Danish and German Silent Cinema: Towards a Common Film Culture

Analyses the cultural exchange of two important and highly entangled European film nations of the silent era * Presents new insights on famous films and stars like Asta Nielsen, Olaf Fønss, and Pat & Patachon (also known as Long & Short) * Employs diverse perspectives: production and distribution history, international cultural relations, celebrity studies, aesthetic analysis * Based on extensive archival research in Germany and the Scandinavian countries * Discusses the concept of national cinema and film historiography from an entangled film history perspective The book examines how Danish and German film interacted with one another from 1910 through World War I till the advent of sound around 1930. The film businesses of the two countries were closely connected, and many film professionals crossed back and forth across national borders. The studies in this book include production and distribution history, censorship, celebrity studies, and aesthetic analysis. They contribute to European film and cultural history through extensive empirical investigation of films, persons and companies. The underlying perspective is that of entangled film history, an approach that stresses cross-border interchanges and mutual influences. Written by an international team of scholars, the book marks the conclusion of a four-year collective research project running alongside the stumfilm.dk initiative to digitise the entire Danish silent film heritage. h4Analyses the cultural exchange of two important and highly entangled European film nations of the silent era/h4ulliPresents new insights on famous films and stars like Asta Nielsen, Olaf Fønss, and Pat & Patachon (also known as Long & Short)/liliEmploys diverse perspectives: production and distribution history, international cultural relations, celebrity studies, aesthetic analysis/liliBased on extensive archival research in Germany and the Scandinavian countries/liliDiscusses the concept of national cinema and film historiography from an entangled film history perspective/li/ulpThe book examines how Danish and German film interacted with one another from 1910 through World War I till the advent of sound around 1930. The film businesses of the two countries were closely connected, and many film professionals crossed back and forth across national borders./ppThe studies in this book include production and distribution history, censorship, celebrity studies, and aesthetic analysis. They contribute to European film and cultural history through extensive empirical investigation of films, persons and companies. The underlying perspective is that of entangled film history, an approach that stresses cross-border interchanges and mutual influences. Written by an international team of scholars, the book marks the conclusion of a four-year collective research project running alongside the stumfilm.dk initiative to digitise the entire Danish silent film heritage./p Contents Figures Acknowledgements Notes on the contributors 1. Introduction 2. Danish-German Cinematic Interconnections and the Prospects of an Entangled Film Historiography 3. How ‘Danish’ were Danish Stars in Germany during the Silent Era? 4. How ‘German’ was German Film in Denmark during the Silent Era? 5. Sherlock Holmes in Transit 6. Female Stars of German Cinema in an Entangled Danish Film Culture 7. Same Frame, Different Lens? Exporting Danish Film Style 8. ‘Die Deutsch-Nordische-Film-Union marschiert!’: the Entangled Relations between Nordisk Films Kompagni, UFA, and DNFU 1918–1928 9. Pat and Patachon as Transnational Film Stars Index