German National Cinema

by Hake; Sabine

• ISBN13: 9780415420976
• ISBN10: 0415420970
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-01-24
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

German National Cinema is the first comprehensive history of German film from its origins to the present. In this new edition, Sabine Hake discusses film-making in economic, political, social, and cultural terms, and considers the contribution of Germany's most popular films to changing definitions of genre, authorship, and film form. The book traces the central role of cinema in the nation?s turbulent history from the Wilhelmine Empire to the Berlin Republic, with special attention paid to the competing demands of film as art, entertainment, and propaganda. Hake also explores the centrality of genre films and the star system to the development of a filmic imaginary. Presenting the national as a highly unstable category, her discussions highlight the cross-cultural influences that situate German films within the European tradition and in ongoing dialogue with Hollywood. Special issues discussedinclude: ? the preoccupation with German history and heritage ? the emphasis on questions of gender, class, race, and nation ? and the ongoing negotiation of regional, national, international, and transnational perspectives This fully revised and updated new edition will be required reading for everyone interested in German film and the history of modern Germany.

Author Biography

Sabine Hake is the Texas Chair of German Literature and Culture in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Wilhelmine cinema 1895-1919 Cinema: a new technology, industry, and mass medium Elements of a national cinema: stars, genres, directors German cinema and the First World War

Weimar cinema 1919-33 Weimar cinema as art cinema Weimar cinema as popular cinema Film, politics, and the coming of sound

Third Reich cinema 1933-45 The restructuring of the film industry Third Reich cinema as political cinema Third Reich cinema as popular cinema

Post-war cinema 1945-61 The reconstruction of the film industry Rewriting history, forging new identities The politicisation of cinema in the East The depoliticisation of cinema in the West

East German cinema 1961-90 The New Waves and the Eleventh Plenary The seventies: the discovery of everyday life The eighties: the decline of cinema as a public sphere

West German cinema 1962-90 The Oberhausen Manifesto and the Young German Cinema The seventies: the emergence of New German Cinema The eighties: crises and transformations

Post-unification cinema 1990-2007 Film-making in the new Germany and a unified Europe Elements of popular cinema: the return to genre Once again: coming to terms with the past(s) The future of national cinema List of Works Cited

Index of Films

Index of Names Subject

Index

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