The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden)
Deluxe Blu-ray/DVD Combo

FA 6871 Format: Blu-ray/DVD Region: ABC/0 Director: H.K. Breslauer Featuring: Eugen Neufeld, Hans Moser, Anny Milety, Johannes Riemann Composers: Donald Sosin, Alicia Svigals Year: 1924 Language: Silent (German Intertitles / English Subtitles) Length: 90 minutes UPC: 617311687198 Available: Aug 25, 2020

The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden) Once considered lost, now available in a comprehensive new restoration! Based on the controversial and best-selling novel by Hugo Bettauer, H.K. Breslauer’s 1924 film adaptation of The City without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden) was produced two years after the publication of the book, only a decade before events depicted in the fictional story became an all-too-horrific reality. Set in the Austrian city of Utopia (a thinly disguised stand-in for Vienna), the story follows the consequences of an anti-Semitic law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to leave the country. At first the decision is met with celebration, yet when the citizens of Utopia eventually come to terms with the loss of the Jewish population—and the resulting economic and cultural decline—the National Assembly must decide whether or not to invite the Jews back. Conceived as a dark satire and stylistically influenced by German Expressionism, the film nonetheless contains ominous and eerily realistic sequences, such as the shots of trains transporting deported Jews out of the city. The implicit critique of Nazism in the film is part of the reason it no longer screened in public after 1933, all complete prints were thought to be destroyed. Now, thanks to the discovery of a nitrate print at a Paris flea market in 2015, as well as to the brilliant restoration efforts of the Filmarchiv Austria, this previously incomplete film can once again be appreciated in its unfortunately ever-relevant entirety. Bonus Materials Include: Victims of Hatred (Opfer des Hasses) (1923) – A semi-documentary feature additionally restored by Filmarchiv Austria about Jewish refugees who fled pogroms in Russia, produced by the Jüdisches Hilfswerk , the Jewish Relief Organization in Vienna. Music composed and performed by Donald Sosin. ONLY IN THIS EDITION! Conversation with Dr. Nikolaus Wostry, Filmarchiv Austria (2019) – Dr. Margrit Frölich moderates an in-depth interview with Dr. Nikolaus Wostry, managing director and head of film collections at Filmarchiv Austria, discussing the challenging history of the film and its legacy in the Republic of Austria today. ONLY IN THIS EDITION! Saving Die Stadt ohne Juden (2016) – Filmarchiv Austria’s crowdfunding campaign video for the digital scanning of The City without Jews ( Die Stadt ohne Juden ), an integral step in the process of rescuing and preserving this landmark of Austrian silent cinema. ONLY IN THIS EDITION! The City without…Jews, Muslims, Refugees, Foreigners (2018) – The chilling images featured in the 2018 exhibition at METRO Kinokulturhaus document both the historical context of the film and its truly expansive contemporary relevance. ONLY IN THIS EDITION! Collector’s Edition Souvenir Booklet – Limited edition booklet with new essays by Ernst Kieninger, Armin Loacker, and Cynthia Walk on the film’s history and significance, as well as notes on the comprehensive restoration process and reconstruction by Anna Dobringer and Fumiko Tsuneishi, and an introduction to the edition’s unique bonus features by Margrit Frölich.