German Cinema
The devastation of World War One left Germany's budding film industry, like much of Europe, in tatters. But necessity being the mother of invention, German Expressionism was born. Relying heavily on symbolism and shadow rather than elaborate and costly sets, films like 'The Cabinet of Dr Caligari' are still studied by film students the world over. By the mid-1920s, the industry was getting back on its feet and great directors like Fritz Lang and FW Murnau were making their early masterpieces. However the onset of Nazism and the impending war led many of Germany's artists, including filmmakers, to flee to the U.S. Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Karl Freund and many more all continued their careers in America while the German film industry virtually disappeared. It was not unitl the '60s and '70s that new talents emerged. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Viktor Schlondorff and Wim Wenders revitalised German cinema and today international hits such as 'Run Lola Run' and 'Goodbye Lenin!' assure us it is here to stay.
Right: 'Run Lola Run'
The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant (1973)
7.8/10
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Irm Hermann
A lurid and stylized account of the mangled web of domination, sado-masochism and jealousy among three lesbians. One of Fassbinder's most controversia... Read more
The Blue Angel (1930)
7.8/10
Director: Josef Von Sternberg
Starring: Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron, Emil Jannings
Von Sternberg's classic study of sexual humiliation made Marlene Dietrich a star as Lola-Lola, the vulgar nightclub singer who brings the dignified un... Read more
The BRD Trilogy ( The Marriage of Maria Braun / Lola / Veronika Voss ) (1979)
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Barbara Sukowa, Gottfried John, Hanna Schygulla, Hilmar Tha...
RW Fassbinder's Bundesrepublik Deutschland trilogy comprises three of his most celebrated films which chart West Germany's post-war economic miracle t... Read more
The Bridge (aka Die Brücke) (2008)
8.6/10
Director: Wolfgang Panzer
Starring: Franka Potente, Daniel Axt, Francois Goeske, Lars Steinhofel
Just a few weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany to the allies, young recruit Albert is drafted along with a cadre of soldiers to defend The Brid... Read more
The Bridge (Die Brucke) (1959)
8.6/10
Director: Bernhard Wicki
Starring: Fritz Wepper, Folker Bohnet, Michael Hinz, Frank Glaubrecht
Bernhard Wicki's Oscar-nominated directorial debut, this is an excellent little film with no known names on the roster. In the final days of World War... Read more
The Conference (2022)
7.3/10
Director: Matti Geschonneck
On January 20, 1942, leading representatives of the German Nazi regime met in a villa in Berlin-Wannsee for a meeting that went down in history as the... Read more
The Counterfeiters (2006)
7.6/10
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Starring: Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach, August Zirner
In pre-WWII Germany, Salomon Sorowitsch is a world-class counterfeiter, being also a Jew he is soon arrested and put in a concentration camp, but as t... Read more
The Door (2009)
6.7/10
Director: Anno Saul
Starring: Jessica Schwarz, Nele Trebs, Mads Mikkelsen, Heike Makatsch
Adapted from a novel by Akif Pirrincci, "The Door" aka "Die Tur" is the tale of a formerly successful painter, David who has lost control over his lif... Read more
The Eagle Hunter's Son (2009)
Director: Rene Bo Hansen
Starring: Bazarbai Matei, Mardan Matei, Asilbek Badelkhan, Serikbai Khulan
Twelve-year-old nomad Bazarbai lives in the Altai mountains on the border between Mongolia and Kazakhstan. He is reluctant to follow the family line o... Read more
The Edge of Heaven (2007)
7.8/10
Director: Fatih Akin
Starring: Nurgul Yesilcay, Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Hanna Schygulla, Patrycia Ziolkowsk...
Turkish/German director Fatih Akin ('Head-On') brings together a deeply humanistic amd multi-layered drama as he follows the stories of six people cau... Read more