#569: SIODMAK, Robert & ULMER, Edgar G.: People On Sunday (1930)
SIODMAK, Robert & ULMER, Edgar G. (Germany)
People On Sunday [1930]
Spine #569
Blu-ray
Blu-ray
Years before they became major players in Hollywood, a group of young German filmmakers — including eventual noir masters Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer and future Oscar winners Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann — worked together on the once-in-a-lifetime collaboration People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag). This effervescent, sunlit silent, about a handful of city dwellers (a charming cast of nonprofessionals) enjoying a weekend outing, offers a rare glimpse of Weimer-era Berlin. A unique hybrid of documentary and fictional storytelling, People on Sunday was both an experiment and a mainstream hit that would influence generations of film artists around the world.
73 minutes
Black & White
Black & White
Silent
German Intertitles
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writers
From a reportage by Kurt Siodmak.
Script by Billie Wilder.
Robert Siodmak was 30 and Edgar G. Ulmer was 26 when they directed People on Sunday.
The Film
The Film
Film Rating (0-60):
The Booklet
Thirty-two page booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Noah Isenberg and reprints by scriptwriter Wilder and director Siodmak.
Commentary
None.
Two scores
60
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Thirty-two page booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Noah Isenberg and reprints by scriptwriter Wilder and director Siodmak.
Commentary
None.
Two scores
A silent-era-style one by the Mont Alto Orchestra and a modern one by Elena Kals-Chernin, performed by the Czech Film Orchestra — both presented as uncompressed stereo soundtracks.
Weekend am Wannsee
Weekend am Wannsee
Gerald Koll’s 2000 documentary about the film, featuring interviews with star Borchert and writer Curt Siodmak.
Ins Blaue hinein
Ins Blaue hinein
A thirty-six-minute short film from 1931 by People on Sunday cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan.
Extras Rating (0-40):
Extras Rating (0-40):
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