Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
still addressing di
cult topics from Germany's history and the country's contemporary
issues.
Good Bye Lenin!
(see p.278)
was a particularly important landmark in
relaunching German cinema abroad, grossing $80m, most of it from overseas.
Appropriately the film was first screened at the internationally recognized
Berlinale film
festival
, where it won a coveted Golden Bear award as the best European film of 2003.
he festival itself has also become a symbol of the city's cinematic prowess, steadily
growing and attracting international talent, critics and filmgoers in increasing numbers.
But it's at ground level that Berlin's cinema is arguably most vibrant; there are more
than 260 cinemas - not counting the dozens of venues where a projector is often set up
for the occasional screening of avant-garde local works. Many have come from the city's
burgeoning underground film scene, which is defined by serious and socially aware
themes. Given their penetrating, realistic studies of relationships and characters, these
films don't tend to travel far internationally, but have enjoyed critical success in France,
where the term
Nouvelle Vague Allemande
is used for the work of a group of mostly
Berlin-based directors, including Christian Petzold, homas Arslan, Valeska Grisebach
and Christoph Hochhäusler.
A BERLIN FILMOGRAPHY
Over the years Berlin has provided the inspiration and setting for a great many films,
which now offer a valuable glimpse of a city that vanished in the mayhem of its
twentieth century. he following filmography is laid out in chronological order; films
marked with a
Ì
are particularly recommended.
Ì
Berlin Alexanderplatz
(Rainer Werner Fassbinder;
1980). Epic portrayal - all 931 minutes of it- of 1920s
Berlin, based on the Alfred Döblin novel of the same name.
It follows a small-time criminal on his journey into Berlin's
underworld.
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
(Christiane F.; Uli Edel; 1981). Gritty, dark and disturbing
fictionalized film about heroin addiction in the underbelly
of 1970s West Berlin. It pulls no punches.
Berlin Tunnel 21
(Richard Michaels; 1981). Reasonable
made-for-TV-movie about a former American o
cer who
leads an attempt to build a tunnel underneath the Wall in
1961; not bad at providing a feel of early-1960s Berlin.
Taxi zum Klo
(Frank Ripploh; 1981). Groundbreaking film
documenting gay culture in West Berlin directed by the
lead, who possibly plays himself: an oversexed shaggy-
haired teacher who has an interest in filmmaking.
Octopussy
(John Glen; 1983). Probably Roger Moore's
best outing as James Bond - who arrives in Berlin to
investigate 009's death.
Der Himmel über Berlin
(
Wings of Desire
; Wim Wenders;
1987). Iconic classic - which inspired the imaginations of
countless filmmakers - about love in a divided city, where
angels swoop in on postwar Berlin.
Linie 1
(Reinhard Hauff; 1988). Musical based on a girl
from the country arriving in the big city, meeting various
oddball and low-life characters and travelling extensively
up and down U-Bahn Line 1: based on a play created by the
GRIPS theatre (see pp.90-91).
Ì
Lola Rennt
(
Run Lola Run
; Tom Tykwer; 1998). Fast-
paced film set to a pounding techno soundtrack, evoking a
Berlin: Sinfonie einer Grosstadt
(
Berlin: Symphony of
a Great City
; Walter Ruttmann; 1927). Expressionist silent
documentary that magnificently captures a day in the life
of 1920s Berlin.
Ì
Metropolis
(Fritz Lang; 1927). Futuristic classic and
masterpiece of film architecture that was both inspired by
and filmed in Berlin.
Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück
(
Mother Krause's
Journey to Happiness
; Phil Jutzi; 1929). Film version of the
working-class Berlin portrayed and caricatured by Heinrich
Zille (see p.67). Set in Wedding, where most of the actors
came from.
M
(Fritz Lang; 1931). Dark Berlin thriller and one of the
forerunners of
film noir
.
Olympia
(Leni Riefenstahl; 1938). Olympic majesty as
never captured on film before or since, based on literally
hundreds of kilometres of footage taken during the 1936
Berlin Olympics.
The Big Lift
(George Seaton; 1950). Dramatized version of
the Berlin Air Lift, starring Montgomery Clift. Of middling
quality, but filmed on location.
Funeral in Berlin
(Guy Hamilton; 1966). Spy film in
which Michael Caine stars as a British agent sent to Berlin.
Much cloak and dagger action, but a little slow.
Cabaret
(Bob Fosse; 1972). Weimar Berlin as glimpsed
through the peepholes of the famed Kit Kat Klub, described
by Christopher Isherwood, then reinterpreted by Bob Fosse
and made iconic by Liza Minnelli.
Die Legende von Paul und Paula
(
The Legend of Paul
and Paula
; Heiner Carow; 1973). Love story set in East Berlin
and filmed in Marzahn. Good for a dose of genuine
Ostalgie
.
