THE INDIAN TOMB has a history as fascinating as the movie itself. This motion picture is a German production, helmed by the great Fritz Lang, shot completely on location with a German, Indian, and American cast. Lang shot this film back-to-back with THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR, which is actually a prequel to this film, though they were filmed simultaneously in 1959. Both movies were cut and re-edited into one feature for the North American release. Most of Fritz Lang’s films have fallen into the public domain, which means his fans have to suffer through truncated, poor-quality versions of his films. Leave it to Fantoma Films for rescuing Lang’s epic saga of tyranny and oppression from obscurity, and presenting both movies uncut on DVD. This review focuses solely on THE INDIAN TOMB, though the equally good THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR is also available from Fantoma.

Chandra (Reyer) is the Maharaja of Eschapur who pines for the beautiful dancer Seetha (Paget), who in turn has fallen in love with American, Harald (Hubschmid). At the end of the first movie, Seetha and Harald escape Chandra’s domain and flee into the desert, where Chandra is determined to recapture the object of his misguided affection. Chandra is so focused on Seetha that he fails to notice that his treacherous brother Ramidami (Deltgen) plots to usurp his position, along with a group of malcontents. While the royal army combs the desert in search of Seetha and Harald, Chandra recruits architect Dr. Rhodes (Holm) to construct a jewel-encrusted Indian tomb, because Chandra intends to kill Seetha for spurning him, and entombing her in the special crypt as a twisted declaration of his love. Dr. Rhodes refuses to build the tomb in the name of murder. The army eventually catches up with Harald and Seetha, and re-captures them. Once more Seetha is taken before Chandra and forced to wed him, but she prefers death. Chandra’s corrupt brother Ramidami blackmails Seetha by promising to torture Harald, who is chained into the catacombs beneath the palace. Ramidami plots to use Seetha as a focal point for ousting Chandra from his position of power. Ramidami and his allies plan to attack Chandra on his wedding day…

THE INDIAN TOMB is a magnificent piece of filmmaking by a true master. Lang knows how to tell an epic story and how to infuse emotion into each moment. As in all of his films, Lang explores tyranny and eventual revolution. He is also a marvelous scenarist, but none of his movies achieve the rich visual nature of THE INDIAN TOMB. The one thing that Lang does not do so well is action scenes, and this movie suffers in that one area. The numerous fight scenes in the film just cannot compare with the American counterparts of the time.THE INDIAN TOMB also contains some welcome exploitation elements such as Debra Paget in a modified bikini (that’s so hot it must have been considered "porn" back in the 1950s), bare-breasted giant statues, divine spiders and snakes, and leprosy victims who act like zombies. THE INDIAN TOMB is truly epic in scope and execution (except for the close quarters fight scenes) and employs lots of good Indian actors and authentic locales. The special effects are few, but best visual effect in THE INDIAN TOMB is actress Debra Paget, overflowing with raw sexuality. 

THE INDIAN TOMB is presented full frame (1.33.1), as this is how it was originally projected at theaters. The source materials are in impeccable condition, barring the expected grain. Though this is not a widescreen film, Fantoma’s technicolor transfer is outstanding, and does justice to the colorful Indian production design. Especially effective are the scenes within the hallowed halls of Chandra’s palace which are rich with detail. Fritz Lang is a calculating perfectionist which the cinematography, and this transfer certainly does justice to his vision. The soundtrack is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 which is as good as a mono track gets. You can listen to the original German language track, or choose a serviceable English dub. Fantoma obviously cleaned up the sound, as there is no hiss, pops, or drop-outs that usually plague foreign films of this period. Sound effects consists of clanging swords, marauding armies, and hissing snakes. Gernhard Becker’s score is an important element of the viewing experience. Lang used Becker in many of his later films (like THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE) and the score dominates the soundtrack. Not much in the way of extras, except for a photo gallery consisting of 23 color and black & white production stills and ads. There is also liner notes by Fritz Lang biographer Tom Gunning.

THE INDIAN TOMB and it’s prequel, THE TIGER OF ESCHAPUR, showcase some of Fritz Lang’s best work when he returned to Germany in the final phase of career. Lang puts into play his trademark themes of power and corruption (and the revolutionary movements that eventually follow). By the end of this two movie epic, the characters have grown significantly, fulfilling their destinies in a very un-Hollywood like manner. Fantoma Films hasn’t let us down yet, with their selection of eclectic films, and their technical proficiency with restoration and presentation.

THE INDIAN TOMB is available at DVDEmpire

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