Includes filmography. Includes bibliographical references (pages [165]-183) and index.
Contents:
Index. Part II. Freezes and thaws : canonizing the DEFA -- East German cinema as state institution -- Reciprocities and tensions : DEFA and the East German entertainment industry -- A cultural legacy : DEFA's afterlife -- Part II. Freezes and thaws : canonizing the DEFA -- The rubble film, Wolfgang Staudte, and postwar German cinema : Die Mörder sind unter uns (The murderers are among us, Wolfgang Staudte, 1946) -- Fairy tales and children's films as eternal blockbusters : Die Geschichte vom Kleinen Muck (The story of little Mook, Wolfgang Staudte, 1953) -- The Gegenwartsfilm, West Berlin as hostile other, and East Germany as homeland : the rebel film Berlin--Ecke Schönhauser (Berlin Schönhauser Corner, Gerhard Klein, 1957) -- The birth of DEFA genre cinema, East German sci-fi films, new technologies, and coproduction with Eastern Europe : Der schweigende Stern (Silent star, Kurt Maetzig, 1960) -- Film censorship, the East German nouvelle vague, and the "Rabbit films" : Das Kaninchen bin ich (The rabbit is me, Kurt Maetzig, 1965) -- Renegade films, DEFA musicals, and the genre cinema : Heißer Sommer (Hot summer, Joachim Hasler, 1968) -- More genre cinema, the "Red western," and stardom in East Germany : Apachen (Apaches, Gottfried Kolditz, 1973) -- Gender, class, and sexuality : ending taboos in Die Legende von Paul and Paula (The legend of Paul and Paula, Heiner Carwo, 1973) -- DEFA and the Holocause, the antifascist legacy, and international acclaim : Jakob der Lügner (Jacob the liar, Frank Beyer, 1974) -- The women's film, Konrad Wolf, and DEFA after the "Biermann Affair" : Solo Sunny (Konrad Wolf, 1980) -- Passed by history : dystopia, parable, and bookend : Die architekten (The architects, Peter Kahane, 1990) -- The Wendeflicks, Jörg Foth, and DEFA after censorship : Letztes aus der Da-Da-eR (Latest from the Da-Da-eR, Jörg Foth, 1990) -- Appendix -- Notes-- Bibliography -- Filmography -- Index.
Summary:
"East Germany's film monopoly, Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA), produced a breadth and depth of films ranging beyond simple propaganda to westerns, science fiction films, musicals, melodramas, spy thrillers, women's films, fairy tales, and children's films. This book covers the entire range of filmmaking under the DEFA logo, from their beginnings in the Soviet Occupied Zone through unification and shows their continuing impact in contemporary culture. East German cinema offers the opportunity to see the complete picture of German film past Murnau, Lang, von Sternberg, and Fassbinder to equally important East German directors such as Frank Beyer, Wolfgang Staudte, Kurt Maetzig, and Konrad Wolf.As an introductory work, this book equips scholars and students with the historical and cultural background to understand East German cinema and guides the readers through the DEFA archive using critical examinations of twelve films - a list one could consider the core of an East German film canon." -- Publisher website.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.