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Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

In Destiny, everything with Death, a character who is one of the most striking and ominous figures in silent cinema (certainly from Germany which is saying a lot) as portrayed by Bernhard Goetze, and the woman (Lili Dagover, who I didn't realize until looking her up that she played other characters here) who is trying to save her man from Death's grasp in the opening 25 and closing 15 minutes, and how Death creates his gloomy but visually appealing enclave (all those candles and the space that's created, damn) which is closed off by a wall in town and how this woman goes through her own struggle to overcome him, is outstanding. The three "Stories" for the three candles - each representing someone that will die unless she does something to stop them, thus saving her man's life - not so much.Never is the direction ever poor or lacking, but I wasn't engaged in those stories how I was hoping for. They're all relatively brief, and while clearly Lang's aim is to make this a sort of fable or series of myths (remember he also did the Nibelungen films), you have little time to invest in any of these characters - all that's there is to find them, all of the people in worlds of royalty whether it's in the middle east, Europe or Asia, kind of interesting to look at. I can definitely see why this inspired Bunuel to become a filmmaker, but compared to work like Dr. Mabuse and Metropolis, it doesn't hold up quite as well (needless to say I'm sure it would still hold up over like a thousand other silent films, it's just a personal preference with regard to Lang's silent features).And yeah, as others have noted, it's kinda racist with the imagery in these stories, though mostly with the Asian 'Verse' section. In a way that doesn't bother me so much as it is Lang's preference for style over substance. Again, when the style is so intense and spectacular at times - all those dissolves and moments, like the carpet "flying up" into the air - it may be hard to complain. I think the expectation for practically all of Lang's films to be masterpieces may have worked against me in loving it, but suffice to say if you're looking for only the visuals you'll certainly get a lot out of it, and those first, second and sixth verses are potent. If the whole film had been involved with the young woman, young man and Death in the town, I would've loved it.

Fritz Lang's DESTINY is an expressionistic romantic-fantasy that centers on a young 19th-century woman as she challenges "Death" in the hope of bringing back her prematurely taken lover. What follows are three moral parables - set in Persia, exotic Venice, and Imperial China, each dealing with ill-fated love. The multi-story format affords Lang limitless opportunities to exercise his cinematic chops. The sets are as usual breathtaking from Gothic cathedrals to eerie sky-scraping walls to oriental castles to never-ending staircases. There's some stunning imagery on view like a spectral horde disappearing into a wall at midnight and of a terrifying hour-glass vision, forecasting impending doom. Candles are used to great effect both aesthetically (to complement the surreal setting) and thematically (as an allegory for mortal life-spans). Bernhard Goetzke's mysterious, darkly-clothed, succinct embodiment of Death might seem stereotypical but is far from it. For Death is not depicted as an arrogant, mustache-twirling entity which revels in its limitless power or earthly dominance but contrarily has grown tired of it. Death has become weary of its inevitability, its invincibility and is compassionate towards his mortal subjects. I particularly enjoyed the newly composed score by Cornelius Schwehr and thought it blended seamlessly with the film's grim premise.DESTINY is perhaps most famous for igniting Luis Buñuel's surrealistic flames and leaving an indelible impression on an aspiring Hitchcock but to be honest the influences are unquantifiable. From its unmissable Bergman (and consequent Woody Allen) impact (THE SEVENTH SEAL and WILD STRAWBERRIES to some extent) to P&P's A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. The multi- scenario life-saving premise was also reminiscent of Tom Tykwer's RUN, LOLA, RUN.In the end DESTINY proves to be an ambitious little early-Lang which is frequently thrilling but doesn't come close to some of his subsequent masterpieces, then again few things do.

Watched it on the big screen, big happiness. I expected music, but there was none, was watching it in complete silence except for the humming of the projector. And the mumbles of the old guy who talked to himself. It was a little unusual at first, but perfect and beautiful. Death takes the life of a young man, and his girl goes to heaven hell limbo whatever and there gets three chances to save his life, saving either one of three lives. Every one of these stories is set in a different historic age and that tickled my love for the costumed period pieces. First part is the 1001 Night Persia with some impressive action sequences, second is the renaissance Venice, the least interesting or innovative part of the film, and the third is the ancient China, a comic segment with innocent racist depiction of Chinese people, perfect special effects, flying carpet, miniature army, biggest sword ever and transfiguration spells. The closing sequence is somewhat intense. Sets are not as artistic as in Caligari, but more than in Nosferatu. To compare it with two other German expressionist films I watched. Special effects are impressive, better then in some films made even 40 years later. Bernhard Goetzke (Death) is brilliant, so scary, charismatic, constant. The girl is tepid, no skill nor sex appeal.

In 1920's France was known for its impressionism, Soviet Union for its montage cinema and Germany for its expressionism. Both F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang are usually seen as the biggest representatives of it. Murnau's Faust (1926) and Lang's Der müde Tod have taught us year after year what is German expressionism, and I could bet that both of these films are in every film school's curriculum. Der müde Tod is often translated as The Three Lights or Destiny, but a more accurate translation would be Tired Death. It tells the story of a young couple in love, who arrive to a small German village and soon become acquainted with Death.When researching the history of cinema it is good for one to take a perspective, from which one starts to look at the films. One perspective I myself enjoy is correspondances. The loyal partner for Lang's Der müde Tod can be found easily; F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922). They're both full of suggestive Gothic and expressionistic imagery. Both Murnau and Lang define a zone in their Gothic masterpieces. The zone in between of physic and metaphysic, life and afterlife, real and surreal. Fritz Lang was able to create poetry of imagination, which changed cinema for ever and left a permanent influence on such artists as Luis Bunuel, Jean Cocteau and Georges Franju.Der müde Tod portrays man in front of an eternal problem which is why the common translation Destiny isn't that bad at all. Fritz Lang shows us death, which awaits us all like destiny, something which cannot be avoided. The storyline has taken a lot of influence from expressionistic theater and German folks tales; the characters have no names. The character Death is tired of earning his salary: he's tired of seeing death and agony, misery and suffering of man. The tired Death resembles a modern day bureaucrat but also a responsible hard-working man.Fritz Lang got an incredibly crew to make this film with him which is why it is often seen as his breakthrough. He was able to create the fantastic Bagdad, Venice, ancient China and timeless German village. Even that this is seen as one of the greatest examples of German expressionism, the expressionism of it is very subtle. The most suggestive images are simplified, minimalist, powerful and unforgettable; the wall and the dream-like room of different kind of candles, each of which represent one human life.In the story when Death comes and takes the Man with him the Woman is ready to do anything. Her love is so strong that she doesn't want to live without her love. Death offers her a deal at the room of candles; if she is able to save one of the three candles from fading away she will have her love back. Der müde Tod grows out to be a beautiful study of humanity but at the same manages to be one of the most entertaining films of the era.As the Woman desperately tries to save the candles and afterwards find a life to sacrifice for Death, which would result her to get the Man back, we're able to see how Lang builds this humane tale. The Woman proves her humanity as she saves the baby from the burning building and is willing to die for another. All this makes Der müde Tod sound like a very dark and serious film, which it is, but paradoxically it's also one of the most humorous ones by Fritz Lang. Der müde Tod is an unforgettable masterpiece and no lesser compared to its companion Nosferatu. It's a study about the essence of humanity, filled with unforgettable expressionistic imagery.