“A clear precursor to the Indiana Jones series…
Perhaps Lang’s most open-aired use of color, and wonderful,
late-period entertainment.”
— Jeffrey Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
“One of Lang’s most formal achievements.
Above all, here are two films to be looked at.”
— Chris Petit, Time Out (London)
“An utterly glorious late testimonial and summative work from one of cinema’s titans.”
— Roderick Heath, Film Freedonia
After more than two decades of exile in Hollywood, master filmmaker Fritz Lang triumphantly returned to his native Germany to direct a lavish two-part serialized cliffhanger from a story he co-authored almost forty years earlier: 1959’s THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB, which together would become known as FRITZ LANG’S INDIAN EPIC.
A cinematic link between the classic silent serials and the modern action/adventures of Indiana Jones and The Mummy, FRITZ LANG’S INDIAN EPIC was the director’s penultimate film, made when he was approaching 70 and fallen out of favor with Hollywood. Given more freedom and money than he had seen in years, Lang returned to his exotic adventures, originally penned in 1921, for his lavish return to the director’s chair. With extensive location shoots, a large international cast, elaborate sets and a jungle’s worth of elephants and tigers, Lang crafted a blend of color, decor, movement and montage that, in the twilight of his career, once again proved him a virtuoso of film form.
In THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR (Der Tiger von Eschnapur), Western architect Harold Berger (Paul Hubschmid), called to India by Chandra, the Maharajah of Eschnapur, falls in love with the beautiful temple dancer Seetha (Debra Paget), although she is promised to the Maharajah. Their betrayal ignites the wrath of a vengeful Chandra, who is fighting his own battle for power with his scheming half-brother, and the lovers flee into the desert. Featuring breathtaking cinematography and nail-biting suspense, the first part of FRITZ LANG’S INDIAN EPIC is highlighted by Paget’s erotic temple dance and Hubschmid’s battle to the death with a man-eating tiger. In Part Two, THE INDIAN TOMB (Das Indische Grabmal), Berger and Seetha are rescued from a sandstorm, only to be captured by Prince Ramigani. Featuring a rescue from a sandstorm, a trek through a jungle, a cave of lepers, and a bloody palace rebellion, this film, all spectacle, adventure and romance, comes together with the first to form an intoxicating escapist adventure.
THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR Approx. 101 min
THE INDIAN TOMB Approx. 102 min
Director: Fritz Lang
Screenplay: Fritz Lang, Werner Jörg Lüddecke, Thea von Harbou
Cinematography: Richard Angst
Cast: Paul Hubschmid, Debra Paget, Walther Reyer, Claus Holm,
Sabine Bethmann, Rene Deltgen
