People on Sunday: Young People Like Us
By June 27, 2011
Shot in Berlin on the eve of the Great Depression with almost no budget, an equally modest cast of amateur actors, a relatively untested, unknown crew, and no major studio backing Read more »
- Germany
- 1930
- 73 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- German
- Spine #569
SYNOPSIS: Years before they became major players in Hollywood, a group of young German filmmakers—including eventual noir masters Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer and future Oscar winners Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann—worked together on the once-in-a-lifetime collaboration People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag). This effervescent, sunlit silent, about a handful of city dwellers (a charming cast of nonprofessionals) enjoying a weekend outing, offers a rare glimpse of Weimar-era Berlin. A unique hybrid of documentary and fictional storytelling, People on Sunday was both an experiment and a mainstream hit that would influence generations of film artists around the world.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Himself (taxi driver) | Erwin Splettstösser |
| Herself (record seller) | Brigitte Borchert |
| Himself (wine seller) | Wolfgang von Waltershausen |
| Herself (extra in films) | Christl Ehlers |
| Herself (model) | Annie Schreyer |
| Himself | Kurt Gerron |
| Herself | Valeska Gert |
| Himself | Heinrich Gretler |
| Herself | Ernö Verebes |
Credits
| Director | Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer |
| Produced by | Heinrich Nebenzal and Edgar G. Ulmer |
| Photography | Eugen Schüfftan |
| Script | Billy Wilder |
| From a reportage by | Kurt Siodmak |
| Cinematography assistance | Fred Zinnemann |
| Lighting technician | Moriz Seeler |
Disc Features
- New high-definition digital restoration, created in collaboration with the EYE Film Institute Netherlands
- Two scores: a silent-era-style score by the Mont Alto Orchestra and a modern one by Elena Kats-Chernin, performed by the Czech Film Orchestra (both presented as uncompressed stereo soundtracks on the Blu-ray edition)
- Weekend am Wannsee, Gerald Koll’s 2000 documentary about the film, featuring interviews with star Brigitte Borchert and writer Curt Siodmak
- Ins Blaue hinein, a thirty-six-minute short from 1931 by People on Sunday cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Noah Isenberg and reprints by scriptwriter Billy Wilder and director Robert Siodmak
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Press Notes
Press Notes: Best of 2011
January 13, 2012
It’s the time of year when the list makers do their heavy lifting, looking back over the preceding twelve months and deciding what was best and brightest. We’re happy to report that some of our Read more »
Press Notes: People on Sunday
July 12, 2011
There’s nothing quite like People on Sunday, as critics are realizing in their reviews of the new Criterion Blu-ray and DVD special editions of this rare, early collaboration of such luminaries Read more »
