Asphalt

In the late 1920s, Germany's Weimar Republic boasted a cinematic genre called the “street film,” in which city life served as a microcosm for the problems of modern society. Both the title of this 1929 silent picture and its many (some will say too many) shots of pedestrian and vehicular traffic offer clear evidence that Asphalt was part of that movement. Directed by Joe May, who later came to Hollywood and made a series of mostly undistinguished horror movies (the best being 1940's Oscar-nominated The Invisible Man Returns), Asphalt is more notable for its visual form than its narrative content. Starting with its opening urban montage (accompanied by a throbbing orchestral score in the excellent reconstruction by the F.W. Murnau Foundation on this disc), the film exhibits much more fluid camera movement than was customary at the time, and the cinematography consistently reveals a sensitive understanding of the effects of light and shadow. Unfortunately, the plot is much less imaginative, focusing on a young traffic cop who apprehends a woman trying to pilfer some jewels and, rather than turning her in, is seduced by her—ultimately leading to tragedy. Truth be told, the acting is often stilted, too—especially by Gustav Frölich, the hero of Metropolis, as the lovesick cop. Still, this extra-less disc should be considered for cinema history collections and is a strong optional purchase elsewhere. (F. Swietek)