Michael (1924 film)

Michael
Directed by	Carl Theodor Dreyer
Screenplay by	Thea von Harbou Carl Theodor Dreyer[1]
Based on	Mikaël by Herman Bang[1]
Produced by	Erich Pommer[1]
Starring	Benjamin Christensen Walter Slezak Max Auzinger Robert Garrison Nora Gregor
Cinematography	Karl Freund Rudolph Maté[1]
Production company	Decla-Bioscop AG[1]
Distributed by	Decla-Bioscop-Verleih GmbH, Berlin[1]
Release date	26 September 1924 (1924-09-26) (Berlin)
Running time	90 min. 86 min. (2004 alternate)
Country	Germany

Michael (also known as Mikaël, Chained: The Story of the Third Sex, and Heart's Desire) is a 1924 German silent drama film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, director of other notable silents such as The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Master of the House (1925), and Leaves from Satan's Book (1921). The film stars Walter Slezak as the titular Michael, the young assistant and model to the artist Claude Zoret (Benjamin Christensen). Along with Different From the Others (1919) and Sex in Chains (1928), Michael is widely considered a landmark in gay silent cinema.

The film is based on Herman Bang's 1902 novel Mikaël. It is the second screen adaptation of the book, the first being The Wings, made eight years prior by director Mauritz Stiller. Michael, however, follows Bang's storyline much more closely than the earlier film version did.