The Last Command

emil jannings gives the best performance i have seen from the silent era. he plays a man at two very different points in his life. we first see him as a frail, broken old man working as an extra in hollywood, but then in flashbacks we see him at his prime as a general in russia and cousin of the czar. there he is strong, powerful, and full of machismo. the contrasts between the two points in this man's life are striking and moving. the film itself is essentially a character study at its core, but with a performance as strong as emil jannings', it becomes much more. the supporting cast of read more