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scifirenegadeTo the flist: I've read your posts <3 Will get to the comments asap
Back in February, the F.W. Murnau Stiftung showed HD restorations of both the German and the English versions of Die letzte Kompagnie.
Me: I don't care for Die letzte Kompagnie.
Me: OMG HD restorations! Gimme!
You can watch what little footage has been released to us-mortals here. Never seen it so clear. They used two international release versions as a basis for the restorations, which had intertitles, as is custom with early talkies. Now I wonder if the lights of heaven that appear in the version making the rounds are the missing frames that would have otherwise be the intertitles.
The Spy in Black: The Book is... an interesting read. It's not bad, but there's a reason why the movie is basically its own thing. There's a lot of characters, some are even introduced halfway through. The writing is simple, but paints a full scene. It also ends up repeating itself a lot. And I don't see why there's a need to go "I said, he said" at every bit of dialogue. I haven't finished it yet btw.
Using "it" is a little rude. It's Lieutenant von Belke telling us his story (we break away from his narration to have more info from another's POV). They keep calling him Belke, and while incorrect, I'll call him that from now on. He's young. He can speak English (no bütter :'( ).
I hate that my first thought (besides lack of bütter) was My Immortal.
He's a also little reckless. Just a little. When tasked with his spy mission, he proceeds to get his motorbike damaged (not his fault, and he was able to repair it sooner than his Estimated Time of Repairs), huddles up in some totally-abandoned barn, litters it with cigarettes and food, makes small talk to the old lady who owns the barn, and alerts the whole island there's a probable spy on it. Oh, and after all that, he cuts off some telegraph cables! Very sneaky!
So he spends the next (many) pages on the run. Something he wouldn't need to do if he didn't do *waves arms* all that.
Oh btw, Tiel is a man and looks exactly like the Reverend Burnett. No schoolmistress. Lady!Tiel does show up later and her name is Come On Eileen (just Eileen actually). So Pressburger smushed Tiel the Man and Eileen and made Fraulein Tiel/Jill for the movie. I'm sad, because Tiel could be our trans icon.
It's honestly really funny that, in a matter of one day, Belke went from going heart eyes at Tiel to "Fucking hate that guy".
It's not that dissimilar from the classroom scene.
So, Tiel puts Belke at the back of the house (unlocked), because everyone thinks that part is inaccessible, and can't go to the front of the house. Because Belke is a little shit, he goes to the front of the house, is face to face with the maid (he thinks she doesn't know about his deeds), then hides behind a curtain, then under the table, badly. Cue the amazing scene of the maid sweeping the floor, Belke comically dodging any incoming broom action, and
I lost it. Impeccable. Made my day.
So Eileen, aka Ms. Burnett, sister of the Rev., shows up and Belke's brain turns to goo. All he wants is to woo her. He also starts keeping a mental board of all the times she sides with him instead of Tiel. He's very young indeed.
Eileen and Belke have a heart to heart later, which he loves because the atmosphere lends itself well with romance or something like that. At one point he inquires if she's a "pure German". If Hardt is a Nazi by proxy, Belke is one through and through. Big yikes. (Eileen claims to be half-Irish, which makes Belke happy because that makes her double-hate the English; I found this nice, because Valerie Hobson is indeed Irish).
And that's all for the moment. Again, far from being a masterpiece, but it has its amusing moments. The movie is superior, though, even visually.
Some quotes I thought were amusing:
I shall make "Several very diabolical consequences may ensue." part of my vocabulary.
Incredible choice of words. Very specific.
Here's a couple of funny dreams:
Bristol's Cinema Rediscovered has many things, including two showings of Queen Kelly.
University of Pennsylvania's list of online books :D
Roy Glashan's Library and Global Grey Books are yet some other places to get public domain books
Back in February, the F.W. Murnau Stiftung showed HD restorations of both the German and the English versions of Die letzte Kompagnie.
Me: I don't care for Die letzte Kompagnie.
Me: OMG HD restorations! Gimme!
You can watch what little footage has been released to us-mortals here. Never seen it so clear. They used two international release versions as a basis for the restorations, which had intertitles, as is custom with early talkies. Now I wonder if the lights of heaven that appear in the version making the rounds are the missing frames that would have otherwise be the intertitles.
The Spy in Black: The Book is... an interesting read. It's not bad, but there's a reason why the movie is basically its own thing. There's a lot of characters, some are even introduced halfway through. The writing is simple, but paints a full scene. It also ends up repeating itself a lot. And I don't see why there's a need to go "I said, he said" at every bit of dialogue. I haven't finished it yet btw.
Using "it" is a little rude. It's Lieutenant von Belke telling us his story (we break away from his narration to have more info from another's POV). They keep calling him Belke, and while incorrect, I'll call him that from now on. He's young. He can speak English (no bütter :'( ).
I had been chosen for this service for three reasons: because I was supposed to be a cool hand in what the English call a "tight place"; because I could talk English not merely fluently, but with the real accent and intonation—like a native, in fact; and I believe because they thought me not quite a fool.
I hate that my first thought (besides lack of bütter) was My Immortal.
He's a also little reckless. Just a little. When tasked with his spy mission, he proceeds to get his motorbike damaged (not his fault, and he was able to repair it sooner than his Estimated Time of Repairs), huddles up in some totally-abandoned barn, litters it with cigarettes and food, makes small talk to the old lady who owns the barn, and alerts the whole island there's a probable spy on it. Oh, and after all that, he cuts off some telegraph cables! Very sneaky!
So he spends the next (many) pages on the run. Something he wouldn't need to do if he didn't do *waves arms* all that.
Oh btw, Tiel is a man and looks exactly like the Reverend Burnett. No schoolmistress. Lady!Tiel does show up later and her name is Come On Eileen (just Eileen actually). So Pressburger smushed Tiel the Man and Eileen and made Fraulein Tiel/Jill for the movie. I'm sad, because Tiel could be our trans icon.
It's honestly really funny that, in a matter of one day, Belke went from going heart eyes at Tiel to "Fucking hate that guy".
"Thank God, I am not in the secret service!" I said devoutly.
"I understand you are in the submarine service," said Tiel in a dry voice.
"I am—and I am proud of it!"
"Have you never fired a torpedo at an inoffensive merchant ship?"
"That is very different!" I replied hotly.
"It is certainly more wholesale," said he.
I sprang up.
"Mr Tiel," I said, "kindly understand that a German naval officer is not in the habit of enduring affronts to his service!"
"But you think a German secretservice agent should have no such pride?" he inquired.
"I decline to discuss the question any further," I said stiffly.
It's not that dissimilar from the classroom scene.
So, Tiel puts Belke at the back of the house (unlocked), because everyone thinks that part is inaccessible, and can't go to the front of the house. Because Belke is a little shit, he goes to the front of the house, is face to face with the maid (he thinks she doesn't know about his deeds), then hides behind a curtain, then under the table, badly. Cue the amazing scene of the maid sweeping the floor, Belke comically dodging any incoming broom action, and
"Will you not better get out till I'm through with my sweeping?"
Too utterly bewildered to speak, I crept out and rose to my feet.
"You can get under the table again when I'm finished," she observed as she pulled off the cloth.
I lost it. Impeccable. Made my day.
So Eileen, aka Ms. Burnett, sister of the Rev., shows up and Belke's brain turns to goo. All he wants is to woo her. He also starts keeping a mental board of all the times she sides with him instead of Tiel. He's very young indeed.
"Is the war over?" I asked suddenly.
Both the others seemed surprised.
"I wish it were, Mr Belke!" said Miss Burnett with a sudden and moving change to seriousness.
"Then if it is not, why are we pretending so religiously that we have no business here but to drink tea, Miss Burnett?"
"I am not pretending; I am drinking it," she smiled.
Eileen and Belke have a heart to heart later, which he loves because the atmosphere lends itself well with romance or something like that. At one point he inquires if she's a "pure German". If Hardt is a Nazi by proxy, Belke is one through and through. Big yikes. (Eileen claims to be half-Irish, which makes Belke happy because that makes her double-hate the English; I found this nice, because Valerie Hobson is indeed Irish).
And that's all for the moment. Again, far from being a masterpiece, but it has its amusing moments. The movie is superior, though, even visually.
Some quotes I thought were amusing:
You may smile to think of a sailor being dismayed by a splash of salt water; but not if you are a motor-cyclist! Several very diabolical consequences may ensue.
I shall make "Several very diabolical consequences may ensue." part of my vocabulary.
At the end of ten minutes I felt not merely quite hopeless, but utterly helpless. Helpless as a child before a charging elephant, hopeless as a man at the bottom of an Alpine crevasse.
Incredible choice of words. Very specific.
Here's a couple of funny dreams:
A new Judex movie which started as a fancy period-piece (very 19th-century-ish), then quickly transitioned into a modern-day setting. Pretty sure the baddies were hiding in my granmother's house. The movie got bored with himself, turning into a Judex vs Yakuza thing (also Yu-Gi-Oh is there). There were also giant pineapples, the size of a person. That's important somehow.
Laserdisc version of The Thief of Bagdad was found, and it had missing scenes. I wonder why I dream of it even if I'm not that into it.
Bristol's Cinema Rediscovered has many things, including two showings of Queen Kelly.
University of Pennsylvania's list of online books :D
Roy Glashan's Library and Global Grey Books are yet some other places to get public domain books
no subject
Date: 3 Jun 2026 18:50 (UTC)That is a delightful line. Otherwise your excepts encourage my gratitude that Pressburger remixed the novel as he did.
(I have not read it for myself. I looked at it some years ago, noted a few salient differences, and decided to skip throwing myself on the grenade of the entire thing, which you are also not changing my mind about.)
It's nice to hear from you!
no subject
Date: 3 Jun 2026 19:04 (UTC)