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Recent Posts
- Now on the Media History Digital Library: several of my film magazines
- I act, therefore IAM: Italia Almirante Manzini in Notte di tempesta (1916)
- Lina Cavalieri in Sposa nella morte! | The Shadow of Her Past (IT 1915)
- Diva ‘December’ returns – Fabienne Fabrèges in Signori giurati … (1916)
- Diva December delayed!
- More question marks in Italian film advertising of the teens
- Varieté at the NZIFF: An interview with composer Johannes Contag
- Casa Lyda Borelli in Bologna
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Tag Archives: cinema of Germany
Varieté at the NZIFF: An interview with composer Johannes Contag
Varieté (also known as Variety, Vaudeville and Jealousy) is one of the most prominent works of the Weimar cinema. Directed by E. A. Dupont for UFA in 1925, it is as famous for Karl Freund’s freewheeling cinematography as for the … Continue reading
Posted in Film festivals, interview, Live cinema
Tagged cinema of 1925, cinema of Germany, interview, Live cinema, music for film
1 Comment
Book review: “The Film Explainer” by Gert Hofmann
My grandfather Karl Hofmann (1873-1944) worked for many years in the Apollo cinema on the Helenenstrasse in Limbach/Saxony. I knew him towards the end of his life, with his artist’s hat, his walking stick, his broad gold wedding ring that … Continue reading
The film star performing the film star: Asta Nielsen in Die Filmprimadonna (DE 1913)
“Lower the flags in her honour; she is incomparable and without peer.” So wrote early film theorist Béla Balázs of Asta Nielsen in his 1924 book Der Sichtbare Mensch (The Visible Man). It is well-known that Nielsen was one of the first international … Continue reading
Posted in Films
Tagged Asta Nielsen, cinema of 1913, cinema of Germany, EFG, film about film, nitrate damage, Urban Gad
4 Comments
Double trouble: Die falsche Asta Nielsen | The False Asta Nielsen (DE 1915)
Die falsche Asta Nielsen is a film that, barring a miracle, I will never see: no copies are known to exist. It’s a great shame, because it looks like a lot of fun! Asta in a double role, a comedy … Continue reading
Posted in Films
Tagged Asta Nielsen, blogathon, cinema of 1915, cinema of Germany, dual roles, film about film, lost films, original research, Urban Gad
11 Comments
Hamlet (DE 1921)
What if Hamlet was actually … a woman? That is the central premise of the 1921 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, starring Asta Nielsen in the role of Prince Hamlet. The concept is drawn from an 1881 publication, The Mystery … Continue reading
Posted in Films
Tagged Asta Nielsen, cinema of 1921, cinema of Germany, cross-dressing, dangerous female sexuality, queer
8 Comments
Das Liebes-ABC | The ABC of Love (DE 1916)
Asta Nielsen: great actress, or greatest actress? She’s by far one of my favourite things about the silent era. Much has been written about her vitality, her versatility, and her charisma, so I won’t belabour the point – but it … Continue reading
Posted in Films
Tagged Asta Nielsen, cinema of 1916, cinema of Germany, clothing & fashion, cross-dressing, dangerous female sexuality, queer
5 Comments
Phony matrimony: Die Puppe | The Doll (DE 1919)
The end of the FIFA World Cup and Germany emerged victorious, as many predicted. What a tournament it was, though: apart from the games themselves and the high scorecount, we had the return of Chewy Luis, comedic pratfalls (then less so), meme-worthy goalkeeping, Arjen Robben’s extended … Continue reading
