- Characteristic for Hoffmann's work is his life-long fight against rationalism and for the revelation of nature morte, culminating mostly in carnival-like scenes anticipating literary techniques
- Der junge Hoffmann lebt bei seinem Onkel in Jena, der ihm herzlich verhasst ist, ebenso wie einige Gestalten aus dem Bekanntenkreis: Conte Dapertutto, die Alchemisten Coppelius und Spalanzani und der Arzt Dr. Mirakel. Um diese Figuren entspinnen sich, Jahre später, drei unglückliche Liebesgeschichten: 1. Durch Coppelius Wunderbrille, die alles Tote lebend zeigt, verliebt dieser sich in die Tanzpuppe Olympia. 2. Conte Dapertutto hetzt Hoffmann und Schlemihl, die sich beide um Giulietta bemühen, zum Duell, in dem Schlemihl stirbt; Dapertutto macht sich mit dessen Gold und der Angebeteten davon. 3. Dr. Mirakel stiftet Hoffmann an, Antonia, die Tochter des Rats Crespel, tanzen zu lassen, was tödlich für sie endet. Hoffmann zieht weiter nach Berlin.
- The film is divided into a prologue and three acts, with a title card presenting the actors in each act. The prologue doesn't exist in the opera, but is instead a very condensed and partly fictionalised account of Hoffmann's early life, intertwined with a short introduction of the film's three main villains: Count Dapertutto, the eye-glass maker Coppelius, a Mr. Spalanzani and Dr. Mirakel. The prologues sees a young Hoffman (Kurt Wolowski) living with his aunt and uncle, but getting kicked out for drawing caricatures of the soldier Dapertutto (Werner Krauss). He then stumbles across Spalanzani (Lupu Pick) and Coppelius (Friedrich Kühne) trying to create gold by alchemy, and overhears them saying they still need some children's eyes for the concoction. Hoffmann protests, and is chased out in the street, where he collapses from fatigue. The dancer Angela (Relly Ridon) walks by, and with the help of a friend she carries Hoffmann home to her father, Councillor Crespel (Ernst Ludwig). Dr. Mirakel (Andreas van Horn) is brought in to cure him, but also tries to make a pass at Angela. When Mirakel is denied, he sneaks in to Angela's room and starts playing the fiddle: Angela has a strange illness, which makes her exhausted if she dances, and when Mirakel plays, she can't refuse dancing. In his jealousy, Mirakel plays until Angela falls down dead on the floor.
Now we have met all the players and set up for the actual film, which contains three or four stories, starting with some more semi-autobiographical stuff, and the introduction of Councillor Lindorff (Ferdinand Bonn), who actually appears in the story The Cremona Violin in a completely different capacity. In the film he is turned into the Hoffmann's beloved actress Stella (Kathe Oswald), creating a love triangle that forces Hoffmann on a journey.
The grown-up Hoffmann (Erich Kaiser-Titz) has two love-related adventures in his travels. In the first he is tricked by Coppelius and Spalanzani into falling in love with Olympia (Alice Hechy), a life-size automaton in the shape of a young girl. It's all really a rather convoluted story of Coppelius wanting to take revenge on Spalanzani because Spalanzani can't pay him for the work he did on Olympia - namely the eyes. So he gives Hoffmann a pair of extraordinary glasses, which makes him see Olympia as if she was really alive. Spalanzani jokingly passes off Olympia as his daughter at a big party, but Hoffmann, with his new glasses, takes him on his word and asks for Olympia's hand in marriage. When the trick is revealed, Hoffmann becomes enraged and destroys the automaton, which was Coppelius' plan all along.
The second adventure takes us to the theatre, where Hoffmann falls in love with the beautiful Giulietta (Thea Sandten), girlfriend of the rich Schlemihl (Louis Neher), who is chaperoned at the theatre by Hoffmann's old childhood nemesis Conte Dapertutto. Laying old feuds behind, Dapertutto invites Hoffmann to a party at Giulietta's palace, where Hoffmann falls in love with Giulietta. When Schlemihl loses all his money at the gambling table, Giulietta gives him a sack of money to gamble with. He cleans out the table, but before he can collect, Giulietta encourages Hoffmann to fight Schlemihl for her hand. Hoffman fights and kills Schlehmihl in a sword-fight, during which Dapertutto takes his chance to stuff his pockets with Schlemihl's money. With the rival gone, Dapertutto and Giulietta jump into a boat and sail away with the money of the dead rival, leaving Hoffmann once again tricked by his good heart.
In the final chapter, Hoffmann returns to his home town, only to find that old Council Crespel has a daughter called Antonia (Ressel Orla), who is just as beautiful as her mother Angela, and has indeed also inherited her mother's strange affliction. Naturally he falls in love with her, but he has a rival - good old Dr. Mirakel, who asks for Antonia's hand. When again refused, he grabs the violin, and dances poor Antonia to her death as well, once again cheating Hoffmann out of his love.
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By what name was Hoffmanns Erzählungen (1916) officially released in Canada in English?
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