Popular Cinema

Spring 2008

Popular Cinema

Listed in: German, as GERM-44

Faculty

Christian Rogowski (Section 01)

Description

From Fritz Lang's thrilling detective mysteries to Tom Tykwer's hip postmodern romp Run Lola Run, from Ernst Lubitsch's satirical wit to the gender-bending comedies of Katja von Garnier, this course explores the rich legacy of popular and genre films in the German-speaking countries. Topics to be covered include adventure films, comedies, and costume dramas of the silent period, including Fritz Lang's Spiders (1919) and Joe May's The Indian Tomb (1920); the musical comedies of the Weimar Republic and the "dream couple" Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch; Nazi movie stars and the "non-political" entertainment films of the Third Reich, such as Josef von Baky's blockbuster Munchhausen (1943); the resurgence of genre films in the 1950s ("Heimatfilme," romantic comedies, melodramas, etc.); the Cold War Westerns in the West (based on the novels by Karl May) and in the East (starring Gojko Mitic); the efforts to produce audience-oriented films in the politicized climate of the 1960s and 1970s; the big budget quasi-Hollywood productions by Wolfgang Petersen; and the recent spate of relationship comedies. We will discuss the work of, among others, actors and performers Karl Valentin, Heinz Ruhmann, Zarah Leander, Hans Albers, Heinz Erhard, Romy Schneider, Loriot, and Otto, and directors including Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Joe May, Wilhelm Thiele, May Spils, Katja von Garnier, Detlev Buck, Tom Tykwer, and Doris Drrie. Conducted in English, with German majors required to do a substantial portion of the reading in German. Second semester. Professor Rogowski.