The Golem: How He Came into the World

Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)

Timing: 1:25 (85 min)

7/10
232

6.955/10
1761

7.2/10
9500

All about film

Video 1

Photo 8

Actors and characters

Release date

1920-10-28

Country

Germany

Production

Projektions-AG Union

Genre

Fantasy, Horror

Budget

$0

Revenue

$0

Website

Director

Paul Wegener, Carl Boese

Actors

Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Lyda Salmonova, Ernst Deutsch, Hans Stürm, Max Kronert, Otto Gebühr, Dore Paetzold, Lothar Müthel, Greta Schröder
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Paul Davidson

Operator

Karl Freund

Composer

Hans Landsberger

Artist

Audition

Editing

All team (14)

• The Golem ("unformed body") is a clay giant brought to life by magical means in Jewish folklore. According to legends about the Golem, a human figure is sculpted from red clay, the size of a ten-year-old child, and then brought to life either with the name of God or with the word "life" written on its forehead.
• Initially, the creators planned to film the cemetery scenes at a real Jewish cemetery, but the Jewish community forbade the filming. Then Paul Wegener, together with artist Hans Pelzig and cinematographer Karl Freund, decorated a real forest to resemble a cemetery, which gave the scenes a combination of realism and artificiality.
• During the filming of the scene of the Golem's revival, according to co-director Karl Böse, "neither technical, physical, nor chemical methods were suitable." The calculation relied on the audience's imagination and illusion. The scene of revival was realized by a simple substitution of an object for a living actor. For this, Albert Steinrück, who played the rabbi, had to portray awkwardness while reading the parchment to such an extent that it seemed he was about to drop it. At that moment, when the viewer's gaze was fixed on the actor's face, the object was replaced by a living actor – Paul Wegener.
• During the filming of the scene where the Golem is brought to life, according to co-director Karl Böse, “neither technical, physical, nor chemical methods and techniques were suitable.” The focus was on the audience’s imagination and illusion. The scene was realized through a simple object substitution with a live actor. For this, Albert Steinrück, who played the rabbi, had to portray awkwardness while reading the scroll to such an extent that it seemed he was about to drop it. At that moment, when the viewer’s gaze was fixed on the actor’s face, the object was replaced with a live actor – Paul Wegener.