Before he gained worldwide renown for such films as DIE NIBELUNGEN, 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 his work. Virtually unseen in the United States until this release, the three films in this collection were mastered from 35mm elements preserved by the F.W. Murnau Foundation, in association with numerous international archives.

An adaptation of Madame Butterfly, the tragic romance HARAKIRI indulged Lang's fascination with Asian culture and Orientalist design. Filmed on the outskirts of Berlin, Lang strived for authenticity, and obtained sets and costumes from the Hamburg Anthropological Museum.

Rich in symbolic imagery and striking location photography, THE WANDERING SHADOW was the first collaboration of Lang and Thea von Harbou. It follows a woman who, in the wake of a sex scandal, seeks solitude in the Bavarian Alps. There, she is continually haunted by her past, but soon stumbles upon the one thing she never expected to find: the chance of redemption. Anticipating such films as DR. MABUSE: THE GAMBLER and SPIES, FOUR AROUND THE WOMAN involves a society woman who must navigate through a complex web of criminal and emotional intrigues.

HARAKIRI
1919 Germany 87 Min. Color Tinted
Directed by Fritz Lang
Produced by Erich Pommer
Screenplay by Max Jungk
Based on the play Madame Butterfly by David Belasco, adapted from the story by John Luther Long
Photographed by Max Fassbender
With Lil Dagover, Niels Prien, Paul Biensfeldt, Georg John

THE WANDERING SHADOW
(Das wandernde Bild)
1920 Germany 67 Min. Color Tinted
Directed by Fritz Lang
Produced by Joe May
Screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou
Photographed by Guido Seeber
With Mia May, Hans Marr, Loni Nest, Rudolf Klein-Rogge

FOUR AROUND THE WOMAN
(Kämpfende Herzen, Vier um die Frau)
1921 Germany 84 Min. Color Tinted
Directed by Fritz Lang
Produced by Erich Pommer
Screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou
Based on the play Florence oder Die Drei bei der Frau by Rolf E. Vanloo
Photographed by Otto Kanturek
With Carola Toelle, Anton Edthofer, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Ludwig Hartau

All films 1.33:1
Music by Aljoscha Zimmermann