Teuton Ecstasy: Weimar Cinema and The Mountain Film
As the World emerged from the First World War a great infusion of money and talent poured into Hollywood, fueling the emerging studio system that produced increasingly complex and lavish spectacles. At the same time, the Weimar Republic foundered in economic and moral depression. The German film industry, unable to compete with Hollywood, developed one of the greatest innovations in film history as their means of survival. Expressionism employed the use of environmental distortion and clever artifice to emphasize dramatic performance. Films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), The Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922) and Metropolis (1927) introduced a new form of wildly creative entertainment.
As Weimar cinema advanced, Expressionist film splintered into various new forms and influenced others. G. W. Pabst produced a number of films during this period that adopted Expressionist elements, but also characterized a move away from the ecstatic dynamism of Expressionist film and into a realism described as Post-Expressionist or the New Objectivity. Another emerging genre during this period was the Mountain Film, which portrayed an idyllic alpine lifestyle, combining athleticism and spectacular outdoor settings. Mountain Films served the German cultural identity not unlike Westerns did in the United States. By far, the major contributor to the Mountain Film genre was Arnold Fanck, who began filming alpine adventure documentaries in 1921 and gradually progressed into dramatic features. His early work was criticized for its use of overly simplistic and predictable scenarios, yet films like The Holy Mountain (1926) were highly entertaining, beautiful to look at and immensely popular.
The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929)
Monday January 22, 7:00pm, The Paramount Theater
The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929) is the story of three climbers trapped on a mountain of rotting ice in blizzard conditions, awaiting their rescue, or their death. It was typical Fanck, featuring gorgeous outdoor photography and the aerial acrobatics of WWI flying ace Ernst Udet. A departure for this film was the co-directing of Fanck who handled all the scenic work, and G. W. Pabst who was brought in to direct the acting scenes. Fanck's favorite leading lady, Leni Riefenstahl, once again starred, this time with Gustav Dissel, who appeared opposite Louise Brooks as Jack the Ripper in Pandora's Box (1928). While the use of these two directors may be easily understood by comparing them to their modern equivalents (imagine the pairing of Warren Miller and Mike Nichols), there is no modern equal to Reifenstahl.
As the World emerged from the First World War a great infusion of money and talent poured into Hollywood, fueling the emerging studio system that produced increasingly complex and lavish spectacles. At the same time, the Weimar Republic foundered in economic and moral depression. The German film industry, unable to compete with Hollywood, developed one of the greatest innovations in film history as their means of survival. Expressionism employed the use of environmental distortion and clever artifice to emphasize dramatic performance. Films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), The Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922) and Metropolis (1927) introduced a new form of wildly creative entertainment.
As Weimar cinema advanced, Expressionist film splintered into various new forms and influenced others. G. W. Pabst produced a number of films during this period that adopted Expressionist elements, but also characterized a move away from the ecstatic dynamism of Expressionist film and into a realism described as Post-Expressionist or the New Objectivity. Another emerging genre during this period was the Mountain Film, which portrayed an idyllic alpine lifestyle, combining athleticism and spectacular outdoor settings. Mountain Films served the German cultural identity not unlike Westerns did in the United States. By far, the major contributor to the Mountain Film genre was Arnold Fanck, who began filming alpine adventure documentaries in 1921 and gradually progressed into dramatic features. His early work was criticized for its use of overly simplistic and predictable scenarios, yet films like The Holy Mountain (1926) were highly entertaining, beautiful to look at and immensely popular.
The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929)
Monday January 22, 7:00pm, The Paramount Theater
The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929) is the story of three climbers trapped on a mountain of rotting ice in blizzard conditions, awaiting their rescue, or their death. It was typical Fanck, featuring gorgeous outdoor photography and the aerial acrobatics of WWI flying ace Ernst Udet. A departure for this film was the co-directing of Fanck who handled all the scenic work, and G. W. Pabst who was brought in to direct the acting scenes. Fanck's favorite leading lady, Leni Riefenstahl, once again starred, this time with Gustav Dissel, who appeared opposite Louise Brooks as Jack the Ripper in Pandora's Box (1928). While the use of these two directors may be easily understood by comparing them to their modern equivalents (imagine the pairing of Warren Miller and Mike Nichols), there is no modern equal to Reifenstahl.