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Asphalt (1929 film)

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Asphalt
File:ASPHALT orig colour.jpg
Directed byJoe May
Written byHans Szekely
Produced byErich Pommer
StarringGustav Fröhlich
Else Heller
Albert Steinruck
Betty Amann
CinematographyGünther Rittau
Distributed byUniversum Film AG
Release date
  • March 11, 1929 (1929-03-11) (Germany)
Running time
93 min
CountryTemplate:Film Weimar Republic
LanguagesSilent film
German intertitles

Asphalt (1929) is a German silent film. The film was one of the last silent films released in Germany as the world was entering the era of sound film.

Production

Crew

Asphalt was made by UFA; a German studio, and produced by the Erich Pommer who was responsible for producing several films by directors including Fritz Lang's Der müde Tod (1921), Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (1922), Die Nibelungen (1924), Metropolis (1927), and Spione (1928), F. W. Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924), Faust (1926), Tartüff (1927), and other popular films of the era including The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Varieté (1925).

Director Joe May co-wrote the script. The sets were designed by Erich Kettelhut who also worked on Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler, Metropolis, Berlin: Symphony of a Great City), with the uncredited assistance of Robert Herlth (Der müde Tod, Der letzte Mann, Tartüff, Faust) and Walter Röhrig (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Tartüff, Faust). The cinematographer was Günther Rittau (Die Nibelungen, Metropolis, Der blaue Engel).

Premiere

Asphalt was premiered on March 11, 1929 at Berlin's prestigious Ufa-Palast am Zoo. Critics noted the cheap, pulp-fiction nature of the plot but also praised May’s skill and cinematography and editing.