, James Wong Howe (Hud). Together, they created one of the great romance epics of the silent era. Restored by Eye Filmmuseum, The Spanish Dancer (1923) is a joy to behold. The film is action-packed, witty, and romantic with huge sets and a cast of thousands. Brenon keeps the adventure going full steam ahead while Negri and Moreno show why they were huge stars of their day. Includes a new orchestral score by Bill Ware!

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New on Blu-ray: Ernst Lubitsch's SUMURUN (1920) Starring Pola Negri

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Product Description: Originally released under the title One Arabian Night, Sumurun was among Lubitsch’s early triumphs and helped secure his invitation to Hollywood. This exotic spectacle stars Jenny Hasselqvist (The Saga of Gosta Berling) as Sumurun, a rebellious member of a harem who has committed the greatest of sins: she has rejected the old sheikh (Paul Wegener, The Golem) and fallen in love with a charming cloth merchant. Pola Negri co-stars as a traveling dancer who is drawn to both the harem and to the sheikh’s handsome son, and Lubitsch himself appears as a hunchbacked clown in love with the dancer. Sumurun was based on a pantomime that had been a popular success for Lubitsch’s mentor, theater director Max Reinhardt. The New York Times labeled the film “an exceptional production,” and film historian Lewis Jacobs wrote that Sumurun "not only revealed Lubitsch as an ingenious director of comedy, but introduced a risqué wit that killed the heavy-handed American sex and style displays.”

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New on Blu-ray: Ernst Lubitsch's THE WILDCAT (1921) Starring Pola Negri

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Product Description: Ernst Lubitsch has long been recognized as the director of some of Hollywood’s greatest comedies, including Trouble in Paradise (1932) and Ninotchka (1939). However, he made some of his best films while an emerging filmmaker in his native Germany. The Wildcat (Die Bergkatze) is a madcap farce about a charming lieutenant (Paul Heidemann) who is captured en route by outlaws who roam the snow-covered mountains. When the bandit leader’s untamed daughter (silent superstar Pola Negri) falls for the young officer, a delicious sex comedy is set in motion. Peter Bogdanovich described The Wildcat as “an uproarious, hard-edged antimilitary spoof,” and ranks the film among the five funniest movies he’d ever seen (along with another early Lubitsch comedy, 1919’s The Doll). This edition includes a rare 1916 domestic comedy directed by and starring Lubitsch: Where Is My Treasure?

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