"Berlin Alexanderplatz" (1931, Phil Jutzi) is a somewhat forgotten film. There are two reasons for this. In the first place the (bad) reputation of the director and his lead actor. In the second place the fact that this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alfred Döblin is very much in the shadow of the much better known TV mini series of Rainer Werner Fassbinder from 1980.
To begin with the first reason. Director Phil Jutzi and leading actor Heinrich George have much in common. Starting as convinved communists, they afterwards collaborated with the Nazi's and died not long after the Second World War at a relatively young age. The best known film from the communist period of director Jutzi is probably "Mother Krause's journey to happiness" (1929).
I have not seen the Fassbinder mini series of 1980 and therefore I cannot realy compare it with the film of Jutzi. Despite the fact that both are adaptations of the same novel, it's hard anyway to compare a film of 1,5 hour with a TV mini-series of 15,5 hours.
I read however the book by Alfred Döblin. The film of Jutzi tells the story in a rather straightforward way (with the exception of the end, about which a little later), but lacks all of the "stream of conscience" elements from which the book derives an important part of its fame. I have heard that Fassbinder at least tries to imitate this element in a somewhat weird voice over commentary.
The end of the film is very different from, and much more optimistic than the novel. Adding a happy ending is not uncommon in the film industry, but the damage done to the Döblin novel is bigger than usual. By doing so the story loses its element of destiny (a released prisoner tries with all his might to walk the line, but fate is stronger than his will) that permeates the novel.
Coming to a conclusion, my verdict is that "Berlin Alexanderplatz" of Phil Jutzi has rightly been forgotten. It portrays reasonably well the atmosphere of Berlin in the early thirties, and especially the Berlin of petty criminals, but other films of this time do the same job even better. I'am thinking about "Berlin, symphony of a Metropolis" (1927, Walter Ruttmann, about Berlin in general) and "M, Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder" (1931, Fritz Lang, about the world of petty criminals).
To begin with the first reason. Director Phil Jutzi and leading actor Heinrich George have much in common. Starting as convinved communists, they afterwards collaborated with the Nazi's and died not long after the Second World War at a relatively young age. The best known film from the communist period of director Jutzi is probably "Mother Krause's journey to happiness" (1929).
I have not seen the Fassbinder mini series of 1980 and therefore I cannot realy compare it with the film of Jutzi. Despite the fact that both are adaptations of the same novel, it's hard anyway to compare a film of 1,5 hour with a TV mini-series of 15,5 hours.
I read however the book by Alfred Döblin. The film of Jutzi tells the story in a rather straightforward way (with the exception of the end, about which a little later), but lacks all of the "stream of conscience" elements from which the book derives an important part of its fame. I have heard that Fassbinder at least tries to imitate this element in a somewhat weird voice over commentary.
The end of the film is very different from, and much more optimistic than the novel. Adding a happy ending is not uncommon in the film industry, but the damage done to the Döblin novel is bigger than usual. By doing so the story loses its element of destiny (a released prisoner tries with all his might to walk the line, but fate is stronger than his will) that permeates the novel.
Coming to a conclusion, my verdict is that "Berlin Alexanderplatz" of Phil Jutzi has rightly been forgotten. It portrays reasonably well the atmosphere of Berlin in the early thirties, and especially the Berlin of petty criminals, but other films of this time do the same job even better. I'am thinking about "Berlin, symphony of a Metropolis" (1927, Walter Ruttmann, about Berlin in general) and "M, Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder" (1931, Fritz Lang, about the world of petty criminals).