A golem is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague. According to Moment magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair."
Judah Loew ben Bezalel, also known as Rabbi Loew, the Maharal of Prague, or simply the Maharal, was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia.
Astaroth, in demonology, is known to be the Great Duke of Hell in the first hierarchy with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he is part of the evil trinity. He is known to be a male figure, most likely named after the Near Eastern goddess Astarte.
German expressionist cinema was a part of several related creative movements in Germany in the early 20th century that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central European culture in fields such as architecture, dance, painting, sculpture and cinema.
The Golem is a novel written by Gustav Meyrink between 1907 and 1914. First published in serial form from December 1913 to August 1914 in the periodical Die Weißen Blätter, The Golem was published in book form in 1915 by Kurt Wolff, Leipzig. The Golem was Meyrink's first novel. It sold over 200,000 copies in 1915. It became his most popular and successful literary work, and is generally described as the most "accessible" of his full-length novels. It was first translated into English in 1928.
Josefov is a town quarter and the smallest cadastral area of Prague, Czech Republic, formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. It is surrounded by the Old Town. The quarter is often represented by the flag of Prague's Jewish community, a yellow Magen David on a red field.
Edgar Georg Ulmer was a Jewish-Moravian, Austrian-American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions, eventually earning the epithet 'The King of PRC', due to his extremely prolific output for the Poverty Row studio. His stylish and eccentric works came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement. Ulmer's most famous productions include the horror film The Black Cat (1934) and the film noir Detour (1945).
Paul Wegener was a German actor, writer, and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.
Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian, was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play The Son in Dresden was praised. Deutsch also played the antihero Famulus in Paul Wegener's The Golem: How He Came into the World in 1920. He is known by English-speaking audiences for his role as Baron Kurtz in Carol Reed's 1949 film noir, The Third Man.
Der Golem is a partially lost 1915 German silent horror film written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. It was inspired by a Jewish folktale, the most prevalent version of the story involving 16th century Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel who created the Golem to protect his people from antisemites. Wegener claimed the film was based on Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel The Golem, but, as the movie has little to do with existing Jewish traditions, Troy Howarth states "it is more likely that simply drew upon European folklore".
A golem is an artificial animated being in medieval and Jewish folklore.
Golem is a 1996 picture book written and illustrated by David Wisniewski. With illustrations made of cut-paper collages, it is Wisniewski's retelling of the Jewish folktale of the Golem with a one-page background at the end.
The Golem and the Dancing Girl is a 1917 German silent comedy horror film. It is part of a trilogy, preceded by The Golem (1915) and followed by The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920). Paul Wegener and Rochus Gliese co-directed and acted in the film. Wegener also wrote the screenplay. This was the screen debut of Fritz Feld. It was produced by Deutsche Bioscop GmbH.
Le Golem is a 1936 Czechoslovak monster movie directed by Julien Duvivier in French language.
The Goetic demon Astaroth, whose name is derived from Ashtoreth, the biblical spelling of the name of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, has appeared many times in modern popular culture.
Fritz Ascher was a German artist, whose work is characterized by Expressionist and Symbolist sensitivity. In paintings, works on paper and poetry he explored existential questions and themes of contemporary social and cultural relevance, of spirituality and mythology. Ascher's expressive strokes and intense colors create emotionally intense and authentic work.
Eleonore "Loni" Arnault, known professionally by her maiden name of Loni Nest, was a German actress. Born in Berlin, she was a child star of German silent films in the 1920s. She was filmed for the first time at the age of four weeks.
Henrik Galeen was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionist cinema during the silent era.
The Lost Shadow is a 1921 German silent film directed by Rochus Gliese and starring Paul Wegener, Wilhelm Bendow and Adele Sandrock. The cinematographer was Karl Freund. The film's sets were designed by the art director Kurt Richter. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. For some reason, the film was only released in the US in 1928. It is today considered a lost film.
The Golem is a 2018 Israeli period supernatural horror film directed by Doron and Yoav Paz, and written by Ariel Cohen. It stars Hani Furstenberg, Ishai Golan, Brynie Furstenberg, and Konstantin Anikienko. The Golem is based on the Jewish legend of the same name, and the film's creators felt that the legend, which they referred to as "the Jewish Frankenstein", had never been properly developed into a film since the 1951 version The Emperor and the Golem. Originally it was intended to retain the original appearance of the title character for the film, "In the beginning, when we just started on the idea for the movie, we tried to tell the story as it is. That is with the real giant creature made of mud and clay,". The idea was soon abandoned, however, after realizing that it would not fit with the story they wanted to convey, deciding instead to reimagine the classic tale for a more contemporary audience while staying true to its original themes. Principal photography for The Golem commenced in the summer of 2017 near Kyiv, Ukraine, for a month and a half, with the majority of the film was shot in an isolated outdoor set, "in the middle of nowhere".
