Synopsis:
A Viennese opera house, early in the century. In attendance are lieutenants Kaiser and Lobheimer. Two young ladies on the balcony, Mizzi and Christine, drop their opera glasses, hitting one of the officers. The Baron von Eggersdorff arrives in his box. Lobheimer leaves early for his tryst with the Baron’s wife. The Baron soon arrives home, in a suspicious mood. Lobheimer rejoins Kaiser in a café with the two girls. Lobheimer soon falls for Christine… The Baroness wonders why her lover has been absent for so long; the two now part for good. But the Baron learns the secret and discovers that a key still in his wife’s possession opens the lieutenant’s door. He challenges Lobheimer to a duel…Read More »
Germany
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Max Ophüls – Liebelei (1933)
1931-1940DramaGermanyMax OphülsThird Reich Cinema -
Douglas Sirk – Zwei Windhunde AKA Zwei Genies (1934)
Comedy1931-1940Douglas SirkGermanyShort FilmThird Reich CinemaAn early short film by Douglas Sirk (Detlef Sierck) which takes a satirical look at dubious business practices during the Weimar Republic. It was banned under the title “Zwei Genies” but released as “Zwei Windhunde” after revisions were madeRead More »
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Alexis Granowsky – Das Lied vom Leben aka Song of Life (1931)
Germany1931-1940Alexis GranowskyDramaExperimentalWeimar Republic cinemaQuote:
Released in America as The Song of Life, this German film stirred up quite a tempest back in 1931 for its depiction of a Caesarian birth. Though not much was really shown, it was enough to cause women filmgoers — and not a few men — to faint dead away. The film was banned outright in Germany and ran into some censorship problems in the US; still, by its very controversial nature it proved to be a hit wherever it was shown. And oh, yes, there was a plot, albeit a somewhat nonsensical one: After discovering that her elderly fiance has false teeth, a young bride-to-be becomes so distraught that she contemplates suicide! She is rescued by a young sailor, with whom she has a baby, leading to the aforementioned “C-section” sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviRead More » -
Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub – Trop tôt/Trop tard AKA Too Early, Too Late (1981) (HD)
1981-1990ArthouseDanièle HuilletDocumentaryGermanyJean-Marie StraubSynopsis
Featuring a justly infamous, even startling opening sequence with a tilted camera pointed out the window of a moving car that keeps driving and driving around a famous traffic circle (forget the name) in Paris for 10 odd minute – a continual 360 that never catches a glimpse of its axis, too perfect – TOO EARLY, TOO LATE is a singular meditation and extended visual metaphor on the theme of revolution (get it??) shot in a variety of locations and cities with a Marxist voice-over reading from famous selections on the subject. Quite unlike anything else you’ll see and while obviously not what you’d call entertainment, some of the shooting once you get outside the city is breathtakingly beautiful. Are they trying to implicate us in this collective indifference to social ills by growing absorbed in the natural beauty of the surroundings? I’m not sure, but certainly Straub/Huillet’s subtle avant-garde combo filmwork is among the most underappreciated in German and, indeed, international cinema.Read More » -
Dane Komljen – Afterwater (2022)
2021-2030ArthouseDane KomljenExperimentalGermanyAfterwater is a three-part film spanning fiction, documentary and experimental film aiming to study and compare lakes across the world and their hidden treasures: submerged settlements, failed utopias and collective dreams, the remains of past eras and the seeds of a hopeful future.Read More »
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Kurt Hoffmann – Fanfaren der Liebe aka Fanfares of Love (1951)
1951-1960ComedyGermanyKurt HoffmannRomanceTwo musicians, Hans and Peter, are out of work. They make regular visits to the booking agent, but there’s no work. After several false starts, they are desperate, and when they hear that an all-woman band, the Alpine Violets, have been let down and are desperate for two female musicians, they know that fate is knocking for them. When they hear that the band is going to a luxury Alpine hotel to record a gramophone record, they can’t wait to get on board. They enlist the help of a friendly makeup artiste and practise their girly body language. After a street test they are sure they pass, so it’s back to the agency to volunteer. They pass a quick audition, so it’s down to the station for the night train to Ingolstadt, with the rest of the band. Read More »
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Michael Herbig – Ballon (2018)
2011-2020DramaGermanyMichael HerbigBalloon is a German thriller that deals with the crossing of the inner German border of the families Strelzyk and Wetzel from the GDR to West Germany with a homemade hot-air balloon.Read More »
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Max Ophüls – Lachende Erben AKA The Merry Heirs (1933)
1931-1940ClassicsComedyGermanyMax OphülsA young salesman may inherit a wine-estate on one condition: he can’t drink a drop of alcohol for at least a month.Read More »
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Rudolf Thome – Rot und Blau AKA Red and Blue (2003)
2001-2010ArthouseDramaGermanyRudolf ThomeFirst part of Rudolf Thome’s Zeitreisen trilogy.
Barbara is a successful middle aged woman – a respected architect, a great mother and wife, has good friends; leads the good life in Berlin. Out of nowhere seemingly, but definitely out of her past, Ilke appears – her daughter from a relationship with a Turkish immigrant some 25 years ago. Ilke was raised by her father, who became a wealthy businessman and educated Ilke at Europe’s best schools, but without the benefit of a mother. After the Turk’s death, Ilke comes to Berlin with a great deal of cash. Through a detective with mysterious contacts, one day Ilke walks into Barbara’s life, and family, and is quickly accepted. However, as past details are revealed, Barbara in particular has to face what she had set aside so long ago.Read More »