Algol – Tragödie der Macht

In ALGOL – TRAGÖDIE DER MACHT (Hans Werckmeister, Germany 1920), mine worker and protagonist Robert Herne (Emil Jannings) receives a fateful visit from the underworld. The Devil forces a machine on him which transforms the rays of the distant star Algol into an unceasing source of energy. With a premise which asserted that anyone who controls energy resources controls the world, the film was truly visionary, ultimately revolving around replacing the fossil fuel coal with a “clean” source of energy that still seemed fantastical at the time. In addition, Werckmeister places a peaceful neighboring country alongside Herne’s growing empire, which stays dedicated to agriculture and soon becomes a place of asylum for those crushed under the heels of Herne’s power machine.  

The version digitally restored in 2011 by the Filmmuseum München in collaboration with the Cineteca Nacional de Chile will be shown with music by Stephen Horne.