This section provides a selection of film and television shows that have been adapted from German literature, as well as a few selections that are biographical or documentary films about German works or authors. For more information on film studies for Germany and other parts of Europe, see the European Film Research Guide.
Faust (dir. F. W. Murnau, 1926)
Newly restored. Inspired by the German legend and by Goethe's classic tale, Murnau's Faust tells the story of an alchemist (Gösta Ekman) who, struggling with his faith amidst a devastating plague, is offered the power to cure and the gift of youth … in exchange for his soul. As the diabolical Mephisto, Emil Jannings (The Last Laugh) delivers a performance of operatic scale and intensity, by turns charming, comical, and horrific.
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Metropolis (dir. Fritz Lang, 1927)
Perhaps the most famous and influential of all silent films, Metropolis had for 75 years been seen only in shortened or truncated versions. Now, restored in Germany with state-of-the-art digital technology, under the supervision of the Murnau Foundation, and with the original 1927 orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz added, Metropolis can be appreciated in its full glory.
Metropolis takes place in 2026, when the populace is divided between workers who must live in the dark underground and the rich who enjoy a futuristic city of splendor. The tense balance of these two societies is realized through images that are among the most famous of the 20th century. Lavish and spectacular, with elaborate sets and modern science fiction style, Metropolis stands today as the crowning achievement of the German silent cinema.
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The Blue Angel: Der Blaue Engel (dir. Josef von Sternberg, 1930)
Emil Jannings (The Last Laugh, Faust, Othello), the quintessential German expressionist actor, stars as Professor Rath, the sexually-repressed instructor of a boys' prep school. After learning of the pupils' infatuation with French postcards depicting a local nightclub songstress, he decides to personally investigate the source of such indecency.
But as soon as he enters the shadowy Blue Angel nightclub and steals one glimpse of the smoldering Lola-Lola (Marlene Dietrich), commanding the stage in top hat, stockings, and bare thighs, Rath's self-righteous piety is crushed. He finds himself fatefully seduced by the throaty voice of the vulgar siren, singing "Falling In Love Again." Consumed by desire and tormented by his rigid propriety, Professor Rath allows himself to be dragged down a path of personal degradation.
Lola's unrestrained sexuality was a revelation to turn-of-the-decade moviegoers, thrusting Dietrich to the forefront of the sultry international leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, who were challenging the limits of screen sexuality.
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Mother Courage and Her Children: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (dir. Peter Palitzsch and Manfred Wekwerth, 1960)
Set during the Thirty Years’ War, in the first half of the 17th century: Anna Fierling, also called Mother Courage, is a merchant with a wagonload of food and goods. She stays out of politics, following the armies as they move back and forth across Central Europe, and does not bemoan war’s injustices. She is passionately committed to her three children and tries to protect them. But one after the other, she loses them to the war from which she profits. This does not change her mind about war, however, and Mother Courage diligently continues to ply her trade.
This film is strictly modelled upon the 1949 Berliner Ensemble (BE) production of Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht and Erich Engel. A film adaptation had been in discussion since the late 1940s; but neither Erich Engel nor director Wolfgang Staudte, who had already shot parts of an earlier version of the film in 1955, were able to please Brecht. Finally, Peter Palitzsch and Manfred Wekwerth, two BE directors, took on the project and produced a film in the tradition of Brecht’s epic theater with actors of the BE ensemble.
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Rumpelstiltskin: Das Zaubermännchen (dir. Christoph Engel, 1960)
A boastful miller pretends that his daughter Marie can spin straw into gold, and so she is locked into a room full of straw and ordered to spin it into gold by the next morning. A little man appears and offers his help in exchange for Marie's necklace. The greedy treasurer makes Marie spin twice more until the only thing she has left to give the little man is the promise of her first-born child… The classic Grimm's fairy tale with socially critical overtones in its analysis of work and exploitation.
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Woyzeck (dir. Werner Herzog, 1979)
Everything in town appears calm, placid, lovely. But Woyzeck, a rifleman assigned as an orderly, hears voices -- the times are out of joint, at least in his cosmos. To his captain, Woyzeck is a comic marvel: ignorant but courageous, full of energy to little purpose. To a local doctor, Woyzeck is a curiosity, the object of cruel study. Woyzeck, 40, has a young wife, Marie, and a small child. He dotes on them, but Marie, even though she has periods of guilt and remorse, carries on affairs and flirtations. When the captain lets drop broad hints of Woyzeck's being a cuckold, his inner demons and the voices of the spheres take over. Will madness bring action? Of what sort?
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The Nutcracker Ballet (conducted by Boris Spassov, 1995)
This classic tale takes place on the night before Christmas, when Clara and Franz receive a Nutcracker as a gift from their uncle. This present sparks a magical dream, and a night filled with amazing stories and characters. The Mouse King, Sugar Fairies, Chime Puppets and other timeless characters, makes this ballet, set to Tchaikovsky’s music, an unforgettable experience.
Ballet of the Slovak National Theatre, Sofia National Opera Orchestra, Conducted by Boris Spassov. Filmed at the Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava.
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Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything: Irgendwann werden wir uns alles erzählen (dir. Emily Atef, 2023)
The summer of 1990 is hot in the former East Germany countryside. Maria is about to turn 19, lives with her boyfriend, Johannes, on his parents’ farm, and would rather lose herself in books than focus on graduating. With German reunification, there is a sense of a new era dawning as Maria bumps into Henner, the farmer next door. One touch is all it takes to ignite an all-consuming passion between Maria and the headstrong, charismatic man twice her age. In an atmosphere buzzing with possibilities, love is born: a secret passion full of longing and desire that devours everything in its path.
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