Short and Sweet:
About:
“Greed” is a silent film classic from 1924 by Erich von Stroheim, centered on the theme of human greed. It tells the story of a woman who, after winning the lottery, becomes obsessed with money, ultimately ruining her relationships and losing her social circle. The original film was over eight hours long and faithfully adapted the novel Mc Teague by the American naturalist Frank Norris into a cinematic work with meticulous detail. Today, only about two hours of the film material exist. Stroheim’s originally epic work consisted of 42 film reels, and the initial Director’s Cut had a monumental runtime of 9 (!) hours. Only 12 people ever saw this version at an MGM studio screening. Stroheim’s intention was to adapt Frank Norris’s novel as faithfully and extensively, as well as realistically as possible. However, the producers rejected his vision; they felt the work was overly detailed and excessive, and it seemed to them that its naturalism was exaggerated. Moreover, in their eyes, “Greed” was not suitable family entertainment, as it depicted broken individuals and their personal depths, and also portrayed the female protagonist ridiculing the capitalist ideal of private property.
Initially, von Stroheim himself reduced the film material to 24 reels, equating to about six hours. This step was personally very difficult for him, but he hoped it would lead to a compromise with his studio. However, the studio demanded further cuts. Stroheim commented on a 14-reel version by saying it was “only the skeleton of my dead child.”
In further stages, the film was cut down to a length of about 10 reels (approximately 145 minutes). Over three-quarters of the original version were lost to the cutting process, resulting in the disappearance of several characters and entire storylines from the film. The studio melted down the “excess” original film material to recover the silver nitrate it contained. This decision is considered tragic from today’s perspective, especially since the film deals with the themes of greed and avarice. “Greed” initially turned out to be a commercial and artistic flop. However, the repeatedly cut and partially unauthorizedly edited remainder of the film later gained notable acclaim and is now regarded as a masterpiece of the silent film era. The dark story about the insatiable greed for money is presented in precise, fascinatingly expressive images.
Musical Score:
The music version for “Greed” is quite unique: this time, it was not newly composed but played from the historical original piano sheet music by film music composer Leo A. Kempinski from 1924. These sheet music were discovered rather accidentally at a flea market in New York several years ago and eventually made their way to Wilfried Kaets. Kaets spent months meticulously studying 158 densely handwritten pages of sheet music and presents them live on the piano. The adaptation process was laborious due to the differences between the available sheet music and the current, altered state of the film. In many parts, cuts or jumps had to be made, which were sometimes influenced by the original annotations from the 1924 pianist, who played live and adjusted for film breaks.
This will create a synchronized audio-visual experience reminiscent of the original performances of this significant silent film classic when it was first shown in theaters in 1924.
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Erich von Stroheim (originally Erich Oswald Stroheim – he added the “von” to his name in Hollywood) was born in 1885 in Vienna and traveled to New York by ocean liner in 1909. Starting in 1914, he worked as an extra and stuntman in California and, after various supporting roles and assistant directing jobs, directed Blind Husbands in 1919, his first major success. Stroheim invented and cultivated an image in Hollywood as a descendant of an old European noble and military family. He was known for being extremely meticulous about details and his eccentric directing style, extended filming periods, and escalating costs increasingly caused problems with his producers. For his film “Greed”, Stroheim wanted to film Frank Norris’s novel “Mc Teague” word for word and only on the original locations. The famous final scene, which was shot in the scorching heat of the salt flats of California’s Death Valley, is legendary. Even a harmonium was brought in to create the film’s musical emotions.