Some of the most enduring images of film ever conjured—not just of the Silent Era, but of all time— appear as a result of the vivid expressionism manifested in the oeuvre of Weimar Germany's leading director, F.W. Murnau. The man who's name is now associated some of the most important restoration efforts ever undertaken, had both an incalculable impact upon the filmmaking world in his time, as well as into today. Even if you've never seen a Murnau film before, it's almost impossible to not have come across some of the iconic imagery sprung from his brief yet unrivaled time working in the industry. His name is associated with some of the most acknowledged greatest films of all time, working in both Germany and America in the 1920s, and pioneering the medium with every new film. This episode marks our foray into the important directors of Weimar Cinema, the individuals with an even greater prestige than the actors with whom they worked so consistently. Murnau may have been the most influential of them all, despite an untimely end to his life and career in tandem with the foreclosure of Silent Film as a whole.

The Life and Career of F.W. Murnau: 00:00-45:58

Der brennende Acker/The Burning Soil (1922): 45:59-1:06:43

Many thanks to Graham Austin and Jack Davenport for the creation of our beautiful logo art and theme music respectively.