Beauty and Horror:
I tell you all my secrets,
But I lie about my past.
Tom
Waits
In the course of
one hundred years, German cinema has survived two world wars, extreme economic
inflation, and the binds of tyranny. It
has changed with time and attitudes, reflecting the psychology of it's
populace. German cinema has been used
as a tool of the righteous and a weapon of villains. Whether revered or vilified, German filmmakers, like there
cinematic brethren the world over, have mainly attempted to entertain and
provoke thought or emotion.
The origins of
German cinema start in 1895 with the Brothers Skladanovsky who shot and
projected scenes with a machine of their own making which they termed a
"Biograph."[1] The beginnings of film in Germany were slower to gain a foothold
than in countries such as America or France.
Before 1910 movies were looked down upon in Germany. At this time, movie theaters were considered
"an attraction for young workers, salesgirls, the unemployed, loafers and
social nondescripts."[2]
The majority of the most
vociferous detractors of film during this period came from stage theater
professionals who viewed the film business as a threat. In 1912 this opposition was finally overcome
as film producers approached these same professionals to write, direct or act
in their movies.[3] Producers, in fact, scrambled to sign well-known playwrights and
authors to write their films. These
films became known as Autorenfilm
(author's film) and were marketed to draw on the popularity of the writer.[4]
At this time Max
Reinhardt was one of the top stage directors in Germany. Reinhardt and many of his troupe of writers
and actors were highly sought after by the German film industry. Among these, Paul Wegener, an actor under
Reinhardt, went on to direct the dark fantasies The Student of Prague (1913) and The Golem (1914 and 1920).[5]
It wasn't until
after the first World War that German film began to really hit it's
stride. By the end of that decade,
innovative and exciting filmmakers such as Robert Weine, Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz
Lang and F.W. Murnau were starting their careers. This was also when the Universum Film Aktiengesellschft (Ufa),
the most largest and most powerful studio in Germany of the twenties, was
formed.[6]
Robert Weine's The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) was the first film produced in the
Expressionist style. The Expressionist movement used techniques such as
distorted shadows and unrealistic colors to portray inner struggle though
external surroundings. The film
startled audiences with its flat, painted backdrops that featured abstract
perspectives with harsh lines and hard shadows.[7] The Expressionist ideal is also apparent in the stylized acting,
especially that of Conrad Viedt, who plays the somnambulist murderer, Cesare.[8]
F.W. Murnau, one
of Ufa's top director's during the twenties was also experimenting with
Expressionism. His films Nosferatu (1922) and Faust (1926) both
effectively use elements of the style to convey supernatural events. Murnau's use of Expressionism in Nosferatu is evident in the sharp and
distorted angles on Count Orlok's castle and the jerky, fitful movements of
actor, Max Schreck. This is contrasted
by his use of natural landscapes, which was contrary to the studio landscapes
preferred by his contemporaries.[9] By the time Murnau came to make Faust, he had learned to successfully blend these two opposing
styles and turned his attention to mastering light and movement. With obvious zeal Lotte Eisner said of Faust that "the beginning and the
end are fugues of light, orchestrated with incomparable mastery."[10]
Also making films
at Ufa at this time was visionary director Fritz Lang. Unlike Murnau, Lang seemed to prefer
creating solely within the studio where he could control the entire
mise-en-scene to the last detail. For
the Burgundian fantasy Die Nibelungen
(1924), vast sets were constructed at Ufa's studios in Neubabelsberg to create
the illusion of huge castles and massive medieval forests.[11] Lang went back to the studio to make the science-fiction epic Metropolis (1927) but this time
inventing a glittering future city of the privileged and the dreary underworld
of it's workers. As with Murnau, Lang
used Expressionism to emphasize style but did not wholly rely upon it to frame
his story. This style can be seen in
the lines of workers moving to their posts, Freder's vision of human sacrifices
to the machine and the false Maria's story of Babel.[12]
Unfortunately, by
1927, the great expenditures on Faust and
Metropolis caused an already
financially strained Ufa to sell controlling interest to Alfred Hugenberg, a
"right-wing publishing magnate."[13] Hugenberg was sympathetic to the Nazi movement and began using
Ufa to produce films that promoted Nazi ideology.[14] During the Nazi regime (1933 - 1945) these propaganda films
showcasing German nationalist ideals were prevalent under the guidance of Dr.
Josef Goebbels, the Nazi Party's Minister of Propaganda.[15]
Probably the most
famous (or infamous) of these were the films of Leni Riefenstahl. Riefenstahl started her career as an actress
in the mountaineering films of Arnold Fanck.[16] She went on to become the director of Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia
(1938), two of the most influential and beautiful propaganda films ever
produced. Indeed, these "are
virtually the only Nazi propaganda films which are studied today for their
artistic qualities."[17] After the fall of the Nazi regime, however, Riefenstahl tried
unsuccessfully to distance herself from those works. She claimed that her
interests on the films were purely "artistic considerations" and she
was unaware of the Nazi political agenda even though there are several accounts
to the contrary.[18]
While several of
it's European neighbors were discovering new voices in cinema during the
post-war years, Germany's film community did not fully reemerge until
1970's. The modernist New German Cinema
of the 1970's was distinctive for it's humanist approach to film, making it closer
to it's European cousins than it's Expressionist forefathers. This period of New German Cinema saw the
rise of such talents as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog and Wim
Wenders.
Rainer Werner
Fassbinder's career began in the theater.
Starting as "an actor, playwright, and theater director, Fassbinder
revealed a taste for grotesque comedy, splashy violence and strong realism for
characters' regional dialects."[19] He wanted the audience to think and feel and "he insisted
that politically critical art had to engage the spectator's feelings."[20] The Marriage of Maria Braun
(1978) was one of the most popular of Fassbinder's works. Typical of
his milieu, the film, a melodrama set shortly after World War II, criticizes
the hypocrisy of the middle class.
"His critique of the German middle class, it's weaknesses, it's
servility, it's inability to love, it's egotistical preoccupation with
prosperity, runs through almost all of his films as leitmotif."[21]
Werner Herzog's
films are obsessed with the mythic, the inexplicable and the unobtainable. His films, such as Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972) or Fitzcaraldo
(1982) often deal with a heroic struggle against unbeatable odds. Herzog constantly juxtaposes man against
nature. "Herzog's images open onto
the infinite through visions of water, mists and skies."[22] His work has been described as "a repeated plea for
recognition and the validity and beauty of the visions of those who, by force
of character or circumstances, move beyond the carefully circumscribed bounds of
'normality,' 'reason,' and 'civilization.'"[23]
For Wim Wenders,
making movies is more about capturing moments in time than ordering a sequence
of events into a narrative. As a young
man, Wenders left medical school and instead joined the newly formed Munich School
of television and Film. Here he started
making experimental films that eventually led to feature work in the early
1970's.[24] One can see a theme of interpersonal isolation that runs through
most of Wender's work, starting with The
Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1971) and Alice in the Cities (1973).[25] Wenders often shows his characters wandering barren landscapes or
empty city streets to emphasize their distance from society. His characters are usually restless spirits
looking for something lost or searching to regain a feeling vaguely
remembered.
Among the most
well known of Wender's work is Wings of
Desire (1987). The film set in a
divided Berlin, tells the story of an angel in love with humanity who
relinquishes his divinity to live and love as a human being. The first part of the film, in black and
white, shows the ethereal angels moving around the corporeal humans. The angels listen to the thoughts of the
people and attempt to comfort those who are troubled, sick or dying. The second part opens to a world of color as
the angel Damiel literally falls to earth.
Damiel's overwhelming joy and love for humanity gives the audience hope
which is something new for Wenders and something noticeably missing from much
of German cinema
Much of the
talent behind the New German Cinema movement has either moved to America (Wim
Wenders, Wolfgang Petersen, Volker Schlondorff), retired (Werner Herzog) or
died (R.W. Fassbinder). The vacuum left
behind by these individuals has yet to be filled by a younger generation. Perhaps with the problems of reunification
behind them and the promise of a new millennia we shall once again see more
daring and provocative films coming out of Germany.
[1]Kracaucer, From
Caligari to Hitler, p. 15.
2Kracauer, From
Caligari to Hitler, p. 16.
3Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 57.
4bid.
5Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p 40.
6Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 105.
7Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 108 -
111.
8Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p. 25.
9Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p. 99.
10Eisner, Murnau, p. 165.
11Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p. 155 - 160.
12Eisner, Fritz Lang, p. 83 - 94.
13Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 121.
14Wollenberg, Fifty Years of German Film, p. 31.
15Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 307.
16Berg-Pan, Leni Riefenstahl, p. 23 - 24.
17Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 309.
18Berg-Pan, Leni Riefenstahl, p. 33.
19Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 663.
20Ibid.
21Iden et all, Fassbinder, p. 197.
22Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 740.
23Sandford, The New German Cinema, p. 63.
24Kolker and Beiken, The Films of Wim Wenders, p. 9.
25Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 740
–741
Berg-Pan, Renata. Leni Riefenstahl. Boston: Twayne Puplisher
1980.
Eisner, Lotte. Fritz Lang. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Eisner, Lotte. The Haunted Screen. Los Angeles: University of
California
Press, 1969.
Eisner, Lotte. Murnau. Los Angeles: University of Cailfornia Press,
1973.
Iden, Peter, Yaak Karsunke, Ruth
McCormick, Hans Helmut Prinzler,
Wilhelm Roth,
Wolfram Schutte, and Wilfried Wiegand.
Fassbinder. New York: Tanam Press, 1981.
Kolker, Robert Phillip, and Peter
Beicken. The Films of Wim
Wenders. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Kracauer, Sigfried. From Caligari To Hitler: A Psychological
History
of
the German Film. Princeton
University Press, 1947.
Sandford, John. The New German Cinema. Totowa, New Jersey:
Barnes
& Noble Books, 1980.
Thompson, Kristin, and David
Bordwell. Film History: An
Introduction. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.
Wollenberg, H. H. Fifty Years of German Film. London:
The Falcon
Press Limited,
1948.
[1]Kracaucer, From Caligari to Hitler, p. 15.
[2]Kracauer, From Caligari to Hitler, p. 16.
[3]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 57.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p 40.
[6]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 105.
[7]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 108 - 111.
[8]Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p. 25.
[9]Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p. 99.
[10]Eisner, Murnau, p. 165.
[11]Eisner, The Haunted Screen, p. 155 - 160.
[12]Eisner, Fritz Lang, p. 83 - 94.
[13]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 121.
[14]Wollenberg, Fifty Years of German Film, p. 31.
[15]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 307.
[16]Berg-Pan, Leni Riefenstahl, p. 23 - 24.
[17]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 309.
[18]Berg-Pan, Leni Riefenstahl, p. 33.
[19]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 663.
[20]Ibid.
[21]Iden et all, Fassbinder, p. 197.
[22]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 740.
[23]Sandford, The New German Cinema, p. 63.
[24]Kolker and Beiken, The Films of Wim Wenders, p. 9.
[25]Thompson and Bordwell, Film History: An Introduction, p. 740 -741.