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'
Captured while fighting in World War II, German soldier Clemens Forell (Bernhard Bettermann) escapes the hell of his confinement in a Siberian labor c... Read more
Knockout exercise in style and tension follows a flame-haired German punkette (Franka Potente) as she races to get 100,000 marks and deliver it to her... Read more
In 1936, Nazi Germany is looking to build up their international reputation, so when a pair of German climbers die in an effort to climb the treachero... Read more
The angelic protagonists of 'Wings of Desire' return: Bruno Ganz, the fallen angel now owns a pizza parlour, his erstwhile partner Otto Sander becomes... Read more
Hanna Schygulla shines in her role as a penniless soldier's wife who builds an industrial empire after the end of WW II. The first of Fassbinder's thr... Read more
About a young man who in the 1820's suddenly appeared in a small German town, full-grown but seemingly a new born child, unable to speak and stand. Br... Read more
Tobi and Achim have been best friends for years. As cox and oarsman, they have helped their team win several rowing cups and are now looking forward t... Read more
Georg Elser was a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives, if only he had had 13 more minutes. With 13 more minutes... Read more
Inspired by a shocking true life shooting spree in Vienna in 1993, Michael Haneke's challenging film weaves together fragments of the story in an atte... Read more
Germany, 1963. Irene and Dieter, together with their children Ute, Wasa and Flori, have fled East Germany for the freedom of the West. But while Diete... Read more