This course traces the development of German film from the Third Reich to the present in its respective historical context as seen against the background of international film evolution and development. The Third Reich is chosen as a starting point because the persecution and emigration of the most significant filmmakers created conditions which influenced German film until well into the sixties. Criteria for the aesthetic analysis and interpretation of film will be introduced, followed by the promising approach of the so- called "Trümmerfilm" (rubble film) from 1945-51 and the ensuing division into West and East film scenes.
The entertainment film of the fifties and sixties, which prevented any form of victory for a type of critical film capable of treating the past responsibly, will be held up as an example. In contrast, the DEFA film stands as
the antithesis to the "dream factory." The beginnings of the "Autorenfilm" (literary adaptation) - even if it
was misunderstood - with the Oberhausener Manifest in 1962 and Jean-Marie Straub's and Danielle Huillet's film creations then lead into the work of internationally appraised film directors such as Fassbinder, Schlöndorff, Herzog, von Trotha, Wenders etc. as the representatives of modern German film and its critical analysis of the Third Reich in the seventies and eighties. The films from the middle of the eighties, which tended to be disappointing, are then followed by the more promising approaches to be found in the works of Tom Tykwer, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Leander Haussmann, Wolfgang Becker, Fatih Akin, Andreas Dresen etc. in the present.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this course, students should be able to determine criteria for aesthetics in film and be able to adequately interpret messages in particular films. Students will also be capable of interpreting different types of German films from the Third Reich to the present.
Method of presentation:
Lectures and class discussions, oral reports by students, study trips, films
Required work and form of assessment:
Mid-term (25%), final exam (25%), term paper (25%)
and oral report (25%)
content:
1) Introduction: the language of film: criteria for picture composition, perspective, time, and special components such as color, music, forms of editing, etc.
2) Third Reich: Entertainment and propaganda films of National Socialism, with special emphasis on Leni Riefenstahl.
Triumph des Willens. Director: Leni Riefenstahl (1935) Olympia. Director: Leni Riefenstahl (1936/38)
Die Macht der Bilder. Director: Ray Mueller 1993
Wunschkonzert. Director: Eduard von Borsody (1940)
3) "Trümmerfilm" (1945-1951):
Die Mörder sind unter uns. Director: Wolfgang Staudte (1946) Ehe im Schatten. Director: Kurt Maetzig (1947)
Liebe 47. Director: Wolfgang Liebeneiner (1949)
4) Film in the GFR in the fifties and sixties: The Cinema of distraction - the Cinema of the Party.
Schwarzwaldmädel. Director: Hans Deppe (1950)
Sauerbruch, das war mein Leben. Director: Rolf Hansen (1954)
5) Film in the GDR: between conformism and revolt
Der Untertan. Director: Wolfgang Staudte (1951) Ernst Thälmann. Director: Kurt Maetzig (1954/55) Fünf Patronenhülsen. Director: Frank Beyer (1960) Spur der Steine: Director: Frank Beyer (1966) Die Legende von Paul und Paula. Director: Heiner Carow (1973)
6) Following the Oberhausen Manifesto: New German film
Der junge Törless. Director: Volker Schlöndorff (1965)
Angst essen Seele auf. Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1973) Martha. Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1973)
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle. Director: Werner Herzog (1974) Im Lauf der Zeit. Director: Wim Wenders (1975)
Die bleierne Zeit. Director: Margarethe von Trotta (1981)
7) Analysis of the Third Reich
Die Blechtrommel. Director: Volker Schlöndorff (1978)
Die Ehe der Maria Braun. Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1978) Rosenstraße. Director: Margarethe von Trotta (2003)
Der Untergang. Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel (2004) Der neunte Tag. Director: Volker Schlöndorff (2004)
8) You are allowed to laugh
Männer. Director: Doris Dörrie (1985)
Wir können auch anders. Director: Detlev Buck (1993)
9) New talent on the scene
Lola rennt. Director: Tom Tykwer (1998)
Das Experiment. Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel (2001) Heaven. Director: Tom Tykwer (2002)
Gegen die Wand. Director: Fatih Akin (2004)
Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei. Director: Hans Weingartner (2004) Sommer vorm Balkon. Director: Andreas Dresen (2005)
Auf der anderen Seite. Director: Fatih Akin (2007) Yella. Director: Christian Petzold (2007)
10) GDR on screen
Sonnenallee. Director: Leander Hausmann (1999) Good bye Lenin. Director: Wolfgang Becker 2003)
Das Leben der Anderen. Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2006)
Der rote Kakadu. Director: Dominik (Graf 2006)
*selection of films subject to change
Recommended readings:
Baer, Hester (2009: Dismantling the Dream Factory. Gender, German Cinema, and the Postwar Quest for a New Film Language. New York.
Clarke, David (Hrsg.; 2006): German Cinema since Unification. London (GE 2006/5073)
Eichinger, Barbara (Hrsg. u.a.; 2009): Film im Sozialismus – Die DEFA. Wien.
Faulstich, Werner (2002): Grundkurs Filmanalyse. München (UTB) (LS Film 10/12)
Flinn, Caryl (2004): The New German Cinema. Music, History and the Matter of Style. Berkeley u.a.
(GE 2003/10332)
Hake, Sabine (2004): Film in Deutschland. Geschichte und Geschichten seit 1895. Reinbek. (LS Film 145, F
6) Das engl. Original ist unter dem Titel: „German National Cinema“ erschienen (GE 2001/13397)
Halle, Randall (u.a. Hrsg.; 2003): Light movies. German popular film in perspective. Detroit.
(GE 2003/5291)
Hickethier, Knut (42007): Film- und Fernsehanalyse. Stuttgart/Weimar (Sammlung Metzler ; 277) (LS Film
10/3; LB 76/1010)
Jacobsen, Wolfgang (Hrsg.; 22004): Geschichte des deutschen Films. Stuttgart. (LS Film 145, F 1)
Kamp, Werner (1998): Vom Umgang mit Film. Berlin (LS Film 10/19)
Knight, Julia (2004): New German Cinema. London. (GE 2004/1139)
Monaco, James (1999): Film verstehen. Kunst, Technik, Sprache, Geschichte und Theorie des Films und der
Medien. Reinbek. Das engl. Original ist unter dem Titel: „How to Read a Film (32000)“ erschienen (GE
2000/4742)
Pflaum, Hans Günther; Prinzler, Hans Helmut (1992): Film in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Der neue deutsche Film. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Mit einem Exkurs über das Kino der DDR. Ein Handbuch. München. (LS: Film 154/2)
Schleicher, Harald (Hrsg.; 2005): Filme machen. Technik, Gestaltung, Kunst. Klassisch und digital. Frankfurt a.M. (LS Film 286/3)
Shandley, Robert H. (2001): Rubble Films. German Cinema in the Shadow of the Third Reich. Philadelphia.
Steinmetz, Rüdiger (2003): Film- und Fernsehästhetik in Theorie und Praxis. Multimediale Lehr- und
Lernsoftware. (DVD), (LS Film 10/16)
Wilms, Wilfried (u.a. Hrsg..; 2008): German Postwar Films. Life and Love in the Ruins. New York.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
earned a Ph.D. in Slavic and German Studies from the University of Freiburg. He is currently Media and Computer Center Director at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg library, where since 1996 he has taught seminars and lectures on German film and literature. He pursued a degree in Library Science in Cologne from 1989-1990. Current research areas include film history, film theory, aesthetics of film, and film production. Mr. Leithold has also produced several TV features. Among his more recent publications: Studien zu A.P. Cechovs Drama "Die Moeve” (1989), 193 p.; several articles on Russian literature, which were published in Harenbergs Lexikon der Weltliteratur. Autoren –Werke – Begriffe. 5 volumes (1989). In addition, several of his articles on Russian literature have been published in reviews and newspapers. Mr.Leithold has also received several awards and prizes. Among others:
2001- Lehrpreis des Landes Baden-Württemberg 2001
2002- Intermedia-Globe in gold, Worldmediafestival, Hamburg
2005- Förderpreis beim Medienpreis der Universität Freiburg für Uni-TV
Film Augenblick und Ewigkeit. Das Freiburger Münster. 2011, 46 Min, Kommentar dt./engl./französ.
Publications Strategien der Sichtbarkeit - Fotografie im Stummfilm der Weimarer Republik.In: Becker, Sabina; Korte, Barbara (2011): Visuelle Evidenz. Fotografie im Reflex von Literatur und Film, S. 54-71.
Der distanzierte Blick - Max Ophüls' Liebelei-Verfilmung. In: Aurnhammer, Achim (u.a.; Hrsg.): Arthur Schnitzler und der Film. Würzburg 2010 (Akten des Arthur Schnitzler-Archivs der Universität Freiburg 1), S. 257-269.
This course traces the development of German film from the Third Reich to the present in its respective historical context as seen against the background of international film evolution and development. The Third Reich is chosen as a starting point because the persecution and emigration of the most significant filmmakers created conditions which influenced German film until well into the sixties. Criteria for the aesthetic analysis and interpretation of film will be introduced, followed by the promising approach of the so- called "Trümmerfilm" (rubble film) from 1945-51 and the ensuing division into West and East film scenes.
The entertainment film of the fifties and sixties, which prevented any form of victory for a type of critical film capable of treating the past responsibly, will be held up as an example. In contrast, the DEFA film stands as
the antithesis to the "dream factory." The beginnings of the "Autorenfilm" (literary adaptation) - even if it
was misunderstood - with the Oberhausener Manifest in 1962 and Jean-Marie Straub's and Danielle Huillet's film creations then lead into the work of internationally appraised film directors such as Fassbinder, Schlöndorff, Herzog, von Trotha, Wenders etc. as the representatives of modern German film and its critical analysis of the Third Reich in the seventies and eighties. The films from the middle of the eighties, which tended to be disappointing, are then followed by the more promising approaches to be found in the works of Tom Tykwer, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Leander Haussmann, Wolfgang Becker, Fatih Akin, Andreas Dresen etc. in the present.
By the end of this course, students should be able to determine criteria for aesthetics in film and be able to adequately interpret messages in particular films. Students will also be capable of interpreting different types of German films from the Third Reich to the present.
Lectures and class discussions, oral reports by students, study trips, films
Mid-term (25%), final exam (25%), term paper (25%)
and oral report (25%)
1) Introduction: the language of film: criteria for picture composition, perspective, time, and special components such as color, music, forms of editing, etc.
2) Third Reich: Entertainment and propaganda films of National Socialism, with special emphasis on Leni Riefenstahl.
Triumph des Willens. Director: Leni Riefenstahl (1935) Olympia. Director: Leni Riefenstahl (1936/38)
Die Macht der Bilder. Director: Ray Mueller 1993
Wunschkonzert. Director: Eduard von Borsody (1940)
3) "Trümmerfilm" (1945-1951):
Die Mörder sind unter uns. Director: Wolfgang Staudte (1946) Ehe im Schatten. Director: Kurt Maetzig (1947)
Liebe 47. Director: Wolfgang Liebeneiner (1949)
4) Film in the GFR in the fifties and sixties: The Cinema of distraction - the Cinema of the Party.
Schwarzwaldmädel. Director: Hans Deppe (1950)
Sauerbruch, das war mein Leben. Director: Rolf Hansen (1954)
5) Film in the GDR: between conformism and revolt
Der Untertan. Director: Wolfgang Staudte (1951) Ernst Thälmann. Director: Kurt Maetzig (1954/55) Fünf Patronenhülsen. Director: Frank Beyer (1960) Spur der Steine: Director: Frank Beyer (1966) Die Legende von Paul und Paula. Director: Heiner Carow (1973)
6) Following the Oberhausen Manifesto: New German film
Der junge Törless. Director: Volker Schlöndorff (1965)
Angst essen Seele auf. Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1973) Martha. Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1973)
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle. Director: Werner Herzog (1974) Im Lauf der Zeit. Director: Wim Wenders (1975)
Die bleierne Zeit. Director: Margarethe von Trotta (1981)
7) Analysis of the Third Reich
Die Blechtrommel. Director: Volker Schlöndorff (1978)
Die Ehe der Maria Braun. Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1978) Rosenstraße. Director: Margarethe von Trotta (2003)
Der Untergang. Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel (2004) Der neunte Tag. Director: Volker Schlöndorff (2004)
8) You are allowed to laugh
Männer. Director: Doris Dörrie (1985)
Wir können auch anders. Director: Detlev Buck (1993)
9) New talent on the scene
Lola rennt. Director: Tom Tykwer (1998)
Das Experiment. Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel (2001) Heaven. Director: Tom Tykwer (2002)
Gegen die Wand. Director: Fatih Akin (2004)
Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei. Director: Hans Weingartner (2004) Sommer vorm Balkon. Director: Andreas Dresen (2005)
Auf der anderen Seite. Director: Fatih Akin (2007) Yella. Director: Christian Petzold (2007)
10) GDR on screen
Sonnenallee. Director: Leander Hausmann (1999) Good bye Lenin. Director: Wolfgang Becker 2003)
Das Leben der Anderen. Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2006)
Der rote Kakadu. Director: Dominik (Graf 2006)
*selection of films subject to change
Baer, Hester (2009: Dismantling the Dream Factory. Gender, German Cinema, and the Postwar Quest for a New Film Language. New York.
Clarke, David (Hrsg.; 2006): German Cinema since Unification. London (GE 2006/5073)
Eichinger, Barbara (Hrsg. u.a.; 2009): Film im Sozialismus – Die DEFA. Wien.
Faulstich, Werner (2002): Grundkurs Filmanalyse. München (UTB) (LS Film 10/12)
Flinn, Caryl (2004): The New German Cinema. Music, History and the Matter of Style. Berkeley u.a.
(GE 2003/10332)
Hake, Sabine (2004): Film in Deutschland. Geschichte und Geschichten seit 1895. Reinbek. (LS Film 145, F
6) Das engl. Original ist unter dem Titel: „German National Cinema“ erschienen (GE 2001/13397)
Halle, Randall (u.a. Hrsg.; 2003): Light movies. German popular film in perspective. Detroit.
(GE 2003/5291)
Hickethier, Knut (42007): Film- und Fernsehanalyse. Stuttgart/Weimar (Sammlung Metzler ; 277) (LS Film
10/3; LB 76/1010)
Jacobsen, Wolfgang (Hrsg.; 22004): Geschichte des deutschen Films. Stuttgart. (LS Film 145, F 1)
Kamp, Werner (1998): Vom Umgang mit Film. Berlin (LS Film 10/19)
Knight, Julia (2004): New German Cinema. London. (GE 2004/1139)
Monaco, James (1999): Film verstehen. Kunst, Technik, Sprache, Geschichte und Theorie des Films und der
Medien. Reinbek. Das engl. Original ist unter dem Titel: „How to Read a Film (32000)“ erschienen (GE
2000/4742)
Pflaum, Hans Günther; Prinzler, Hans Helmut (1992): Film in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Der neue deutsche Film. Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Mit einem Exkurs über das Kino der DDR. Ein Handbuch. München. (LS: Film 154/2)
Schleicher, Harald (Hrsg.; 2005): Filme machen. Technik, Gestaltung, Kunst. Klassisch und digital. Frankfurt a.M. (LS Film 286/3)
Shandley, Robert H. (2001): Rubble Films. German Cinema in the Shadow of the Third Reich. Philadelphia.
Steinmetz, Rüdiger (2003): Film- und Fernsehästhetik in Theorie und Praxis. Multimediale Lehr- und
Lernsoftware. (DVD), (LS Film 10/16)
Wilms, Wilfried (u.a. Hrsg..; 2008): German Postwar Films. Life and Love in the Ruins. New York.
earned a Ph.D. in Slavic and German Studies from the University of Freiburg. He is currently Media and Computer Center Director at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg library, where since 1996 he has taught seminars and lectures on German film and literature. He pursued a degree in Library Science in Cologne from 1989-1990. Current research areas include film history, film theory, aesthetics of film, and film production. Mr. Leithold has also produced several TV features. Among his more recent publications: Studien zu A.P. Cechovs Drama "Die Moeve” (1989), 193 p.; several articles on Russian literature, which were published in Harenbergs Lexikon der Weltliteratur. Autoren –Werke – Begriffe. 5 volumes (1989). In addition, several of his articles on Russian literature have been published in reviews and newspapers. Mr.Leithold has also received several awards and prizes. Among others:
2001- Lehrpreis des Landes Baden-Württemberg 2001
2002- Intermedia-Globe in gold, Worldmediafestival, Hamburg
2005- Förderpreis beim Medienpreis der Universität Freiburg für Uni-TV
Film
Augenblick und Ewigkeit. Das Freiburger Münster. 2011, 46 Min, Kommentar dt./engl./französ.
Publications
Strategien der Sichtbarkeit - Fotografie im Stummfilm der Weimarer Republik. In: Becker, Sabina; Korte, Barbara (2011): Visuelle Evidenz. Fotografie im Reflex von Literatur und Film, S. 54-71.
Der distanzierte Blick - Max Ophüls' Liebelei-Verfilmung. In: Aurnhammer, Achim (u.a.; Hrsg.): Arthur Schnitzler und der Film. Würzburg 2010 (Akten des Arthur Schnitzler-Archivs der Universität Freiburg 1), S. 257-269.