Asphalt (DVD)
Directed by Joe May
Also Available On:
Amazon Booking InquiryGustav Froelich
From the 35mm Restoration by the F.W. Murnau Foundation
From its elaborate and stylish opening scenes, Asphalt immediately establishes itself as a startling achievement. This unforgettable film is in many ways the perfect summation of German filmmaking in the silent era: a dazzling visual style, a psychological approach to its characters, and the ability to take a simple and essentially melodramatic story and turn it into something more complex and inherently cinematic. Although influenced by such classics as The Last Laugh and Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, Asphalt is a unique look at urban life and a classic in its own right.
Gustav Frahlich, best known as the young protagonist of Metropolis, stars as Holk, a strait-laced traffic cop who has the simple task of escorting a diamond thief to the police station. However, the thief is the exotic and beautiful Else (played by Betty Amann), which makes the task far from simple. The stage is thus set for a scandalous turn of events, and the drama is made all the more exciting thanks to the dynamic photography of Ganther Rittau (The Blue Angel) and the equally impressive sets of Erich Kettelhut (Metropolis).
Asphalt is directed by Joe May, a leading German filmmaker of the 1910s and 1920s who is also known for the two-part epic The Indian Tomb. In addition, he helped to launch the career of Fritz Lang. Like Lang, May later relocated to Hollywood, where he directed several classic B-films, most notably The Invisible Man Returns. But Asphalt remains perhaps his most famous, and some say greatest, work.
"Asphalt" reveals a filmmaker of astonishing technical skills and a distinctive visual style, based on a use of raked sets to create a sense of precariousness and claustrophobia." Dave Kehr, The New York Times
Interested in bringing Asphalt to your school or library? If you'd like to have an in-class viewing, on-campus screening, or purchase the DVD for your library's collection, please contact Estelle Grosso or call (212) 629-6880 with your request.
Asphalt may also be available with Public Performance Rights (PPR) and Digital Site Licensing (DSL) for colleges and universities. To purchase the DVD with PPR or DSL, please contact Estelle Grosso or call (212) 629-6880. Click here to learn more at Kino Lorber Edu.
To read more about Kino Lorber Edu's terms of use and ordering information,
visit Kino Lorber Edu.
Related Products
Country: U.S.
In this charming tale set in the posh restaurants and seedy slums of Paris, a clever girl of the streets vows romantic revenge upon the wealthy man who shot her lover. More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany
Now available in a newly-restored 2K DCP version! Former trapeze artist “Boss” Huller leaves his wife and child to go to Berlin with the younger, seductive Berta-Marie. They become the... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany
Now available in a newly-restored 2K DCP version! Former trapeze artist “Boss” Huller leaves his wife and child to go to Berlin with the younger, seductive Berta-Marie. They become the... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S.
A great caravan of covered wagons, filled with hearty pioneers and their families and possessions, are waiting for the Spring “jump off” at Westport Landing, now Kansas City. The time is... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S.
A great caravan of covered wagons, filled with hearty pioneers and their families and possessions, are waiting for the Spring “jump off” at Westport Landing, now Kansas City. The time is... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S.
Gloria Swanson plays Jenny Hagen, a diner waitress who fantasizes about a life on stage. Her heart belongs to Orme Wilson (Lawrence Gray), an expert pancake flipper, who only has eyes for the women i... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S.
Gloria Swanson plays Jenny Hagen, a diner waitress who fantasizes about a life on stage. Her heart belongs to Orme Wilson (Lawrence Gray), an expert pancake flipper, who only has eyes for the women i... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S.
In 1798 the USS Constitution is launched as part of an effort to fight piracy in the Mediterranean. A farm boy (Charles Farrell) wants to join the battle and boards the merchant ship Esther which... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S.
In 1798 the USS Constitution is launched as part of an effort to fight piracy in the Mediterranean. A farm boy (Charles Farrell) wants to join the battle and boards the merchant ship Esther which... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany
Before he gained worldwide renown for such films as METROPOLIS, and M, Fritz Lang crafted a series of feature films that embody many of the thematic and stylistic trademarks that would come to define... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany
A young woman (Lil Dagover) confronts the personification of Death (Bernhard Goetzke), in an effort to save the life of her fiance (Walter Janssen). Death weaves three romantic tragedies and offers t... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, Germany
A young woman (Lil Dagover) confronts the personification of Death (Bernhard Goetzke), in an effort to save the life of her fiance (Walter Janssen). Death weaves three romantic tragedies and offers t... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, Germany, U.S.
Tessie McGuire (Gloria Swanson) is a down-on-her-luck salesgirl who climbs the social ladder by pretending to be a Russian countess. Tessie is a working class gal whose boyfriend Jimmy (Tom Moore)... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S.
Tessie McGuire (Gloria Swanson) is a down-on-her-luck salesgirl who climbs the social ladder by pretending to be a Russian countess. Tessie is a working class gal whose boyfriend Jimmy (Tom Moore)... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S.
Vera Janova (Florence Vidor) is on her way to star in a Russian vaudeville revue when a falling girder nearly kills her. A construction worker saves her life, but before she wakes up the conniving... More
Country: U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S., Germany, Germany, Germany, U.S., U.S., U.S., U.S.
Vera Janova (Florence Vidor) is on her way to star in a Russian vaudeville revue when a falling girder nearly kills her. A construction worker saves her life, but before she wakes up the conniving... More
Matt Tyrnauer's' @studio54doc' is currently the #1 doc on' @iTunes'! Rent it now on all major platforms... iTunes:…' https://t.co/TEMejZgAuo'
Lee Keating drops some wisdom in this clip from THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA. Opens February 8 at' @QuadCinema' before expand…' https://t.co/ztTG6pCkeH'
RT' @astradisastra': It's happening! What Is Democracy? opens Jan 16 at IFC' https://t.co/lDtucteFyI' Special guests will be officially anno…
"The whole film started out of this intention to try to forget everything I thought I knew and to rediscover what i…' https://t.co/ojp96t2RCO'
RT' @KLStudioClassic': Coming April 2018 on Blu-ray! The Strange Door (1951) Starring Charles Laughton & Boris Karloff - Shot by Irving Glas…
RT' @ioncinema': Robert Aldrich times 2 today: "It’s this period which resulted in some of the director’s most interesting ventures, namely t…
RT' @ioncinema': THE GRISSOM GANG via the' @KinoLorber' folks "an underrated gangster classic, which takes St. John Legh Clowes’ original film…
RT' @nofilmschool': Defining the cinematic language of intimacy: Adina Pintilie on TOUCH ME NOT' https://t.co/QEidE6ClGr'' @KinoLorber'' https://t…'
RT' @FilmLinc': "Momentous. A kaleidoscopic bulletin on the state of our world." -' @Variety' Jean-Luc Godard's THE IMAGE BOOK opens January 2…
RT' @FilmComment': THE IMAGE BOOK, the best films of 2018, remembering Nicolas Roeg, a previously unpublished Manny Farber talk & more in the…
General Inquiries
333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503
New York, NY 10018
Tel. (800) 562-3330
Fax. (212) 714-0871
Press & Media
For publicity assistance and press inquiries please contact us by emailing dninh@kinolorber.com or calling 212-629-6880.
Educational
Please visit our educational site at www.KinoLorberEDU.com
For assistance with educational orders, please contact us at:
Phone:212-629-6880
Fax: 212-714-0871
email: edu@kinolorber.com
