Stanford University GERGEN 183A: Divided Focus: The Image of America in German Cinema and Literature from East and West since WW II - Syllabus Winter 2003

Films:

INTRO: Billy Wilder: ONE, TWO, THREE... (1961, United Artists); 110 min.; B&W A comedy about an American Coca Cola executive stationed in West Berlin, who tries to break up the marriage of his boss' daughter to a young Communist, or risk losing his chance for advancement. EAST GERMAN FILMS: Kurt Maetzig: RAT DER GÖTTER / COUNCIL OF THE GOD (1950); 105 mins.; B&W An epic film about the close ties between big industry and the Nazis. COUNCIL OF THE GODS also brings to light the cooperation between German industry and United States monopolies. Based on the Nuremberg Trials against the directors of the IG Farben Company. Gerhard Klein: EINE BERLINER ROMANZE/A BERLIN ROMANCE (1956); 80 mins.; B&W Teenagers Uschi and Hans meet on the streets of Berlin and fall in love. Ushi, somewhat naive to the realities of life on one's own is shocked to find out how hard it is to make ends meet in the real world. A BERLIN ROMANCE depicts the social concerns in the GDR during the 1950's. Gerhard Klein: BERLIN ECKE SCHÖNHAUSER/BERLIN SCHOENHAUSER CORNER (1957) 81 mins.; B&W One of the most important films of the 1950’s, it portrays young people in East Berlin in search of life’s purpose. Over 1.5 million viewers had seen the film within three months after its premiere in August 1957. Ranked by film critics among Germany’s 100 most important films. Frank Vogel: UND DEINE LIEBE AUCH / AND YOUR LOVE TOO (1962); 92 mins.; B&W This story centers around a love triangle involving two brothers, Klaus and Ulli and a young, naive Eva. Set in Berlin, this complicated relationship experiences a drastic change of events when the city is split between East and West. Frank Beyer: KARBID UND SAUERAMPFER / CARBIDE AND SORREL (1963); 80 mins.; B&W Combining fast-paced humor, keen social observation and popular appeal, this film reached over 1 million viewers in a short three-month period. "One of the best German film comedies." (The Oxford History of World Cinema) Richard Groschopp: DIE GLATZKOPBANDE / THE SKINHEAD GANG (1963); 74 mins.; B&W A gang of young men forms under the leadership of a former Foreign Legionnaire and quickly gains a reputation for trouble. The police act quickly to bring the hoods under control. Cast: Ulrich Thein, Erik S. Klein, Thomas Weisgerber. Director of photography: Siegfrid Hönicke; editor: Helga Krause; writers: Lothar Creutz, Richard Groschopp; music: Helmut Nier. Richard Groschopp: CHINGACHGOK, DIE GROSSE SCHLANGE / CHINGACHGOOK, THE GREAT SNAKE (1967) 86 mins.; Color Based on the story "The Deerslayer" (one of he Leatherstocking Tales) by the American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851). Karl Gass: SCHAUT AUF DIESE STADT / LOOK AT THIS CITY (1962); 86 mins.; B&W The history of West Berlin from the end of the Second World War to the days following the building of the Wall from a East German perspective. A provocative and informative time capsule from the days of the Cold War. Slatan Dudow: FRAUENSCHICKSALE / THE DESTINIES OF WOMEN (1952); 105 mins.; Color This films provides us with some accurate picture of the cultural/political dogmatism in the GDR in the early 1950's and proves to be a substantial political study. Werner W. Wallroth: Alaskafüchse / Alaska Foxes (DEFA 1964) Janos Veiczi: STRENG GEHEIM / FOR EYES ONLY (DEFA 1963) Gottfried Kolditz: Apachen / Apaches 1973; 90 mins.; Color Based upon original documents and set at the the beginning of the Mexican-American War (1846-48), APACHES is one of fourteen "Indianerfilme" produced in East Germany between 1966 and 1985. WEST GERMAN FILMS: R. W. Fassbinder: DER AMERIKANISCHE SOLDAT [The American soldier] Wim Wenders: An American Friend / Ein Amerikanischer Freund Alice in den Städten / Alice in the Cities Paris, Texas [videorecording] 1993. [ZVC 10343 -copy in GREEN/MEDIA-MTXT] The One Million Dollar Hotel Hammett Marianne Rosenbaum: Peppermint-Frieden Werner Herzog: STROSZEK Georg Dressler DIE HALBSTARKEN / THE HOOLIGANS (1956) Robert A. Stemmle: TOXI (1952)