At the end of the school year, we will leave you with some homework: Learn German with "The History of German Film", a quick overview of highlights from over 100 years of movie history, from the pioneering Skladanowsky brothers to Cannes darling Fatih Akin. Just click on the German key words to hear the pronunciation*. Wow your friends with some smart talk about
Der Neue Deutsche Film at your next summer party (we'll test you in September and you might win a TIFF ticket @GoetheToronto):
The year 1895 is considered the birth of German film (der Film). The brothers Max and Emil Skladanowsky presented their Bioscop and produced their first short films. The Bioscop was a precursor of the Lumière brothers’ cinematograph.
The era of German silent movies (
der Stummfilm) began after the First World War with Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Fritz Lang and the director (
der Regisseur, die Regisseurin) of comedies Ernst Lubitsch. Expressionist films in particular also appealed to audiences (
das Publikum) in other countries due to their grim atmosphere.
In 1929, Emil Jannings was the first actor to win an Academy Award.
The birth of talking pictures (
der Tonfilm) was accompanied by new formats such as the musical comedy. The career of actor Heinz Rühmann was launched in 1930 with the movie musical "The Three from the Filling Station".
Soon, the Nazis discovered the cinema as a propaganda tool. Films such as those by Leni Riefenstahl ("Triumph of the Will", for example) were made to influence people. Many artists (
der Künstler, die Künstlerin) like Marlene Dietrich ("The Blue Angel") and Fritz Lang emigrated.
Following the Second World War, West German cinema was dominated by
Schlagerfilme (a genre based on popular tunes with flimsy plots) and
Heimatfilme (“homeland films” usually with rural settings) with stars like Romy Schneider. In 1962, a group of young auteur filmmakers (
der Autorenfilmer, die Autorenfilmerin) around Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz decided to revolutionize cinema (
das Kino) with the Oberhausen Manifesto.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder became the rebel of New German Cinema (der Neue Deutsche Film). The actor Klaus Kinski revealed his genius in films by Werner Herzog.
In the 1980s, productions (
die Produktion) such as Wolfgang Petersen’s "Das Boot" inspired a large audience. East German cinema, however, was influenced by Socialist ideology.
After reunification, German cinema was dominated by comedies (
die Komödie) like "Maybe... Maybe Not" starring Til Schweiger. But then, auteur filmmakers such as Tom Tykwer impressed large audiences with "Run Lola Run". Also, the comedy about East Germany "Good Bye, Lenin!" by Wolfgang Becker was an international success (
der Erfolg).
In addition, German cinema received new Input from German-Turkish directors like Fatih Akin ("Head-On").
source: "Der gute Film kennt keine Grenzen“ © Sprachmagazin Deutsch perfekt 03/2017, www.deutsch-perfekt.com
image: 1929 uncredited news Image, via Bundesarchiv CC, with the original caption:
"Emil Jannings, the world's greatest actor, arrives in Berlin from America! Emil Jannings and his wife, greeted with flowers upon their Arrival, greet friends after a two and a half year absence."
*If you hear two phrases, the first is the male version of a noun, the second the female.
