"Blind Husbands" by Erich von Stroheim

November 10, 2006

The edition of classical films on DVD, which the Film Museum started last year with Dziga Vertov's restored Enthusiasm, was an important step in a new direction for the institution.
 

The museum's stance on preparing a DVD as an object for educational purposes (roughly comparable to a catalogue at art exhibitions, rather than as a "substitute" for the cinematic experience), met with highly positive reactions around the globe. These culminated in the "Best DVD 2005-2006" award for Enthusiasm at the Cinema Ritrovato film festival in Bologna.
 

The second release represents a true film-historical rarity: Blind Husbands (1919), Erich von Stroheim's brilliant directorial début, has been preserved at the Film Museum in the most complete version to be found anywhere in the world – and it is also the sole tinted version. Contextualized by a wide range of additional film and text materials, this version is now being presented on DVD. On the occasion of the DVD release, the Film Museum will show this rare print in its ideal form and ambience: on the screen.