{"id":1482,"date":"2015-12-19T19:08:29","date_gmt":"2015-12-19T19:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/?page_id=1482"},"modified":"2016-02-17T09:29:35","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T09:29:35","slug":"weimar-cinema-and-theory","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/weimar-cinema-and-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Weimar Cinema and Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Weimar Cinema and Film Theory<\/strong><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This page suggests ways in which theoretical texts from <em>The Promise of Cinema<\/em> might be aligned with classic films of the Weimar Republic. Viewing these films through the lens of theory helps us to tease out and illuminate the underlying theoretical projects and aesthetic questions that animate these works. In this way, the emphasis of analysis shifts from questions of plot, characters, the director\u2019s style, and overall meaning, to the exploration of film-theoretical, film-historical, and conceptual questions (i.e. questions of filmic representation, perception; intermediality, media specificity, technology, spectatorial manipulation, self-reflexivity, etc., as well as the film\u2019s historical moment and discursive force field).<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The listed texts are meant to assist in the endeavor to study films analytically, and in turn, many of the films point to the larger theoretical issues that they indirectly, and often unawares, address and work through \u2013 theoretical issues that are still debated today. (For examples, see our <u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/media-concepts\/\">lexicon of media concepts<\/a><\/u>).<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">All listed texts are merely suggestions and could easily be augmented with further titles. We invite you to explore different pairings. For a list of films beyond the canon, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/1895-1918\/\">click here.<\/a><\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><strong>THE BASIC CANON<\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari <\/strong><\/em>(Robert Wiene, 1920)<\/p><ul><li>Bernhard Diebold, Expressionism and Cinema (1916, no. 189)<\/li><li>Gertrud David, The Expressionist Film (1919, no. 190)<\/li><li>B., Expressionism in Film (1920, no. 191)<\/li><li>Ernst Angel, An \u2018Expressionist\u2019 Film (1920, no. 191)<\/li><li>Oskar Kalbus, The Muteness of the Film Image (1920, no. 219)<\/li><li>Robert Wiene, Expressionism in Film (1922, no. 195)<\/li><li>Joe May, The Style of the Export Film (1922, no. 129)<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Alternative Films: <em>Nerves<\/em> (1919); <em>From Morning to Midnight<\/em> (1920); <em>Genuine<\/em> (1921)<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong><em>The Golem: How He Came into the World<\/em> <\/strong>(Paul Wegener, 1920)<\/p><ul><li>Berthold Viertel, In the Cinematographic Theater (1910, no. 32)<\/li><li>Albert Hellwig<strong>, <\/strong>Illusions and Hallucinations during Cinematographic Projections (1914, no. 16)<\/li><li>Friedrich Freksa, Theater, Pantomime and Cinema (1916, no. 48)<\/li><li>Bernhard Diebold, Expressionism and Cinema (1916, no. 189)<\/li><li>Paul Wegener, On the Artistic Possibilities of the Motion Picture (1917, no. 88)<\/li><li>Oskar Kalbus, The Muteness of the Film Image (1920, no. 219)<\/li><li>Hans Pander, Intertitles (1923, no. 221)<\/li><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, The Educational Values of Film Art (1925, no. 54)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>Warning Shadows<\/em> (1923); <em>Wax Works<\/em> (1924)<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong>Nosferatu<\/strong><\/em> (F.W. Murnau, 1922)<\/p><ul><li>Hans Hennes, Cinematography in the Service of Neurology and Psychiatry (1910, no. 233)<\/li><li>Osvaldo Polimanti, The Cinematograph in Biological and Medical Science (1911, no. 234)<\/li><li>Carl Hauptmann, Film and Theater (1919, no. 49)<\/li><li>Hugo von Hofmannsthal, A Substitute for Dreams (1921, no. 176)<\/li><li>Albin Grau, Lighting Design in Film (1922, no. 220)<\/li><li>Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, My Ideal Screenplay (1924, no. 223)<\/li><li>Eugen R. Schlesinger, Kulturfilm and Cinema (1924, no. 243)<\/li><li>Rudolf Kurtz, Limitations of the Expressionist Film (1926, no. 197)<\/li><li>Henrik Galeen, Fantastic Film (1929, no. 200)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>Phantom<\/em> (1922); <em>Secrets of a Soul<\/em> (1926);<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong>The Last Laugh<\/strong><\/em> (F.W. Murnau, 1924)<\/p><ul><li>Oskar Diehl, Mimic Expression in Film (1922, no. 50)<\/li><li>Friedrich Sieburg, The Magic of the Body (1923, no. 52)<\/li><li>Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, My Ideal Screenplay (1924, no. 223)<\/li><li>Guido Seeber, The Delirious Camera (1925, no. 226)<\/li><li>Karl Freund, Behind My Camera (1927, no. 229)<\/li><li>Emil Jannings, Miming and Speaking (1930, no. 60)<\/li><li>Ren\u00e9 F\u00fcl\u00f6p-Miller, Fantasy by the Meter (1931, no. 187)<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Alternative Films: <em>Backstairs<\/em> (1921); <em>Shattered<\/em> (1921); <em>Destiny<\/em> (1921); <em>Joyless Street<\/em> (1925)<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em><strong>The Holy Mountain <\/strong><\/em>(Arnold Fanck, 1926)<\/p><ul><li>Arno Arndt, Sports on Film (1912, no. 11)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, Mountains, Clouds, People (1925, no. 42)<\/li><li>Riefenstahl, How I Came to Film . . . (1926, no. 55)<\/li><li>Lotte H. Eisner and Rudolf von Laban, Film and Dance Belong Together (1928, no. 58)<\/li><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, The Case of Dr. Fanck (1931, no. 29<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>The Blue Light<\/em> (1932); <em>Storm over the Mont Blanc<\/em> (1930); <em>Ways to Strength and Beauty<\/em> (1926); <em>S.O.S. Iceberg<\/em> (1933)<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em><strong>Metropolis <\/strong><\/em>(Fritz Lang, 1927)<\/p><ul><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, The Revolutionary Film (1922, no. 158)<\/li><li>Fritz Lang, Kitsch &#8211; Sensation &#8211; Culture and Film (1924, no. 90)<\/li><li>Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, My Ideal Screenplay (1924, no. 223)<\/li><li>Willy Haas, Why We Love Film (1926, no. 149)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, The Klieg Lights Stay On (1926, no. 159)<\/li><li>L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Moholy-Nagy, film at the bauhaus: a rejoinder (1926, no. 206)<\/li><li>Fritz Lang, Looking towards the Future (1926, no. 228)<\/li><li>Eugen Schu\u0308fftan, My Process (1926, no. 269)<\/li><li><em>Film-Kurier<\/em>, Film in the New Germany (1928, no. 123)<\/li><li>Carl Laemmle, Film Germany and Film America (1928, no. 136)<\/li><li>Ernst Toller, Who Will Create the German Revolutionary Film? (1928, no. 166)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>Die Nibelungen<\/em> (Siegfried; Kriemhild\u2019s Revenge, 1924); <em>Faust<\/em> (1926)<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong>Berlin: Symphony of a Great City<\/strong><\/em> (Walter Ruttman, 1927)<\/p><ul><li>Yvan Goll, The Cinedram (1920, no. 20)<\/li><li>Robert Breuer, The Film of Factuality (1927, no. 199)<\/li><li>Walter Ruttmann, How I Made My <em>Berlin<\/em> Film (1927, no. 207)<\/li><li>Colin Ross, Exotic Journeys with a Camera (1928, no. 24)<\/li><li>Walter Ruttmann, The \u201cAbsolute\u201d Fashion: Film as an End in Itself (1928, no. 208)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, Abstract Film (1928, no. 209)<\/li><li>Erich Burger, Pictures-Pictures (1929, no 27)<\/li><li>Albrecht Viktor Blum, Documentary and Artistic Film (1929, no. 45)<\/li><li>Lotte H. Eisner, Avant-garde for the Masses (1929, no. 216)<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Alternative Films: <em>Asphalt<\/em> (1929); <em>Melody of the World<\/em> (1929)<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong>The Blue Angel <\/strong><\/em>(Josef von Sternberg, 1930)<\/p><ul><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, The Eroticism of Asta Nielsen (1923, no. 51)<\/li><li>Max Osborn, The Nude Body on Film (1925, no. 53)<\/li><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, Only Stars! (1926, no. 146)<\/li><li>W. Pabst, Reality of Sound Film (1929, no. 254)<\/li><li>Emil Jannings, Miming and Speaking (1930, no. 60)<\/li><li>Marlene Dietrich, To an Unknown Woman (1930, no. 153)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, All About Film Stars (1931, no. 155)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, Destitution and Distraction (1931, no. 156)<\/li><li>K., Done with Hollywood (1931, no. 139)<\/li><li>Anon., Film-Europe, a Fact! (1931, no. 140)<\/li><li>Anon., Internationality through the Version System (1931, no. 141)<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Alternative Films: <em>Pandora\u2019s Box<\/em>; <em>Diary of a Lost Girl<\/em> (1929); <em>3-Penny Opera<\/em> (1931)<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em><strong>M<\/strong><\/em> (Fritz Lang, 1931)<\/p><ul><li>Hermann Duenschmann, Cinematograph and Crowd Psychology (1912, no. 109)<\/li><li>Wilhelm von Ledebur, Cinematography in the Service of the Police (1921, no. 239)<\/li><li>Herbert Jhering, The Acoustic Film (1922, no. 248)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, A Film (1924, no. 178)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, Sound-Image Film (1928, no. 251)<\/li><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, A Conviction (1929, no. 252)<\/li><li>Alfred Polgar, The Panic of Reality (1930, no. 28)<\/li><li>Rudolf Arnheim, A Commentary on the Crisis Facing Montage (1930, no. 258)<\/li><li><em>Film-Kurier, <\/em>Fritz Lang: Problems in Sound Film Design (1931, no. 261)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, The Cinema on M\u00fcnzstra\u00dfe (1932, no. 77)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>Mabuse, the Gambler<\/em> (1922); <em>The Testament of Dr. Mabuse<\/em> (1933); <em>The Street<\/em> (1923); <em>\u00dcberfall<\/em> (1928); <em>Berlin Alexanderplatz<\/em> (1931)<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em><strong>Kuhle Wampe <\/strong><\/em>(Slatan Dudow, 1932)<\/p><ul><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, The Revolutionary Film (1922, no. 158)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, The Klieg Lights Stay On (1926, no. 159)<\/li><li>Oscar A. H. Schmitz, <em>Potemkin<\/em> and Tendentious Art (1927, no. 160)<\/li><li>Walter Benjamin, Reply to Oscar H. Schmitz (1927, no. 161)<\/li><li>Lotte Eisner, The New Youth and Film (1928, no. 162)<\/li><li>Franz H\u00f6llering, <em>Film und Volk: <\/em>Foreword (1928, no. 163)<\/li><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, Film Works for Us! (1928, no. 164)<\/li><li>Ernst Toller, Who Will Create the German Revolutionary Film? (1928, no. 166)<\/li><\/ul><p>Related Titles: <em>Mother Krausen\u2019s Journey to Happiness<\/em> (1929)<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><strong>ADDITIONAL FILMS <\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong><em>The Student of Prague<\/em> <\/strong>(Paul Wegener,\u00a0Stellan Rye,\u00a0Hanns Heinz Ewers, 1913)<\/p><ul><li>Ulrich Rauscher, The Cinema Ballad (1903, no. 80)<\/li><li>Gustav Melcher, On Living Photography and the Film Drama (1909, no. 3)<\/li><li>Adolf Sellmann, The Secret of the Cinema (1912, no. 10)<\/li><li>Egon Friedell, Prologue Before the Film (1912-13, no. 78)<\/li><li>, The <em>Autorenfilm <\/em>and Its Assessment (1913, no. 79)<\/li><li>Kurt Pinthus, Quo vadis, Cinema? (1913, no. 81)<\/li><li>, the Student of Prague (1913, no. 82)<\/li><li>Hermann H\u00e4fker, The Call for Art (1913, no. 83)<\/li><li>Joseph Roth, The Uncovered Grave (1925, no. 43)<\/li><\/ul><p>Related Titles: <em>The Student of Prague<\/em> (1926)<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong><em>Different from the Others<\/em> <\/strong>(Richard Oswald, 1919)<\/p><ul><li>Walther Friedmann, Homosexuality and Jewishness (1909, no. 102)<\/li><li>Ike Spier, The Sexual Danger in the Cinema (1912, no. 96)<\/li><li>Karl Brunner, Today\u2019s Cinematograph: A Public Menace (1913, no. 100)<\/li><li>Wilhelm Stapel, Homo Cinematicus (1919, no. 103)<\/li><li>Kurt Tucholsky, Cinema Censorship (1920, no. 104)<\/li><li>Albert Hellwig, The Motion Picture and the State (1924, no. 105)<\/li><li>Hans Feld, Anita Berber: The Representative of a Generation (1928, no. 152)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>I Don\u2019t Want to Be a Man<\/em> (1918); <em>The Oyster Princess<\/em> (1919); <em>Sex in Chains<\/em> (1928); <em>Girls in Uniform<\/em> (1931)<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><strong>Avant-garde Film: <em>Rhythm 21<\/em> (<\/strong>Hans Richter, 1923<strong>); <em>Opus 1<\/em> (<\/strong>Walter Ruttmann, 1921)<\/p><ul><li>Walter Ruttmann, Painting with Time (ca. 1919, no. 201)<\/li><li>Bruno Taut, Artistic Film Program (1920, no. 238)<\/li><li>Bernhard Diebold, A New Art: Film\u2019s Music for the Eyes (1921, no. 202)<\/li><li>Hans Richter, Basic Principles of the Art of Movement (1921, no. 203)<\/li><li>Adolf Behne, Film as a Work of Art (1921, no. 204)<\/li><li>Heinz Michaelis, Art and Technology in Film (1923, no. 264)<\/li><li>Rudolf Arnheim, The Absolute Film (1925, no. 205)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, Abstract Film (1928, no. 209)<\/li><li>L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Moholy-Nagy, The Artist Belongs to the Industry! (1928, no. 210)<\/li><li>Hans Richter, New Means of Filmmaking (1929, no. 212)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternative Films: <em>Walking from Munich to Berlin<\/em> (Fischinger, 1927); <em>The Adventures of Prince Achmed<\/em> (Reiniger, 1926); <em>Rhythm 23<\/em> (Richter, 1923); <em>Opus, 2, 3, 4<\/em> (Ruttmann, 1921-25)<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><strong><em>People on Sunday<\/em> <\/strong>(Curt and Robert Siodmak, Billy Wilder, 1930)<\/p><ul><li>Ludwig Brauner, Cinematographic Archives (1908, no. 31)<\/li><li>Alfred D\u00f6blin, Theater of the Little People (1909, no. 63)<\/li><li>, New Terrain for Cinematographic Theaters (1910, no. 5)<\/li><li>Kurt Pinthus, The Ethical Potential of Film (1923, no. 177)<\/li><li>, \u201cCandid\u201d Cinematography: \u201cKino-Eye\u201d (1929, no. 215)<\/li><li>B\u00e9la Bal\u00e1zs, Farewell to Silent Film (1930, no. 232)<\/li><li>Alex Strasser, The End of the Avant-garde? (1930, no. 217)<\/li><li>Milena Jesensk\u00e1, Cinema (1920, no. 70)<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><p><em><strong>Westfront 1918<\/strong> <\/em>(G.W. Pabst, 1930)<\/p><ul><li><em>Der Kinematograph, <\/em>War and Cinema (1914, no. 110)<\/li><li>Edgar K\u00f6ltsch, The Benefits of War for the Cinema (1914, no. 114)<\/li><li>Joseph Max Jacobi, The Triumph of Film (1917, no. 120)<\/li><li>Gustav Stresemann, Film Propaganda for German Affairs Abroad (1917, no. 118)<\/li><li>Erich Ludendorff, The Ludendorff Letter (1917, no. 119)<\/li><li>Hermann H\u00e4fker, The Tasks of Cinematography in This War (1924, no. 113)<\/li><li>W. Pabst, Reality of Sound Film (1929, no. 254)<\/li><li>Siegfried Kracauer, <em>All Quiet on the Western Front<\/em> (1930, no. 124)<\/li><li>Kurt Tucholsky, Against the Ban on the Remarque Film (1931, no. 125)<\/li><li>W. Pabst, Film and Conviction (1931, no. 173)<\/li><\/ul><p>Alternatives: <em>All Quiet on the Western Front<\/em> (1930); <em>Kameradschaft<\/em> (1931)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Weimar Cinema and Film TheoryThis page suggests ways in which theoretical texts from The Promise of Cinema might be aligned with classic films of the Weimar Republic. Viewing these films through the lens of theory helps us to tease out and illuminate the underlying theoretical projects and aesthetic questions that animate these works. In this<div class=\"theme-button\"><a class=\"transparent-btn\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/weimar-cinema-and-theory\/\" >READ MORE<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6B84P-nU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1482"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1482"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1645,"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1482\/revisions\/1645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thepromiseofcinema.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}