Der Januskopf (lost F. W. Murnau film; 1920)

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Advertisement poster for the film.

Status: Lost

Der Januskopf (translated to English as The Head of Janus) is a 1920 silent German horror film directed by F. W. Murnau, who went on to direct Nosferatu in 1922, and starred Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and The Man Who Laughs) as well as Bela Lugosi in a minor role. It is one of three adaptions of the novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to be released that year, done without securing the rights to adapt the novel. It is believed that the film used one of the first instances of a moving-camera shot in cinematic history.

The film reportedly followed the novel very loosely. Instead of using a potion to transform, the doctor uses a cursed statue of the two-faced Roman god Janus. Also, much like the film Nosferatu, the names were changed in hopes of avoiding getting caught infringing copyright.

While the film itself has been lost, the script is believed to still exist somewhere.

Video

Compilation of existing stills.