Any good docs/disc supplements about German Expressionism? (1 Viewer)

[Jim Tudor]

I'm teaching a film history class, and have had good luck using documentaries and DVD extras about various film genres and film movements. But I've got the topic of German Expressionism (Lang, Murnau, etc.) coming up, and I don't know of any video material I could use. I'm looking for recommendations for any documentaries or DVD supplemental "making of" material about the history of German Expressionism, and the various important filmmakers who made it what it was. Thanks.

 

[Mike*HTF]

Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood by Kevin Brownlow is an excellent place to begin. The episode you want is "The Unchained Camera."

 

[Jim Tudor]

Thanks for the suggestion, but seeing that it's long OOP, and commanding $200 on Amazon Marketplace, I think I'd better look elsewhere. Doggonit.

 

[Mike*HTF]

Of course you can always request a library loan and it has played on TCM in years past.

 

[Arletty]

pm me re: this doco or e-mail to [email protected]

 

[Jim Tudor]

Thanks for the offers and suggestions, but my class session on German Expressionism has come and gone. I did manage to find a few usable DVD supplements on the careers on F.W. Murnau (a 30 minute doc on the Kino "Tartuffe" DVD) and Fritz Lang (30 minute doc on Kino's "Dr. Mabuse The Gambler"). I managed to edit the Murnau one down to a managable ten minutes (I edit video for a living, and the class is only one hour to cover the whole topic of German Expressionism), but didn't have time to edit the "Mabuse" doc down. A shame, since it's the better of the two as far as being an Expressionism retrospective of sorts. While being generally very Mabuse-centric, it puts Lang's career in the context of all of German Expressionism, including Murnau and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". Great stuff, just for future reference.

Odds are I'll be looking for documentaries on other topics as well in the future...