Eureka Entertainment to release Westfront 1918 and Kameradschaft (Two films by G.W. Pabst), two anti-war films from master director Georg Wilhelm Pabst at the height of his powers, as part of The Masters of Cinema Series in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition on 24 July 2017 at the RRP of £24.99.
Georg Wilhelm Pabst (Pandora’s Box, Diary of a Lost Girl) made a flawless transition from silent to sound filmmaking with, Westfront 1918 and Kameradschaft, a pair of strongly anti-war titles (Pabst himself was a prisoner of war for the duration of WWI) that combined elements of Expressionism and New Objectivity to stunning effect.
In Westfront 1918, four infantrymen on the Western Front suffer the everyday hardships and insanity of trench warfare, and in Kameradschaft, a team of German miners risk their lives to rescue a team of French miners left trapped after an underground explosion.
Sharing many thematic elements, as well as key cast and crew (most notably cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner – M, Nosferatu, Der müde Tod), Westfront 1918 and Kameradschaft represents a master director at the height of his powers.
"Hardly any film since has given such an unremittingly horrific picture of warfare-in-action, from the agonising lulls to the surprise attacks, from harsh resilience to the release of madness or a death wish.” – Time Out on Westfront 1918.
"The absolute high-point of German socialist film-making of its period...moving, sincere and committed.” – Time Out on Kameradschaft.
Dual format edition special features:
- Limited Edition O-card [First 2000 copies]
- Both films presented on Blu-ray in stunning 1080p
- Uncompressed PCM soundtrack for both titles (on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles
- Westfront 1918, an introduction by film scholar and author Jan-Christopher Horak
- Kameradschaft, an introduction by film scholar and author Jan-Christopher Horak
- A booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp, alongside rare archival imagery
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