YMMV / The Tales of Hoffmann (1916)

• Audience-Alienating Premise: For modern viewers, the very idea of a silent movie adaptation of an opera can seem like a bit of a turnoff.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Before the film starts properly, we get a shot of Hoffmann sharing a drink with Ludvig Devrient, which has seemingly nothing to do with anything. It is a recreation of a painting by Carl Themann, and was likely included just because. Knowing this likely qualifies as a Genius Bonus, as does being aware of who Ludvig Devrient even was, as this is his sole appearance in the film. ^note  He was a famous Shakespearean actor, and a contemporary of Hoffmann.
• Designated Hero: Hoffmann himself, more so than usual, as the film ends up portraying him as a serial adulterer. His relationship with Antonia might raise a few eyebrows as well (especially since the potential themes weren't present in the original story.) Hoffmann's literary accomplishments are also never brought up, making it hard to see why we're even supposed to care about him in the first place.
• Older Than They Think:
  • Metropolis is sometimes credited as having the first cinematic Robot Girl, but this film's incarnation of Olympia predates her by 11 years. However — unlike her later counterpart — Olympia was never referred to as a robot in the marketing... because that word didn't exist yet! (Incidentally, reviewers at the time felt that Lang and Harbou's film owed a bit to Hoffmann's original story.)
  • The film itself, as it was released a whopping 45 years before the more Iconic 1951 Powell and Pressburger The Tales of Hoffmann movie, technically making it a remake.
• Pragmatic Adaptation: Really, having Antonia (and her mother) die by singing works better in an opera than in a silent film, where changing it to dancing made for a more visually striking scene.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Dapertutto is played by Werner Kauss, who would later portrayed the title character in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
  • The director of the film — Richard Oswald — would later go on to make Different from the Others, as well as adaptations of Around the World in Eighty Days, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Hound of the Baskervilles.
• So Okay, It's Average: General consensus seem to be that the film is well-made but ultimately less memorable than other adaptations.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • The miniature Olympia — while pretty rudimentary even for the time — is still a solid effect which looks good even today.
  • The destruction of Olympia arguably looks better than in some later versions. This is mostly due to it being shot from a distance, this hiding any potential flaws in the dummy stand-in.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: While partially justified due to the time period, fans of the opera tends to find the lack of any audio whatsoever disappointing. Somewhat retrified with a fanmade version, which adds suitably vintage recordings of Offenbach music to the film.

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