Fritz Lang returned to Germany on the eve of the 1960s to direct this enchanted penultimate work, a redraft of the diptych form pioneered in such silent Lang classics as Die Spinnen; Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler:; and Die Nibelungen. Although no encapsulating title was lent at the time of release to what is, effectively, a single 3-hour-plus film split in two, the work that has come to be referred to in modern times as "the Indian epic" proved to be one of the legendary director's most adventurous achievements.
A German architect (Paul Hubschmid) is commissioned by an Indian Maharaja (Walter Reyer) to construct a temple on his palatial grounds. After saving the life of a bewitching dancer (Debra Paget), the hero is pulled ever deeper into the classic Lang motif of Man vs. His Fate.
Arriving in the wake of The River (Renoir), India matri bhumi (Rossellini), and Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger), Lang's Indian epic stands among the remarkable mid-century contributions of Western filmmakers who have contemplated India. The Masters of cinema Series is proud to present Lang's films on DVD in the UK for the first time.
SPECIAL 2 x DVD EDITION
• Beautiful new transfers of the films in their original 1.37:1 aspect ratio
• Two soundtracks: the native German-language track and the English-language dubtrack made for overseas distribution
• Newly translated optional English subtitles
• New and exclusive feature-length audio commentaries, for both Der Tiger von Eschnapur and Das indische Grabmal, by film scholar David Kalat
• 21-minute German documentary on the making of the Indian epic
• Vintage 8mm footage shot on location by actress Sabine Bethmann
• The original French trailers for both films, with optional English subtitles
• A lengthy booklet containing an essay by Lang scholar Tom Gunning (The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity); excerpts from interviews with Fritz Lang; and rare production photography
THE TIGAR OF ESCHNAPER
The Tiger of Eschnapur (German: Der Tiger von Eschnapur) is a 1959 West German-French-Italian adventure film directed by Fritz Lang. It is the first of two films comprising what has come to be known as Fritz Lang's Indian Epic; the other is The Indian Tomb (Das Indische Grabmal). Fritz Lang returned to Germany to direct these films, which together tell the story of a German architect, the Indian maharaja for whom he is supposed to build schools and hospitals, and the Eurasian dancer who comes between them.
Detailed Plot
Architect Harold Berger travels to India, hired by Maharajah Chandra to build schools and hospitals. While traveling to see the Maharajah, Berger meets Seetha, a temple dancer who has also been invited to the palace. En route, he saves her life when her caravan is attacked by a man-eating tiger.
The two quickly begin to fall in love. During one of their conversations, Seetha plays a song she remembers her father singing. Berger recognizes it as an old Irish song. Because of this memory and the features of her face, he deduces her father might be European. Seetha barely remembers her father, as he left her when she was very little, but suspects this to be true. Regardless of this, she still feels like an Indian woman at heart.
While examining the palace's foundations for reparations, Berger discovers a series of desolate underground tunnels. There, he sees the cells where people sick with leprosy are kept in inhumane conditions. This discovery makes him rethink Chandra's apparent kindness. Berger also finds a secret tunnel that leads to the temple where Seetha is dancing for a religious ceremony. Seetha's dance inadvertently causes the Maharajah to become infatuated with her. As his wife died years before, Chandra now plans to marry Seetha. He treats the dancer with kindness, hoping to gain her affection. However, Seetha only has eyes for the architect. While not being forced to be the Chandra's wife, Seetha believes that it is not wise to refuse the ruler's desires. Her sense of duty to him is exacerbated when he saves her from being sexually assaulted by a group rebelling against the Maharajah. This leads to tension between Chandra and Berger. Meanwhile, scheming courtiers, including the Maharaja's older brother, believe that Chandra's potential marriage to the dancer could become a pretext for toppling his reign.
Using the secret tunnel, Berger escapes with Seetha into the desert, just before his sister and her husband, an architect who works with him, arrive in Eschnapur. Chandra informs them that he now wants a tomb to be built before any further work can begin on the previously commissioned buildings. After discovering that Seetha and Berger have escaped, Chandra issues a command for Berger to be killed, and Seetha returned alive for burial in the tomb after its completion. After their horses expire, the couple gets stranded in the desert as a sandstorm begins.
(The story continues in the sequel film, The Indian Tomb)
THE INDIAN TOMB
The Indian Tomb (German: Das indische Grabmal) is a 1959 adventure film, co-written and directed by Fritz Lang. Produced by Artur Brauner, it is an international co-production of West Germany, France and Italy. It is the second film, after The Tiger of Eschnapur, that comprise "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic" duology, which are based on the 1918 novel Das indische Grabmal, written by Lang's ex-wife Thea von Harbou.
The Indian Tomb stars Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walter Reyer, Claus Holm, Valéry Inkijinoff, and Sabine Bethmann. Interiors were shot at the Spandau Studios in West Berlin with sets designed by the art directors Helmut Nentwig and Willy Schatz.
In 1960 American International Pictures obtained the rights to both films in "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic", combining them into one heavily edited, 90-minute-long feature named Journey to the Lost City which earned domestic gross of $500,000. After both were dubbed into Spanish, they were shown as separate films, when in fact the second was a direct continuation of the first.
The Indian Tomb (German: Das indische Grabmal) is a 1959 adventure film, co-written and directed by Fritz Lang. Produced by Artur Brauner, it is an international co-production of West Germany, France and Italy. It is the second film, after The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959), that comprise "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic" duology, which are based on the 1918 novel Das indische Grabmal, written by Lang's ex-wife Thea von Harbou.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film had an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews. Contemporaneously Die Welt wrote: "Here lies Fritz Lang, once creator of important films like Metropolis and M. The 'Indian tomb' is his own." [i.e., grave as a filmmaker) In contrast to those earlier opinions, contemporary American film critics are positive about the film. The film is probably best remembered today for Debra Paget's sexy "snake dance scene". Hollywood Reporter headlined their review with a publicity shot of her dance, writing, "The pasted-on costume she wears for a long “snake dance” scene, which leaves her nearly naked, seems to do the trick — though Seetha's wardrobe will hardly distract 21st century viewers from perhaps the fakest-looking writhing cobra in movie history.".