Michael (1924 film)

Michael
Directed byCarl Theodor Dreyer
Screenplay by
Based onMikaël
by Herman Bang[1]
Produced byErich Pommer[1]
Starring
Cinematography
Production
company
Decla-Bioscop AG[1]
Distributed byDecla-Bioscop-Verleih GmbH, Berlin[1]
Release date
  • 26 September 1924 (1924-09-26) (Berlin)
Running time
90 min.
86 min. (2004 alternate)
CountryGermany

Michael (also known as Mikaël, Chained: The Story of the Third Sex, and Heart's Desire) is a 1924 German silent drama film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, director of other notable silents such as The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Master of the House (1925), and Leaves from Satan's Book (1921). The film stars Walter Slezak as the titular Michael, the young assistant and model to the artist Claude Zoret (Benjamin Christensen). Along with Different From the Others (1919) and Sex in Chains (1928), Michael is widely considered a landmark in gay silent cinema.

The film is based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel Mikaël. It is the second screen adaptation of the book, the first being The Wings, made eight years prior by director Mauritz Stiller. Michael, however, follows Bang's storyline much more closely than the earlier film version did.

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Michael". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 24 August 2016.