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'
Krabat (2008)
6.1/10
Director: Marco Kreuzpaintner
Starring: Robert Stadlober, Christian Redl, David Kross, Daniel Bruhl
Sorcerer's apprentice Krabat (David Kross) rises up against his master after discovering an alarming secret in this finely crafted fable set in the 17... Read more
Wim Wenders' Documentaries: Tokyo-Ga / Notebook on Cities and Clothes / Room 666 (1982)
Director: Wim Wenders
This collection of three documentaries from the iconic German filmmaker includes: 'Tokyo-Ga' (1985) - Using the work of acclaimed Japanese director Ya... Read more
The Baader Meinhof Complex ( Blu-ray ) (2008)
7.4/10
Director: Uli Edel
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Moritz Bleibtreu, Heino Ferch, Martina Gedeck, Nadja Uhl, Alexandra...
Meticulous fact-based drama of the Red Army Faction. Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy i... Read more
Love in Thoughts (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Achim von Borries
Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Daniel Bruhl, August Diehl
Inspired by a true story, this atmospheric German drama examines the unlikely friendship between working-class poet Paul and wealthy daredevil Guenthe... Read more
The Serpent's Egg (1977)
6.7/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: David Carradine, Gert Frobe, James Whitmore, Liv Ullmann
Set in Berlin in 1923, the film is about a Jewish-American trapeze artist (David Carradine) and his sister-in-law (Liv Ullman), who are entrapped by a... Read more
Heart of Glass (1976)
7.1/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Guttler, Clemens Scheitz
Werner Herzog each day put the cast into a hypnotic trance in an attempt to achieve an effect of collective hysteria in this tale of a glassblower who... Read more
The Holy Mountain (1926)
7.9/10
Director: Arnold Fanck
Starring: Leni Riefenstahl, Luis Trenker, Ernst Petersen
In director Arnold Fanck's breathtaking silent drama, considered by many to be the epitome of the German "mountain film" genre, Leni Riefenstahl plays... Read more
Speer and Hitler: The Devil's Architect (2005)
Director: Heinrich Breloer
Starring: Sebastian Koch, Tobias Moretti, Dagmar Manzel, Eva Hassmann
This excellent German docu-drama series explores in detail the relationship between Hitler and his chief architect, Albert Speer. Combining re-enactme... Read more
Sissi: Forever My Love (1962)
7.1/10
Director: Ernst Marischka
Starring: Karlheinz Bohm, Romy Schneider, Magda Schneider
The beautiful Romy Schneider, while still in her teens, leads in a star making performance as the beloved Austrian Empress Elisabeth, "Sissi". This 19... Read more
Requiem (2006)
7/10
Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
Starring: Imogen Kogge, Anna Blomeier, Sandra Huller, Burghart Klaussner
Based on the same tragic story that inspired "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," this searing psychological drama from Germany finds college freshman Michae... Read more