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Rating: 
Summary: LIEBERSTRAUM........
Review: Cannot wax too profusely about this unique collection - it's for the sserious film student to behold - and perhaps for the not too serious - just to see 'how it was all done' with minimum effect.Numerous extras including choice of soundtracks, etc. Absolutely a 'must have' - especially since it contains rarely viewed "The Golem" [strangely pertinent today] and the original "Waxworks". Pity that this landmark studio is now potentially marked for destruction - ah progress!
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice box set of four classic German Expressionist films
Review: I am not going to comment on the films individually here, other than to mention that I was ecstatic to find that Kino made Art Zoyd's "Nosferatu" soundtrack available as an alternative on the "Nosferatu" DVD. I have had the Art Zoyd "Nosferatu" CD since it was first released, and found it to be quite a chilling musical score. It is very satisfying now to finally see it as an *actual* score along with the movie. All of the discs seem to have very clean transfers. I do not have the luxury or experience to do a first-hand comparison of the various releases and transfers, but watching these DVDs the image is as clean as one could expect from films from the 1920's. It seems evident to me that care and not insignificant research was put into each DVD. I have very much enjoyed viewing all of the movies in the set. (Now, onto Murnau's Faust! And the soon-to-be-re-released Metropolis, also from Kino.)
Rating:
Summary: Very nice box set of four classic German Expressionist films
Review: I am not going to comment on the films individually here, other than to mention that I was ecstatic to find that Kino made Art Zoyd's "Nosferatu" soundtrack available as an alternative on the "Nosferatu" DVD. I have had the Art Zoyd "Nosferatu" CD since it was first released, and found it to be quite a chilling musical score. It is very satisfying now to finally see it as an *actual* score along with the movie. All of the discs seem to have very clean transfers. I do not have the luxury or experience to do a first-hand comparison of the various releases and transfers, but watching these DVDs the image is as clean as one could expect from films from the 1920's. It seems evident to me that care and not insignificant research was put into each DVD. I have very much enjoyed viewing all of the movies in the set. (Now, onto Murnau's Faust! And the soon-to-be-re-released Metropolis, also from Kino.)
Rating:
Summary: The Height of Silent-Era German Expressionism
Review: Like most artistic "isms," expressionism is difficult to define. In a general sense, it refers to art where the artist is less interested in depicting reality than in making a highly personal statement about a specific subject. Since this occurs to some degree in virtually all art, expressionism has very deep roots--but in the early 1900s it began to develop into a very specific arts movement, most often associated with the stage, where the legendary Eugene O'Neill would prove a master of the style. But it was also very specifically associated with post-World War I Germany, and in 1919 director Robert Wiene would create the first purely expressionistic film: THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI.
The film divided both critical and popular response, but once pure expressionism reached the screen it touched off a series of German films that dabbled in the style to at least some degree. This memorable Kino Video box set collects four of the most famous: the aforementioned CALIGARI, the 1920 THE GOLEM, the 1922 NOSFERATU, and the rarely seen 1924 WAXWORKS. Both individually and collectively, these films and others like them have cast an extremely long shadow, influencing directors as diverse as James Whale, Frederico Fellini, and Bob Fosse.
CALIGARI, THE GOLEM, and NOSFERATU are widely available in various "budget" releases, but it has been my hard-won experience that in such situations you get what you pay for: most are unwatchable. The Kino editions, however, are very much "best case" prints, contrast balanced and with original tints restored. Short of full digital restoration, this is as good as it gets, and while they may seem pricey in comparison they are well worth every cent.
Sadly, none of the DVDs offer significant bonus material. This is particularly unfortunate in the case of CALIGARI, which is such a unique film that it alone would be worthy of a double DVD edition. Still, the occasional bonuses are entertaining if not greatly satisfying, and even with this drawback the box set as a whole--and every title in it--is a must-have for any one who is seriously interested in world cinema.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: SILENCE IS STILL GOLDEN
Review: Silence is golden, and no one proves that more that Kino, the most important leader in silent films on video. Now available are these German greats, masterpieces of the German Expressionism that have been digitally remastered from 35mm archival materials and that feature new period subtitles. "Caligari" (our fave here) is color-tinted and contains the rarely-seen thriller "Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire." Art doesn't get more genuine than these.
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