Lot in Sodom
Encyclopedia
Lot in Sodom is a short silent
experimental film
, based on the Biblical tale of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah
. It was directed by James Sibley Watson
and Melville Webber.
The movie uses experimental techniques, Avant-Garde
imagery and strong allusions to sexuality
, especially homosexuality
.
Louis Siegel was the sound composer, according to the film's opening credits.
Sodom is a place of sin
. An angel
appears there and he is welcomed by Lot
. The people of Sodom want to have sex
with him. Lot refuses; then the angel tells him to escape the city with his wife and daughter. Sodom is then destroyed by the flames; Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt for having looked back.
All intertitles are quotes from the Bible
.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
, based on the Biblical tale of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
. It was directed by James Sibley Watson
James Sibley Watson
Dr. James Sibley Watson, Jr. was a Rochester, New York, medical doctor, philanthropist, publisher, editor, and early experimenter in motion pictures....
and Melville Webber.
The movie uses experimental techniques, Avant-Garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
imagery and strong allusions to sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, especially homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
Louis Siegel was the sound composer, according to the film's opening credits.
Storyline
The story is much closer to the tale than other films like Sodom and Gomorrah.Sodom is a place of sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
. An angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
appears there and he is welcomed by Lot
Lot (Bible)
Lot is a man from the Book of Genesis chapters 11-14 and 19, in the Hebrew Bible. Notable episodes in his life include his travels with his uncle Abram ; his flight from the destruction of Sodom, in the course of which Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt; and the seduction by his...
. The people of Sodom want to have sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
with him. Lot refuses; then the angel tells him to escape the city with his wife and daughter. Sodom is then destroyed by the flames; Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt for having looked back.
All intertitles are quotes from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Cast
- Friedrich Haak as Lot
- Hildegarde Watson as Lot's wife
- Dorothea Haus as Lot's daughter
- Lewis Whitbeck as the angel
See also
- Sodom und GomorrhaSodom and Gomorrah (1922 film)Sodom und Gomorrha is an Austrian silent epic film from 1922...
(19221922 in film-Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film....
) - an AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n film directed by Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész... - Sodom and Gomorrah (19631963 in filmThe year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) - a film directed by Robert AldrichRobert AldrichRobert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
which depicts the destruction of the two cities for their decadenceDecadenceDecadence can refer to a personal trait, or to the state of a society . Used to describe a person's lifestyle. Concise Oxford Dictionary: "a luxurious self-indulgence"...
and human cruelty. - Nitrate KissesNitrate KissesNitrate Kisses is a 1992 experimental documentary film directed by Barbara Hammer. According to Hammer, it is an exploration of the repression and marginalization of LGBT people since the First World War.-Overview:...
(1992) - an experimental film by Barbara HammerBarbara HammerBarbara Hammer is an American filmmaker in the genre of experimental films and a professor at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee.-Biography:...
that uses footage from Lot in Sodom.