Early German Cinema

Eric Ames

This project gives students a chance to explore the first decades of German cinema while learning how to do archival research. It is designed to accommodate a wide diversity of student interests and to foster interdisciplinary approaches to German cinema.

Initially, the project will focus on compiling bibliographies, gathering materials, and creating a web site that displays our work and links it to other film-related sites. Our long-term goal is to transform this online database into an interactive tool for research and teaching. Therefore, students with expertise in web design are also encouraged to participate.

The bibliography is divided into two major sections:

1. Wilhelmine cinema (1895-1910s)

2. Weimar cinema (1918-1930s)

- early German film theory

- directors (Fritz Lang, F. W. Murnau, et al.) and other crew members

- individual films

- genres (serial adventures, operettas, detective films, mountain films, melodramas, costume dramas, newsreels, etc.)

- early film stars (Asta Nielsen, Harry Piel, Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, et al.)

- cinema and the arts (dance, theater, painting, literature, architecture, design, etc.)

- cinema and the avant-garde

- music in early cinema

- visual culture (cinema and advertising, museums, department stores, amusement parks, etc.)

- exhibition practices (from the fairground to the picture palace)

- production companies (from Messter to Ufa) and other aspects of the film industry

- film censorship and regulation

- transnational links to early cinema in France, Denmark, Italy, and the United States

- historical spectators (What kinds of audiences did film companies try to solicit? Who actually went to the movies, and what viewing habits did they bring with them or develop?)

Students enroll in Germanics 447 for 1-5 credits per quarter.

Contact: Eric Ames