BROKEN LULLABY
(Ernst Lubitsch, 1932)
Release date: 20 March 2023
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)
Pre-order here.
Often overlooked amongst director Ernst Lubitsch’s comedies and musicals, Broken Lullaby is a riveting and brilliant romantic drama from the pre-Code era, starring Lionel Barrymore (It’s a Wonderful Life), Nancy Carroll (The Kiss Before the Mirror), and Phillips Holmes (The Criminal Code).
Musician Paul Renard is haunted by the memory of Walter, a German soldier he killed during the First World War. He travels to Walter’s home town, and, passing himself off as a friend of the deceased, is taken in by his grieving family. But when he finds himself falling in love with Elsa, Walter’s fiancée, he becomes worried that the truth will emerge...
With a screenplay by regular Lubitsch collaborator Samson Raphaelson (The Shop Around the Corner, Heaven Can Wait), Broken Lullaby was rapturously received by critics at the time, with one describing it as ‘the most unusual and dramatic situation the screen has presented’.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author and film historian Joseph McBride (2021)
• The Films of Ernst Lubitsch (2001): archival audio recording of a presentation by Scott Eyman, author of Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise, presented as part the British Film Institute’s 2001 Lubitsch retrospective at the National Film Theatre, London
• The Men I Killed (2023): video essay on Broken Lullaby and François Ozon’s 2016 film Frantz, comparing their different cinematic approaches to adapting Maurice Rostand’s 1930 play, L’Homme que j’ai tué, and its 1931 English-language translation, The Man I Killed, by Reginald Berkeley
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Christina Newland, archival profiles of director Ernst Lubtisch, star Lionel Barrymore and screenwriter Samuel Raphaelson, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies
All extras subject to change
#PHILE385B
BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697923124
385 Broken Lullaby
Moderator: MichaelB
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
385 Broken Lullaby
- What A Disgrace
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:34 pm
- Contact:
Re: 385 Broken Lullaby
A bunch of stuff I already bought from Kino this month.
...and which I will buy again.
Sigh.
...and which I will buy again.
Sigh.
- therewillbeblus
- Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm
Re: 385 Broken Lullaby
My writeup from the filmmaker thread:
therewillbeblus wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 7:22 pmBroken Lullaby was a surprisingly moving tale of guilt amended through carrying the unmanageable burden whilst infiltrating the harmed with empathic intent and action. I enjoyed how this action mimicked a re-traumatization of facing the battle of one's psyche walking through a metaphorical minefield of triggers for his accountability, while also reinforcing the idea that living in accordance with one's conscience promotes positivity divorced from history. The narrative leads to an extraordinary call for actualization without depending on moral growth - rather that this comes from within and doing the best one can, for his morals were always in place- it's the realization of this that becomes the key in self-acceptance. What we are left with in the final moments are a celebration of white lies and anti-catharsis, allows for the message to remain in the area of one of my favorite beliefs: that rehabilitation can also come without retribution. The ending is just lovely enough to bypass whatever implications the refusal to be honest may have on audiences- and the pre-Code qualities are clear here. Otherwise the pacing wasn't that great and neither were the performances aside from the parents. I can't say the film itself is a great one, but the concepts strung together work in hindsight, though I realize that's not a motivating recommendation to seek it out for most.
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: 385 Broken Lullaby
Final specs:
- rapta
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
- Location: Hants, UK
- Furstemberg
- Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:31 pm
Re: 385 Broken Lullaby
Comparing the editions’ overall packages, the difference in quality between the Kino and the Indicator is eye-watering. This is a stacked, packed release that treats the film like it’s important. Indicator is so good at that.