‘Cyankali’: A Film That Spoke Out

With: Julia Wallmüller (Deutsche Kinemathek)

Hans Tintner’s ‘Cyankali’ was a pivotal film in the campaign to reform the controversial Section 218 of the Weimar legal code which criminalized abortion. The film went before the censorship board a total of six times and was accused of corrupting public morals, having a brutalizing effect, inciting class hatred and endangering public safety and order.

‘Cyankali’ was made on the cusp of the sound-film era. It contains intertitles but also came with a soundtrack comprising music and sound effects, and it had spoken dialogue at its climax. The audio, recorded using the Tri-Ergon optical sound process, has only been partially preserved, with six of the original ten reels of the optical sound negative surviving. The film’s original image negative also contains gaps. Alongside providing a history of the film’s release, this presentation will discuss the challenges which arose during its restoration given the condition of the surviving materials.

In English