FILM SCREENING | ALPINE DESIRE FILM SERIES | BLIND HUSBANDS

Blind Husbands (Die Rache der Berge)
Written and directed by Erich von Stroheim
Starring Sam deGrace, Francelia Billington, Erich von Stroheim
Silent, colorized, 100mins, English subtitles
Live piano: Elaine Brennan

In cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum and in conjunction with our exhibition Alpine Desire, on view through May 8, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York presents an alpine-themed film series featuring restored gems from the silent movie era as well as rarely seen contemporary films. The series is curated by Michael Loebenstein.

The first film in the series is Erich von Stroheim‘s Hollywood debut, Blind Husbands. Considered a masterpiece of American silent cinema and set in the alpine scenery of South Tyrol, it still baffles today’s audiences with its precise visual language and its moral ambiguity. Austrian émigré von Stroheim uses the alpine backdrop (which was actually shot in California!) as a symbol for his protagonist’s erotic desires and as an arena for a post-World War I stand-off between ‘old world’ decadence and American pragmatism. Stroheim himself stars as the seductive villain, Austrian cavalry officer Von Steuben – a role which would establish his star persona as the ‘Dirty Hun’ in Hollywood and worldwide.

The copy shown is the longest and oldest version of the film available today: this gorgeously tinted 1921 Austrian release, redubbed Die Rache der Berge (The Revenge of the Mountains), was restored by the Austrian Film Museum in 2006.

Vienna-based Irish musician Elaine Brennan will be accompanying the film on piano. She has been engaged by numerous universities, conservatories, orchestras, broadcasters, choirs, chamber groups, soloists, and ensembles, and has accompanied numerous silent films on piano, most recently the major works of directors DW Griffith, Howard Hawks, and Ozu Yasujiro.

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