Eureka's Masters of Cinema visits SIRK IN GERMANY 1934-1935 (review)

Before Douglas Sirk became Hollywood's King of Melodramas, he worked in a variety of genres in his native Germany but always with an eye towards biting social commentary about life under the Nazis.  In the comedy APRIL, APRIL! a pompous man and his socialite wife scramble to save face after they have been the victims of a prank.  In THE GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT, an unwed mother endures public shame as she attempts to live honorably in a repressive society.  In PILLARS OF SOCIETY, a man returns to his Norwegian home after twenty years and discovers that he has been scapegoated by his corrupt brother-in-law.

REVIEW LINK: Eureka Video (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SIRK IN GERMANY 1934-1935 Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.19:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen Transfers of APRIL, APRIL!, THE GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT, and PILLARS OF SOCIETY
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono Audio
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentaries on all three films by Douglas Sirk expert David Melville Wingrove
• Shorts: 
• Zwei Windhunde (Two Greyhounds) (1934) 
• Dreimal Ehe (Three Times Before) (1935) in two versions 
• Der eingebildete Kranke (The Imaginary Invalid) 
• "Magnificent Obsessions" 2025 interview with film historian Sheldon Hall
• Limited to 2,000 copies. 
• Comes with an O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow and a collector’s booklet featuring a new extended essay on Sirk’s early works by German cinema expert Tim Bergfelder.