Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era (Film and Culture Series)

Taken as a whole, the sixteen remarkable films discussed in this provocative new volume of essays represent the brilliant creativity that flourished in the name of German cinema between the wars. Encompassing early gangster pictures and science fiction, avant-garde and fantasy films, sexual intrigues and love stories, the classics of silent cinema and Germany's first talkies, each chapter illuminates, among other things: the technological advancements of a given film, its detailed production history, its critical reception over time, and the place it occupies within the larger history of the German studio and of Weimar cinema in general. Readers can revisit the careers of such acclaimed directors as F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, and G. W. Pabst and examine the debuts of such international stars as Greta Garbo, Louise Brooks, and Marlene Dietrich. Training a keen eye on Weimer cinema's unusual richness and formal innovation, this anthology is an essential guide to the revolutionary styles, genres, and aesthetics that continue to fascinate us today. In This Comprehensive Companion To Weimar Cinema, Chapters Address The Technological Advancements Of Each Film, Their Production And Place Within The Larger History Of German Cinema, The Style Of The Director, The Actors And The Rise Of The German Star, And The Critical Reception Of The Film. Suggestion, Hypnosis, And Crime: Robert Wiene's The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920) / Stefan Andriopoulos -- Of Monsters And Magicians: Paul Wegener's The Golem: How He Came Into The World (1920) / Noah Isenberg -- Movies, Money, And Mystique: Joe May's Early Weimar Blockbuster, The Indian Tomb (1921) / Christian Rogowski -- No End To Nosferatu (1922) / Thomas Elsaesser -- Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922): Grand Enunciator Of The Weimar Era / Tom Gunning -- Who Gets The Last Laugh?: Old Age And Generational Change In F.w. Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924) / Sabine Hake -- Inflation And Devaluation: Gender, Space, And Economics In G.w. Pabst's The Joyless Street (1925) / Sara F. Hall -- Tradition As Intellectual Montage: F.w. Murnau's Faust (1926) / Matt Erlin -- Metropolis (1927): City, Cinema, Modernity / Anton Kaes -- Berlin, Symphony Of A Great City (1927): City, Image, Sound / Nora M. Alter -- Surface Sheen And Charged Bodies: Louise Brooks As Lulu In Pandora's Box (1929) / Margaret Mccarthy -- The Bearable Lightness Of Being: People On Sunday (1930) / Lutz Koepnick -- National Cinemas/international Film Culture: The Blue Angel (1930) In Multiple Language Versions / Patrice Petro -- Coming Out Of The Uniform: Political And Sexual Emancipation In Leontine Sagan's Mädchen In Uniform (1931) / Richard W. Mccormick -- Fritz Lang's M (1931): An Open Case / Todd Herzog -- Whose Revolution?: The Subject Of Kuhle Wampe (1932) / Marc Silberman. Edited By Noah Isenberg. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Includes Filmography: P. [331]-339.