1943 film by Hans Steinhoff

In the last years of his life, Bavarian king Ludwig II (1845 – 1886) devotes himself to ambitious architectural projects, which strain the state coffers to the extreme. The monarch, who is afraid of people, also withdraws more and more into a dream world at his various castles. His brother is already in a psychiatric institute and Ludwig is also eventually put under the care of psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden. The king attempts to get out from under this guardianship at Starnberg lake…

The homunculus and his companion Edgar Rodin make an invention that would allow the hateful homunculus to destroy the world. But first he wants to find out about love. When he observes how young Anna is rejected by her parents, he takes care of her and asks her parents for forgiveness - without success. He brings her to her seducer, who also rejects the girl. The homunculus then takes revenge by ruining the man financially and throwing Anna at his feet. But she still loves the villain and asks Homunculus for mercy. The homunculus cannot understand this feeling of love - he wants to try it out on himself. He puts a young woman who loves him to the hardest test, but she will do anything for him, sacrificing her fiancé and her parents. Only when he reveals his artificial nature to her, she leaves him. This experience confirms the homunculus in his intention to destroy mankind.

Elisabeth is subject of a girl's boarding school run by the nuns. The village idiot Michele adores her and is particularly drawn to her organ playing. In his madness, he kills the girl's father and tries to lay the blame on the organist.

A farm boy betrothed to a socialite falls in love with his maid - an impoverished girl from the marsh.

For a long time the homunculus had to hide from his pursuers. But now he mingles with humanity again and sows discord, strife and murder. One day, when he meets an orphaned girl, he takes her to the shepherd Rudolf's parents. His goal is to pair the two together in order to breed a new human race from them. To this end, he kidnaps her to a deserted island. But the plan fails because Rudolf tries to kill the homunculus after learning his true identity. In revenge, the homunculus destroys the entire island, including the young couple. His hitherto loyal companion Edgar Rodin is so horrified by this deed that he renounces the homunculus and threatens him with death.

1916 film

The First World War. The young, English Lieutenant Raleigh is sent to the company of a disillusioned Captain Stanhope. Stanhope is secretly engaged to Raleigh's sister and is intent on protecting his image of an exemplary officer. An attack on the German lines, in which Raleigh also takes part, has turned into a bloody fiasco. Now Raleigh, too, knows the horrors of war, which have already taken their toll on Stanhope.

1934 German-Swiss historical film directed by Heinz Paul

Just for fun and to prove to the daughter of the castle lord how courageous they are, three young men agree to each spend one night in the "blue room“ of the castle. Years ago two people lost their lives in this room under most mysterious circumstances. Ever since, the door to the room has been locked. The youngest of the three men insists upon spending the first night in the blue room. At exact 1 a.m. a shot rings out...

1942 film by Hans Steinhoff

Richard Ortmann the artificial man (Homunculus) has become the head of the corporation that represents the capital and power of the country, but he has stopped believing in human love. All the more clear is his goal now: the annihilation of mankind.

1943 German propaganda film

The film focuses on the leadership of the Great Powers of Europe in the days leading up to the outbreak of the First World War.

Die Weber (1927), a rousing German tale of the 1844 weavers’ revolution.

1935 film directed by Géza von Bolváry

After her husband dies, a German woman who gave up her infant for adoption to emigrate to America returns to Germany, discovering that her child is being raised by a married orchestra conductor.

Part of the artificial-creature series encompassing Der Golem (1914 and 1920), Alraune (1918, 1928, 1930) and Metropolis (1926), 'Homunculus' was the most popular serial in Germany during World War I even influencing the dress of the fashionableset in Berlin. Foenss, a Danish star, is the perfect creature manufactured in a laboratory by Kuehne. Having discovered his origins, that he has no 'soul' and is incapable of love, he revenges himself on mankind, instigating revolutions and becoming a monstruos but beautiful tyrant, relentlessly pursued by his creator-father who seeks to rectify his mistake. Man’s attempts to create artificial life have long been a staple of cinema science fiction. That plot device achieved a high level of sophistication with director Otto Rippert’s Homunculus series. No grotesque pastiche of human body parts like his notorious counterpart Frankenstein’s monster, Homunculus is the beloved “test-tube child” of a German scientist who lacks only one thing—the capacity to feel love. The film seen here is preserved from a decomposing 35mm nitrate print with tinting and toning that may be a condensed version of the original six-episode series. Structurally, the story (with Italian intertitles) is still intact, and the combination of decomposing nitrate with the remains of the original colors creates an otherworldly beauty that serves to heighten the drama. Homunculus was preserved with funding from The Louis B. Mayer Foundation.

Prague in the 1860s: Balduin is a popular, handsome student, the best fencer in town, in amicable rivalry with his friend Dahl for the affections of Lydia, the innkeeper's niece. While the students are celebrating Lydia's birthday, the opera singer Julia Stella arrives at the inn - and Balduin's life begins to unravel. He is immediately infatuated with the glamorous singer - but she is already kept by an admirer, the wealthy and foppish Baron Waldis. How can a poor student hope to compete? The mysterious Dr. Carpis, who also has ties to Julia and is jealous of the Baron, intervenes. But the price will be higher than Balduin can ever imagine. He risks his sanity and his life - perhaps his very soul - haunted by his own reflection.

1931 film by Paul Czinner in German