Asta Nielsen Trailers
Asta Nielsen - Europas erste Filmikone TrailerSex, Sensations & Superstars: The History of Danish Silent Cinema TrailerPlay On! Shakespeare in Silent Film Trailer
Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (1881–1972) is considered one of the most influential figures in early film history. Born on September 11, 1881, in Copenhagen, she grew up in modest circumstances. Her father died when she was young, and the family had to move frequently. Despite these difficult circumstances, Nielsen developed a strong affinity for the stage even as a young girl. She took acting lessons and gained her first experience at small theaters before becoming a mother to a daughter in 1901.
The decisive turning point in her career came in 1910 with the Danish film “Afgrunden” (The Abyss). Her passionate, modern performance made her internationally famous overnight. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Nielsen did not act in an overly theatrical manner, but relied on subtle facial expressions and psychologically rich body language. This new style of acting made her one of the first major international stars of silent film.
Shortly thereafter, she moved to Germany, where she became one of the most sought-after actresses between 1911 and the early 1920s. Together with director Urban Gad, to whom she was married for a time, she starred in a series of successful films. Nielsen often portrayed strong, independent female characters who challenged social norms—an approach that was both unusual and courageous at the time. Among her best-known works are Die arme Jenny (1912), Engelein (1914), and especially her extraordinary portrayal of Hamlet (1921), in which the title character is raised as a woman.
With the advent of sound film, Nielsen increasingly withdrew from the cinema. She was convinced that her expressiveness was better showcased in silent film and later focused on theater work, art, and writing. In 1946, she published her memoirs, “The Silent Muse,” in which she reflected openly on her life and work.
Asta Nielsen remained a cultural icon into her old age. She spent her final years living a secluded life in Denmark and died on May 25, 1972, in Frederiksberg. Her influence on the art of film is still felt today: she is regarded as a pioneer of a modern, natural acting style and as one of the first women to possess true star power in the international film industry.
Most Popular Asta Nielsen Trailers
Total trailers found: 84
17 November 1927
The gorgeous 40-year-old Elsie Lindtner lives in a beautiful house, and is married to a respectable university professor.
16 November 1911
The ballet pupil Camilla Favier makes for a quick success and falls for the author Jean Mayol. She discovers a love letter to him from a rich married woman and is devastated.
22 February 1923
When the old, wealthy Doctor Schön takes Lulu under his wing, he has no idea that she will be his certain death.
01 March 1925
In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperinflation.
23 October 1916
The actress Thilda Wardier is courted by the wealthy Adam de Rochord, who presents her with a large bouquet of white roses every time they see each other.
24 March 1916
A sequel to 1914's Engelein, recounting the wedding of the titular protagonist. This film is considered lost.
16 August 1916
When Lis meets her fiancé for the first time, she is severely disappointed. Having dreamed of a dashing, mysterious Latino man, she instead finds herself stuck with the shy and inexperienced Philip.
01 January 1924
The proprietors of a small inn on the Italian coast suddenly have to cater for a company of conscripts on their way to a nearby port.
23 December 1932
A deranged woman artist falls in love with a young sculptor. The impossible love ends tragically.
04 September 1911
Stella, a circus princess, has two suitors: young, handsome Count Waldberg and the greying, hidebound jeweller Hirsch.
15 November 1913
The general's daughter spies on her fiancé to achieve information.
01 January 1920
Mata Hari, a Dutch exotic dancer, is accused of spying for Germany during the First World War.
14 November 1924
Naive 16 year old Rosi paints butterfly pictures and day-dreams of a better world, abhorring the conducts of Else, Laura, Max and and an immoral cavalier.
02 March 1912
Jenny, a cleaner, is seduced by a local playboy, Edouard. Jenny's parents reject her after she spends the night with him.
14 April 1927
Auguste is an aging prostitute who falls in love with Felix, a younger student. While Felix has strayed away from his parents, Auguste starts taking care of him and spends her life savings into a cake shop to move further away from prostitution, but trouble comes when another woman enters the picture.
23 May 1918
Mine owner Helene has a crush on the manager. He is however, enamored with Helene's cousin Lina.
28 December 1924
Dancing, sports and erotic pursuits are the main ingredients in this drama about the fate of this scorned and abandoned woman, Josefine, who falls for the selfish Fennhofer.
03 November 1911
The English landowner Wolton has gone on a fishing trip in the Spreewald with his daughter May. They meet fellow Englishman Bruce, who falls head over heels in love with the beautiful May and plans to make her his wife before their holiday is over.
08 October 1911
In a remote german valley, a lord falls in love with a gypsy thief. This film is considered lost.
19 December 1912
Comedy superstar Kamma has her professional life and her relationship strained when her son Maurice becomes fatally ill.
24 March 1916
Comedy about the courting couple Sabine and Lehman. Her roving eye catches a lieutenant, and when he finds out about her winning lottery ticket, he tries to steal it.
04 April 1918
Young Polar Explorer brings Eskimo Ivigtut to his parents in Berlin. After experiencing Western culture, she finds herself pregnant but the explorer comes to her rescue.
02 April 1923
The dancer Navarro has lost her husband and son. With her daughter at her side, she returns to her homeland and comes under suspicion of spying when she gets into a relationship with a business friend of her deceased husband.
24 December 1923
From the director of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this is the Passion embedded in a contemporary story. An anarchist jailed for an attempted assassination is told the Passion story by the prison chaplain.
27 January 1921
A free adaptation of Shakespeare′s drama. The Danish queen masquerades her daughter as a boy, and thus, the girl lives her life as 'Prince' Hamlet.
12 September 1910
Magda, a piano teacher, meets Knud, a parson’s son, who invites her to spend the summer at his parents’ parsonage.
27 February 1918
Wanda runs away from her Gypsy camp, trying to live as a dancer. In a dream sequence she meets Ruprecht and Curt, who both fall in love with her.
12 September 1913
Nelly's mother is a suffragette and persuades her daughter to join the good cause. Placing a bomb under Lord William's chair love develops between the two.
01 January 1916
Jesta’s mischievous and playful manner is driving her father and his new lady friend mad. Finally they have had enough, and Jesta is sent away to a girls’ school, bundled onto the first train available.
01 January 1917
Ester escapes an orphanage and finds employment with Dr. Hoff and later with dramatist Hugo Mayerling.
05 April 1927
Tamara becomes addicted to cocaine but hides from her daughter by moving in with the dealer Mangol. The father tells his daughter that her mother has died, but years later the daughter rediscovers her mother appearing on stage.
05 March 1920
Comedy about dare devil Emile who falls in love with Madeleine. The consequences are devastating.
28 January 1918
Marriage between Margit and artist Erik Lind is interrupted by her infatuation with squire *Arvid Sund.
01 December 1916
Growing up with mean foster parents, Lotte is employed as a kitchen maid with the von Harten family. After a dramatic interlude, including an accusation of theft, Mrs.
03 January 1914
Engelein is a comedy of deliberately mistaken identity. If Jesta, a 17-year-old, can play the part of a 12-year-old, her family will gain a large inheritance from a rich uncle from Chicago.
01 August 1919
Gaston finally succeeds as a dramatist and decides to leave his wife and child for another woman. When the child dies, the finger is pointed at him and he winds up as a destitute before all is revealed.
18 June 1919
Many suitors woo the wealthy heiress Dora, but her heart belongs to the doctor Alberto. Shortly after their engagement, it turns out that Alberto has kept a child from a previous relationship a secret, which causes Dora – in grief and defiance – to marry Reppen, a banker who is only after her fortune.
26 June 1924
The only surviving excerpt of a documentary on film production in Weimar Germany, featuring the different personalities of several famous directors of the era at work on the set including Fritz Lang, Robert Wiene, and E.
01 January 1933
A short documentary about Asta Nielsen, the first international film star and an icon of modernity, who significantly shaped cinema in its beginnings.
29 July 1920
The Devil decides to go and visit Kurfürstendamm, where all his clients seem to come from. He settles at "Pension Elvira", where everybody cheats and deceives him.
01 January 1915
In this film, Nielsen plays the role of a mannequin, using her body as a clotheshorse. She makes a striking entrance on a flight of stairs, which serve as a stage on which to present sumptuous gowns and precious accessories.
19 August 1927
The aging singer Clarina receives a new engagement from a cabaret called the Maison Mouche and must evade the advances of several overbearing men.
09 December 1911
A woman betrays the regiment location in which the officer she is interested in is assigned because he despises her, only to regret it when he is caught and try to free him.
30 July 1919
Countess Ysabel is a young and rich woman with many suitors. An elegant and adventurous baron has managed to win her heart, but she anyway continues to play with other men’s feelings.
02 September 1921
Mia Verhag loses her job as a chorus singer when she rejects the advances of the theatre director. While she is in the grips of despair, she encounters the millionaire Roswolsky, who takes her to his luxurious house and gives her a key to the garden gate, allowing her to visit the surrounding park whenever she pleases.
27 February 1914
A film crew is shooting a movie about guns and robbers, when real robbers turn up. Having to go home in robbers costume, they are mistakingly accused of a robbery.
05 October 1922
Vanina loves rebel leader Octavio, who gets caught. He gets a pardon and marries Vanina. When he is captured again, Vanina helps him to escape prison.
11 April 1911
Jonna cheats on her husband with a chauffeur and is discovered by her husband. After the divorce, she falls into a life of theft and poverty until her daughter helps her reconcile with her ex.
16 September 1911
The landowner Bergmann and his wife hire Annie as a maid, but when the girl gets pregnant by a relative of her master, they dismiss her.
07 September 1912
Bella is married to engineer Burk who meets with an accident. To provide an income she starts as a performer, but happen to meet an infatuated, intriguing composer.
02 January 1922
A loose adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie. The daughter of a count witnesses her mother's increasing mental instability after being spurned by a lover.
06 May 2023
Asta Nielsen: pioneer of cinema and first European film star, tragedienne and comedienne, writer and artist.
27 March 1914
Wanda marries a Count but falls in love with his son. When their relationship is discovered by the Dowager Countess, she locks them in the garden shed and sets fire to it.
18 July 2016
A compilation of scenes from Shakespeare adaptations made in the earliest days of cinema, including versions of King Lear, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Richard III and The Merchant of Venice, as well as less frequently filmed plays such as Henry VIII and The Winter's Tale.
03 January 1913
Comedy about the lieutenant who marries poor Jesta. As a wealthy neighbor wants his own daughter to wed the officer, Jesta has to disguise herself as a man to woo her rival.
