NATHAN THE WISE

Adapted from Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s drama, this film is an ode to tolerance. The story takes place during the Third Crusade (1189-1192) and shows how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the open-minded Sultan Sultan and an initially annonymous Templar manage to overcome the differences between Judaism, Islam and Christianity, the three great monotheistic religions. Manfred Noa – a much underrated director, having directed the film ‘Helen of Troy’ in 1924 – directed this huge historical fresco set in Palestine, adapting a famous philosemitic drama by Lessing.
Presented in Munich in 1922, the film was the cause of the first anti-Semitic demonstrations organised by the nascent Nazi party.