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 Seventh Continent (1989)
7.8/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Dieter Berner, Udo Samel, Leni Tanzer, Birgit Doll
A provocative and chilling depiction of a family who have lost contact with one another. Anna and Georg live with their daughter Eva, and while every... Read more
Cobra Verde (1987)
7/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, Jose Lewgoy
Herzog's last collaboration with his regular lead Klaus Kinski finds the wrinkled demon playing once again a misunderstood crazy. Loosely adapted from... Read more
Wings of Desire (1987)
8.1/10
Director: Wim Wenders
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Peter Falk, Curt Bois
'The first time I saw the film I thought it was a knockout; on second viewing it already seemed a classic,' wrote J. Hoberman of Wim Wenders' re-exami... Read more
The Wannsee Conference (1984)
7.9/10
Director: Heinz Schirk
Starring: Dietrich Mattausch, Gerd Brockman, Gunter Spoerrie
An acclaimed film that re-enacts the fateful January 1942 meeting of the Nazi party and top German Officials that set in motion 'The Final Solution'.... Read more
Pharos of Chaos (Leuchtturm des Chaos) (Blu-ray) (1983)
7.2/10
Director: Wolf-Eckart Bühler
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Burkhard Driest, Hannes Wader, Hanns Zischler
Pharos of Chaos (a.k.a Leuchtturm des Chaos) is a 1983 documentary profile of the American actor Sterling Hayden (1916 – 1986). The film features d... Read more
Werner Herzog Collection ( Signs of Life / Even Dwarfs Started Small / The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser / Heart of Glass / Stroszek / Where the Green Ants Dream ) (1982)
Director: Werner Herzog
A collection of six early masterpieces from the director of "Aguirre, Wrath of God" and "Fitzcarraldo". Made during Werner Herzog's formative years be... 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
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
8.1/10
Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale
Herzog's saga of an impressario's obsession to bring his own opera boat up the Amazon River and over a mountain into Peru where he will have Caruso si... Read more
Querelle (1982)
6.9/10
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Brad Davis, Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau
The final film by Fassbinder was this searing adaptation of the controversial Jean Genet novel starring Brad Davis as a ruggedly handsome, narcissisti... Read more
Das Boot ( aka The Boat ) ( Mini-series) (1981)
7.6/10
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Klaus Wennemann
A.k.a. 'The Boat. Totally restored 'Das Boot: 6-part mini series presented as one complete feature lenegth uncut version. Wolfgang Petersen's acclaim... Read more