The Last Laugh

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Leaburn O One of the best of the silent era. Murnau was a master storyteller of parables. A lot to dissect in this movie but sadly it's a tale of a man who put too much stock in his societal status. Saw this one on YouTube where there is a good quality version with a nice score. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/08/23 Full Review Michael M Questionable epilogue aside, The Last Laugh is one of Murnau's finest films, telling a moving story without a single intertitle or line of dialogue. The director uses an everyday tragedy about an elderly man (played brilliantly by Emil Jannings) who loses an integral piece of his identity when he is removed from his position as a doorman at a fancy hotel to make a larger point about the precariousness of the working class, a point which is still very much relevant. Even without the brilliant story and moving lead performance, the film deserves recognition for its revolutionary cinematography, including one shot that clearly inspired a famous camera trick used in Citizen Kane. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/29/21 Full Review georgan g Glad I read about the societal issues this film represented, along with how working class individuals were affected. Lighting and camera work were well done. The beginning of modern film making. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L Not only a massive leap forward from a technical perspective, but a unique interpretation of the role of the image of oneself in society, which strikes an oddly relevant tone with the rapid emergence of social media as the true depiction of a subject despite reality. Murnau presents the nameless doorman as the victim of a terrible fall from grace, whose sole crimes are essentially unavoidable - growing old, and wishing to still be of use. He maintains a way to support his family, but both he and the world around him treat his plight as a shameful defeat, as he attempts to retain the physical manifestation of his position, his uniform, with all the peculiarities of symbolism that such an article carries with it in German culture. Set design and camerawork elements that Murnau and his production team pioneered in The Last Laugh would become industry standard following its release. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/27/21 Full Review Ethan S The silent-era films that have remained of interest to modern audiences tend toward either the fantastic (e.g. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis) or comedic (e.g. the works of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton). These films, which rely on their visual brilliance to connect with audiences, remain potent today despite their lack of dialogue. Time has been less kind to the silent-era drama; it would seem it is just more difficult for modern audiences to pay attention to a story with complex narrative and emotional depth when the "talkies" seem to do it so much more effortlessly and enjoyably. But then there is this movie - a poignant character study of incredible depth and pathos despite having no dialogue at all. For the first few minutes after I decided to sit down to this film I thought: "this looks boring... lets see it through anyway, it's supposed to be a 'great film'." Ten minutes later the film had ceased to be a chore to watch and indeed sometimes I almost forgot I was watching a silent film at all. Something about Emil Jannings' portrayal, aided by the lively cinematography of the film, really brought me emotionally into the life of this aging doorman and his struggle for dignity in a situation where he found himself being discarded. And the fact that all of this was accomplished without dialogue or lengthy inter-titles and pages of exposition makes the achievement all the more remarkable, The only reason I don't give this 5 stars is the throwaway ending. I've read that this was a "happy ending" insisted on by the studio rather than part of the original plot of the film, but I would happily have cut the ending off and reverted to the German title "The Last Man" rather than "The Last Laugh". Perhaps you could argue that the ridiculousness of the ending in some way adds to the poignancy of the 'real' ending of despair, but I think we could do without it. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/28/20 Full Review jaime l A doorman of a certain age works in the Atlantic hotel where he is as dutiful as he is kind. He has such pride in this simple job it projects on to his neighbors and acquaintances a sense of honor and joy making him a beloved figure among them, one that is instantly recognizable due to the uniform he wears almost as general wearing a medal of valour. One day the doorman is temporarily tiered out after carrying a big truck forgotten by a guest, unbeknownst to him however an hotel Manager witnesses only the aftermath and proceeds to replace him immediately by a man whose age closely resembles his. The doorman hence demoted to a washroom attendant is utterly and systematically broken in each aspect of his existence. But is there is a chance he might recover? To whom is the last laugh reserved for? Beautiful and emotionally gut wrenching this early film by Murnau exhibits some inventive camera work with angles and shoots that make lively the already solid performance by lead actor Emil Jannings. He is the key to this film he makes us feel the pain and discomfort as ours in thanks mostly to his acting ability. As an example even in the way he walks we sense that something fundamental has broken inside this man making us realize we all are at risk of suffering the fate quite similar to him. To life like a zombie to be AND not to be. In playing a man defined exclusively by his job the film becomes universal and personal a tightrope of no easy feat as a simple overacting could have made this project into a comic stupidity (as a moment of laughter from an actress facing us dead on almost made me fell) or, in the opposite direction an alienating bore. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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