31/01/2003

The Triumph of Direction is the title of a Fritz Lang retrospective that was jointly organised in Athens by the Goethe Institut and the Thessaloniki Film Festival, and will run in Athens from 31 January to 13 February 2003. The retrospective was first seen at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival and consists of 44 of the German director’s films - many of which restorations – that have never been screened in Greece. The titles reflect the four principle phases of Lang’s career and include his greatest classics - both silent like Destiny (1921) and Metropolis (1926), and talkies like M (1931) and Dr Mabuse (1936), as well as Lang’s now legendary appearance in Godard’s Contempt (1963).
The organisers have also scheduled a discussion of Lang’s work, to be moderated by Greek film critic and historian, Enno Patalas (who also restored many of Lang’s films), to ensure that the audience gets a full appreciation of Lang’s importance to modern world cinema. The programme also includes a multimedia exhibition at the Thessaloniki Museum of Cinema from 31 January to 15 March, that includes the only surviving script of Hilde Warren and Death (1919).