Alraune + The Student of Prague: German Silent Genre Rarities From Director Henrik Galeen: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Germany, 1926 (The Student of Prague), Germany, 1928 (Alraune)
Director: Henrik Galeen (Both Films)
Cast: Conrad Veidt, Elizza La Porta, Fritz Alberti, Ágnes Eszterházy, Ferdinand von Alten, Werner Krauss (The Student of Prague), Brigitte Helm, Paul Wegener, Iván Petrovich, Wolfgang Zilzer, John Loder, Mia Pankau, Valeska Gert, Georg John (Alraune) 

Release Date: December 16th, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 133 Minutes 53 Seconds (The Student of Prague), 136 Minutes (Alraune)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Stereo with German Intertitles (Both Films)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $32.95

The Student of Prague: "Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Casablanca) stars as a hellraising student who sells his soul to the Devil in the form of a wizened old man named Scapinelli (Werner Krauss). But Veidt hasn't bargained on meeting his own evil doppelgänger who literally steps out of a mirror, Cocteau-like, and starts to take over his life. A remake of the 1913 version starring Paul Wegener (also excellent), Galeen's eerily compelling FAUST-like fantasy / horror is driven by the always-great Veidt's impressive dual performance as the student and his strange, unsettling twin." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Alraune: "Deranged Weimar Era erotic sci-fi / horror starring Brigitte Helm (Maria / Futura in Fritz Lang's Metropolis) as the unholy offspring of a genetics experiment conducted by her scientist "father" Paul Wegener (The Golem in both the 1915 and 1920 versions), who implants the semen of a hanged man in the womb of a prostitute. ("Alraune" literally translates as "Mandrake" - an old legend states that human-like mandrake roots grow under the gallows where the sperm of a hanged man touches mother earth.) As an adult, the lithe, sinuous Helm with her weirdly magnetic gaze and Modigliani-like features drives men to suicide and madness - including her own pseudo-father Wegener who succumbs to incestuous obsession with her." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Alraune), 3.5/5 (The Student of Prague)

Here’s the information provided about this release’s transfers, "This copy of The Student of Prague is based on the reconstruction of a Spanish version from the Archive SODRE Montevideo through Cineteca di Bologna. The restoration was co-financed by the Lumière Project. The Munich Film Museum added the original German title cards, from a copy hled by the Gosfilmofond Moscow."

"The original German version of Henrik Galeen's Alraune no longer exists. This reconstruction is based on Danish and Russian distribution versions, which have undergone various cuts and changes. Some shots cut by German censors have survived in this version, while others appear to have been irretrievably lost. About 300 meters of film (approx. 10 minutes) are missing from the German premiere copy, including a scene wth Valeska Gert dancing in front of a whorehouse. The text of these intertitles, based on the few surviving incomplete copies of the director's screenplay, is drawn from a report by the Berlin Film Censors' Board dated January 16, 1928, a program booklet of the same year, and retranslations from foreign-language versions. Original graphics were preserved only on the main title, a few inserts, and three German intertitles at the end of Act 1. All others are reconstructed titles in script type or descriptive titles in plain type. The tints were taken from the Danish nitrate print."

The Student of Prague comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.2 GB

Feature: 31.9 GB

Alraune comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.7 GB

Feature: 32.5 GB

Although both films have source debris and damage, Alraune is in much better shape than The Student of Prague, in which the last 30 minutes' source damage flares up considerably. Image clarity and compression are solid; color tints look correct, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction. That said, Fidelity In Motion delivers another exemplary encode.

Audio: 5/5 (Both Films)

Both films come with one audio option, a LPCM stereo mix with German intertitles and removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clear and balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include part one of an interview with Stefan Drössler of the Filmmuseum München about the preservation of Galeen’s films, moderated by Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile (40 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), part two of an interview with Stefan Drössler and Dennis Bartok (56 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an excerpt from Auf gefährlichen Spuren (Dangerous Paths), a 1924 crime film written by Henrik Galeen (15 minutes 40 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, LPCM stereo with German intertitles and removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film historian Jan-Christopher Horak, former director of the UCLA Film & TV Archive and the Filmmuseum München for The Student of Prague, an audio commentary with Jan-Christopher Horak for Alraune, and reversible cover art (one side is Alraune and the other side is The Student of Prague).

Summary:

Henrik Galeen, best known for directing the 1914 version of The Golem, directed The Student of Prague and Alraune. In addition to his directorial work, he was a prolific screenwriter, with notable credits that include the 1920 adaptation of The Golem, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, and Waxworks.

The Student of Prague: The devil makes a deal with a penniless student who believes he needs money to obtain happiness.

The Student of Prague is a remake of a 1913 German silent horror film of the same name directed by Stellan Rye. Both of these versions of The Student of Prague are loosely based on two things: a German legend, Faust, and Edgar Allen Poe’s short story William Wilson. The narrative primarily draws inspiration from Faust, where the protagonist regrets a deal he makes with the devil. Meanwhile, William Wilson contributes to The Student of Prague by portraying a doppelgänger for the protagonist.

Watching a silent film like The Student of Prague, it becomes apparent how ambitious some of these films were. When one considers the limitations of cinema from this area, notably the camera’s lack of mobility, it is amazing how much of The Student of Prague takes place outdoors in real locations. Although The Student of Prague’s 134-minute running time appears daunting for a film with no spoken dialogue, its editing does an excellent job creating a rhythm that moves things along briskly. The Student of Prague also stood out for its innovative use of trick photography, particularly in a scene where the protagonist's doppelganger emerges from a mirror.

Like any deal one could make with the devil, it always appears too good to be true, and the protagonist's happiness is short-lived because of the havoc that his doppelganger wreaks. The narrative does a superb job drawing you in and building momentum to an exemplary finale where the protagonist battles his doppelganger. The finale is an outstanding moment in which the doppelganger taunts the protagonist by disappearing every time he tries to land a blow. Conrad Veidt (The Man Who Laughs) is cast in the role of protagonist, a penniless student named Balduin. Although this role is not as flashy as his most celebrated performances, it is nevertheless an excellent performance. Ultimately, The Student of Prague is an extraordinary film about choices and their consequences in which its protagonist pays dearly for his.

Alraune: A scientist creates a child from a mandrake root that grows up with no concept of love.

Alraune is a German legend that dates back to the Middle Ages. The legend proposes that hanged men’s semen absorbed into the soil from where they hung, creating a human-shaped mandrake root that could be used to produce offspring that have no soul or ability to love. It is a story that’s been adapted often, two times before Henrik Galeen’s 1928 adaptation.

Henrik Galeen’s Alraune is equal parts science fiction and horror film. Although silent cinema was a visually driven medium that intermediately used intertitles for its exposition, it is surprising how dialogue-reliant Alraune’s opening setup is. That said, once the narrative settles in, the intertitles become more sparse.

Brigitte Helm (Metropolis) is cast in the role of Alraune ten Brinken, a woman who was created by inserting a mandrake root into a prostitute. Her character never knew her mother and was raised by Professor Jakob ten Brinken, the scientist who gave her life. She delivers a captivating performance, which elevates everyone around her. The other performance of note is Paul Wegener (The Golem) in the role of Professor Jakob ten Brinken. He delivers an exemplary performance that’s devoid of the mannerisms and overreliance that plague far too many silent film performances.

Although Alraune sometimes leans into melodrama, it features several moments deeply rooted in German expressionism. A notable scene occurs when Alraune discovers the professor's diary, which reveals her origins. Angered by what she reads, she looms over him while he sleeps. By the time the narrative arrives at its finale, Alraune has transformed into a femme fatale driven by revenge. That said, at 136 minutes in length, there are times where things drag and disrupt momentum. Ultimately, Alraune’s positives far outweigh its negatives, and nowhere is this clearer than in the performances of its two leads.

Alraune + The Student of Prague gets an exceptional release from Deaf Crocodile, making it a must-purchase for fans of silent cinema. Highly recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of Alraune + The Student of Prague: German Silent Genre Rarities From Director Henrik Galeen that comes in a slipcase and a 80-page book with newly translated essays by Hanns Heinz Ewers, Henrik Galeen, and Felix Panten, an sseay written by Stefan Drössler, an essay written by by Walter Chaw, an essay written by Stephen R. Bissette, and rare original photos and artwork.

Written by Michael Den Boer