"The Last Laugh" tells a simple, yet heartbreakingly tragic tale (that ends disappointingly upbeat, but lets look at the film's positives).
The film tells the story of a hotel doorman who, because of his old age, is brought down to the ranks of being just a bathroom attendant. The way this is all presented is incredibly powerful, with no use of intertitles, some of the most beautiful camera-work and directing I've ever seen (thanks to the brilliant director, F.W. Murnau), and a smashingly powerful performance by Emil Jannings.
It is all dazzling to look at, since Murnau's lens is jam packed with creativity, movement, and beauty. Murnau almost makes the city seem alive, just like he did in the later 1927 classic "Sunrise". In some ways, this actually makes "The Last Laugh" a sort of prequel to "Sunrise" (not story wise, but cinematic wise).
The film tells the story of a hotel doorman who, because of his old age, is brought down to the ranks of being just a bathroom attendant. The way this is all presented is incredibly powerful, with no use of intertitles, some of the most beautiful camera-work and directing I've ever seen (thanks to the brilliant director, F.W. Murnau), and a smashingly powerful performance by Emil Jannings.
It is all dazzling to look at, since Murnau's lens is jam packed with creativity, movement, and beauty. Murnau almost makes the city seem alive, just like he did in the later 1927 classic "Sunrise". In some ways, this actually makes "The Last Laugh" a sort of prequel to "Sunrise" (not story wise, but cinematic wise).