Example: Die freudlose Gasse

From the TC 372 Workshop Compendium

Working from original sources

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The scenario Let us assume the following: A DVD copy of a film arrives in the archive. Neither the provenance nor the label gives any clue other than that this may be a version of Die freudlose Gasse, directed by G.W. Pabst in 1925. Since the copy is viewable, we can inspect its contents and make some observations. Our observations will guide us in the descision whether to treat this as a separate cinematographic work, as a variant of Die freudlose Gasse, or merely as a new manifestation of the initial release.

Observation	Relevant to	Action	Rationale
Not the initial distributor	Manifestation	New manifestation	Could be just a copy for foreign distribution.
Distribution title different from original	Manifestation or Variant	New manifestation, possibly new variant	New title alone would not justify a new variant.
Mentions a soundtrack, original is known to be mute	Variant	New variant	A major addition.
Introductory text must have been written several years after initial release	Variant	Possibly new film work	Could be a "film about a film". However, this text and added music appear to be the only major additions.
Text on a sign explained on an inserted image	Variant	New variant	Minor addition, common in foreign distributions, not enough to justify a new work.

Soundtrack clearly not from pre-1950	Variant	New variant (of a variant?)	Soundtrack cannot be compared to that from the initial release of the variant. Conjecture alone may not justify a further variant.
Intertitles replaced by translations	Variant	New variant	Translation alone does not alter the artistic content. Therefore, no new work.
Tinting too homogenous for an original. Must have been applied electronically.	Manifestation	New manifestation	Uniform monochrome tinting is a minor change.
Total duration just 60 minutes, i.e. less than half of the original.	Variant	New variant	Apparently an abridged version, but neither a trailer nor an excerpt.