The Man Without A World is a bold independent American film, the conceptual masterpiece of an important artist, a meditation on history, and a very funny and beautiful melodrama. Credited to the legendary (and imaginary) 1920s Soviet director, Yevgeny Antinov, the film was actually made by Eleanor Antin in 1991. This silent drama set in a Jewish shtetl, was Antin’s “love letter” to her mother, who had been an actress in the Yiddish theater. When a gypsy caravan and its lovely dancer (played by Antin herself) arrive in the village, the life of the shtetl dwellers — including Zionists, religious zealots, socialists, and lovers — is upended. But as the Jewish villagers pursue their dreams for the future, the Angel of Death is ever near…

This Blu-ray release also includes two other historical conjuring acts from Eleanor Antin. From the Archives of Modern Art (1987) is a series of short, sometimes ribald, comic films from the “lost years” of ballerina Eleanor Antinova. For The Last Night of Rasputin (1989), Antinova and her husband Yevgeny Antinov (both personas of Antin) joined forces to film the final orgy and dreadful end of the notorious monk, Rasputin, on the eve of the Russian Revolution.

For thoughts on The Man Without A World, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/tm8jJkHA-k0?t=2220]

Video Quality

The Man Without A World makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Milestone Films and Kino Lorber with a lovely transfer from a 4K restoration supervised by Ross Lipman in consultation with director Eleanor Antin. While the film reports itself as being about a century old, the reality is that it is actually only a little over 30 years old which allows it to look much more robust than your average genuine silent film from the original era. Antin captures the intended aesthetic admirably, but this restoration shatters the illusion just a bit with such a wonderful presentation.

The transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels present with some fine depth with no obvious occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The black-and-white photography shines in high definition with natural grain intact. There is a stunning amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the setting. The contrast is well defined, but the transfer experiences very little in the way of flicker or specks of damage to the print. Milestone Films has delivered something really special here.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with two DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio tracks that sound pretty wonderful. The film is graced with a new score from Donald Sosin and Alicia Svigals, which is the default track, and the original organ score composed and performed by Lee Erwin, both of which are quite beautiful and appropriate in their own way. As this is a silent film, the music is the only element to contend with in this track, and it sounds strong and lovely with no clipping or age related wear and tear. Audiences should be more than pleased with the sound quality of these tracks, as both seem to imbue the material with life.

Special Features

Audio Interview with Eleanor Antin: A ten-minute audio interview with the director from 1992 in which she discusses her love and appreciation for silent films, her work as a visual artist, the Yiddish traditions that are imbued in the film and more.

Interview with Actress Christine Berry (Directed by Ross Lipman): A nearly 12-minute interview with Berry in which she discusses first meeting Eleanor Antin, the different times she was able to work with her, the experience of working on The Man Without A World, her time as a nude model for art classes, the artistic culture of the time and more.

From The Archives of Modern Art (1987, Eleanor Antin): A 19-minute “lost film” which similarly plays with the truth of a famous ballerina and with various performances and interstitials.

The Last Night of Rasputin (1989, Eleanor Antin): Another 38-minute film from Antin which captures the final bacchanal of Rasputin.

Trailers: This disc includes trailers for The Last Night of Rasputin (1:11) and The Man Without A World (2:28)

Final Thoughts

The Man Without A World is a really fascinating piece of cinematic history with its origins in deception and the ways in which it captures styles of the past so authentically. Director Eleanor Antin is not completely unconcerned with plot, as you have a story that is easy enough to follow for casual viewers, but the filmmaker does have a lot going on beneath the surface which offers a buffet of riches for cinephiles. This film explores Jewish culture in specific ways which other movies never come close to capturing as cogently. Milestone Films and Kino Lorber have released a Blu-Ray featuring a wonderful A/V presentation and a lovely assortment of special features. It is not often that you get to discover such a fascinating piece of film history, so those who are even the slightest bit interested should make time for this one. Highly Recommended

The Man Without A World is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Milestone Films and Kino Lorber have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.