People on Sunday

An early example of independent filmmaking by ambitious young filmmakers, this 1930 German film is a rarity hailing from the late silent era. Cast with nonprofessionals and shot with minimal equipment on the streets and in the parks of Berlin and Wannsee, People on Sunday offers a buoyant portrait of a lazy Sunday in Weimar Germany as seen through the flirtations and fun-filled activities of five young Berliners. Co-directed by future auteurs Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, the script was written by Billy Wilder from a scenario by Kurt Siodmak, with Eugen Schüfftan providing the gorgeous photography, assisted by future Oscar-winner Fred Zinnemann. The mix of naturalism, visual poetry, youthful energy, and frisky sexuality in the central tale of a canoodling romantic triangle is irresistible, while between scenes the camera captures other weekend revelers and brief witty asides (a montage of statues serves as a young cinemaphile's witty tribute to Eisenstein). A superb and historically significant work that will appeal mostly to fans of silent and foreign cinema (as well as completists looking for early material by one or more of the collaborators), People on Sunday makes its U.S. debut on DVD and first appearance on Blu-ray, remastered from a fine 1997 reconstruction and restoration. Extras include two original music scores, Gerald Koll's 2000 documentary Weekend am Wannsee (on the film and its reconstruction), Schüfftan's 1931 short film “Ins Blaue hinein,” and a booklet. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)