Line #60 Film/TheGolem


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4	''Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam'' (''The Golem, How He Came into the World'') is a 1920 [[GermanExpressionism German]] silent horror film, co-written, co-directed, and starring Paul Wegener, about the origins of the {{Golem}} of [[UsefulNotes/CzechRepublic Prague]]. It is one of the earliest and most influential Expressionist films and is considered a masterpiece of the German silent cinema. Wegener had produced two earlier films using the character, ''Der Golem'' (1915), a mostly lost film telling a somewhat similar story, and ''Der Golem und die Tänzerin'' (''The Golem and the Dancing Girl'') (1917), in which an actor (clearly Wegener playing an {{Expy}} of himself) puts on the make-up of his monster role as a prank on a dancing-girl whom he is interested in.
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6	The film would influence later horror films profoundly, in particular Creator/JamesWhale's ''Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}}'' and ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'' (as, for instance, the monster's playing with an innocent little girl).
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8	This film is in the public domain, and several versions are available on Website/YouTube.
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10	Not to be confused with the [[Film/{{The Golem\|2018}} 2018 movie ]]of the same name.
11	----
12	!! ''The Golem, How He Came Into the World'' provides examples of:
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14	* AssholeVictim: Florian is kind of a jackass when interacting with anyone except Miriam, so no one feels particularly bad when the Golem confronts him.
15	* TheApprentice: The Famulus (AsYouKnow, 'famulus' ''means'' 'apprentice').
16	* ArtificialHuman: Though in contrast to the source legend, the non-natural origin of the movie Golem is always obvious.
17	* BilingualBonus:
18	** Not that the Hebrew in the film is very accurate, but it is surprisingly loyal to the kabbalistic roots of the tale. The word "Aemaet" - אמת, which is used to give the Golem life means "Truth". Once the first letter is erased, it creates a new word, "Met" - מת, which means "dead".
19	** The word "Golem" itself means ''cocoon'' or ''pupa'' in Hebrew. In both contexts, the word represents an unknown potential of life.
20	* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Ghetto is a jumbled array of artificially crooked buildings.
21	* BlankSlate: The Golem.
22	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Golem doesn't seem to be actively benign or malicious, he is simply incapable to really grasp the world around him.
23	* {{Bowdlerise}}: In one English-language version of the film, presumably out of hypersensitivity over potential antisemitic interpretations, the Jewish characters are simply described in the intertitles as being members of "a mystical brotherhood".
24	* CelestialDeadline: The demon Astaroth can only be summoned when a certain astronomical configuration occurs. Another configuration is supposedly the reason for the Golem rebelling.
25	* ColourWash: Most scenes are tinted, in a variety of colours. The strength of the tint varies between prints and restorations.
26	* CreatingLifeIsBad ... or at least dangerous: "If you have brought the dead to life through magic, beware of that life."
27	* TheDandy: The foppish Knight Florian.
28	* TheDarkArts: The Rabbi is an all-arounder versed in Astrology, [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemy]], and [[FunctionalMagic various kinds of Magic]].
29	* DescendingCeiling: When the conjuring at the Emperor's palace goes awry.
30	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: It's not too daring to assume the Golem mirrors the Jews' status as outsiders and their quest for societal acceptance.
31	* DumbMuscle: The Golem. Demonstrated nicely when the Golem breaks the massive bar of the Ghetto gate to burst it open -- instead of just lifting it by the appropriate handle.
32	* TheEmperor: Called Ludwig in the movie, a fictitious replacement for the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II Rudolf II]]. Somewhat autocratic and unpredictable, but not really evil, though.
33	* TheEndOrIsIt: The magical star that awakens the Golem (and, if the book text is to be believed, can be used to reanimate the dead) was last seen in the hands of a little girl, who may still have it after the end of the story.
34	* FunctionalMagic: The Rabbi summons a demon, creates a Golem, conjures an illusion and magically stalls a fire.
35	* GentleGiant: The Golem at the end, undergoing a (seemingly) spontaneous HeelFaceTurn.
36	* {{Golem}}: The main subject of the film is Mr. Prague himself!
37	* GreaterScopeVillain: The fearsome demon Astaroth, whose evil will influences the Golem.
38	* LanguageOfMagic: Hebrew, apparently.
39	* LiteralGenie: Implied -- the Golem follows orders, but little seems to grasp their sense.
40	* LoadBearingHero: The Golem's great moment.
41	* LoveTriangle: Both Florian and the Famulus love -- or at least covet -- Miriam.
42	* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: Played with. The learned Rabbi's only child, beautiful Miriam, falls promptly in a forbidden love with the Christian knight Florian. However, Florian is not exactly a hero, and the romance is cut short by Florian's death. Also, the Rabbi is neither mad nor evil, even though his creation runs out of control.
43	* MarsNeedsWomen: The Golem appears momentarily enraptured by Miriam, but loses interest soon.
44	* MundaneUtility: The Rabbi claims that the Golem's aim is to save the Jews, but the first task we see that stupendous achievement of the occult arts do is chopping wood. The second is going shopping.
45	* NonMaliciousMonster: Even though the Rabbi's book purports that the Golem will inevitably turn evil, at closer watch he seems not so much evil but just misunderstood, clumsy, and unable to comprehend the world around him.
46	* OpenSaysMe: The Golem breaks open both the door to Miriam's room and in the end, the Ghetto gate.
47	* PivotalWakeup: Interestingly, the Golem does this when the Famulus wakes him (minus the coffin).
48	* {{Prequel}}: As the ending is ambiguous on whether the Golem gets destroyed or not, the movie can be seen as a prequel to Wegener's first Golem film.
49	* RedHerringTwist: The "romance" between Knight Florian and Miriam is more or less a deliberate misdirection of the audience's expectations.
50	* RobeAndWizardHat: With his pointy hat and flowing robe, the Rabbi's appearance comes rather close to the textbook image of a wizard. He also has a different, even more magnificent hat specifically for summoning demons.
51	* RooftopConfrontation: Between the Golem and Knight Florian.
52	* ShoutOut: Astaroth is Literature/ArsGoetia demon #29.
53	* SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains: The Golem is a type IV -- he is not actually evil, [[{{Woobie}} just dumb, misused, and resentful of being deactivated.]]
54	* SorcerersApprenticePlot: The Famulus unwisely reviving the Golem.
55	* SpeechBubble: The magic word -- [-AEMAET-] -- appears as a writing hovering in the air in front of the demon's mouth.
56	* TheSpeechless: The Golem, faithful to traditional Golem lore.
57	* StandardRoyalCourt: Complete with RequisiteRoyalRegalia, a CourtJester, and [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights In Shining Armor]].
58	* SummoningRitual: To conjure Astaroth. MagicWand and [[MagicalGesture Magical Gesturing]] required.
59	* SuperStrength: The Golem is far stronger than a man.
60	* TechnoBabble: Some of the astrological instructions in the Rabbi's book ("When Uranus enters the house of the planets...") are nonsense (there is no "house of the planets").
61	* TomeOfEldritchLore: The books that teach the Rabbi how to create the Golem.
62	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: The Golem does not like being deactivated.
63	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The Rabbi never explained how the Golem was supposed to save the Jews from The Emperor, and the Golem eventually fulfilling this task appears more like a result of random events. This leaves room for four interpretations:
64	** The Rabbi thought The Golem [[OneManArmy could take on the entirety of the Emperor's army single-handedly]];
65	** the Rabbi [[IndyPloy had no real plan in mind when he created the Golem]];
66	** the Rabbi knew that the Golem was [[TheChosenOne destined by fate]] to ''somehow'' save the Jews; or
67	** the Rabbi [[BatmanGambit anticipated everything that would happen, including the Emperor wanting a magic show]], [[ReversePsychology and the court disregarding the Rabbi's warning to keep absolute silence.]] What speaks for the latter possibility is that the Golem during the magic show "accidentally" (or not) blocks the only exit from the throne room, preventing the court to flee and thus, [[BigDamnHeroes gives the Rabbi opportunity to save the day.]]
68	* UrbanSegregation: The Ghetto. The massive gate is always closed, and anyone passing in or out of the Ghetto is a cumbersome procedure each time.
69	* WhatADrag: Poor Miriam is dragged through the streets by her pigtails.
70	* WizardBeard: The Rabbi has one. Also, his hair would pass as EinsteinHair, had the trope existed at the time.
71	* WordsOfPower: [-AEMAET-].

Context Film / TheGolem