From Caligari to Hitler

May 28, 2015

1h 54m

★ 7.4

What does Cinema know, that we don't?

Overview

Film journalist and critic Rüdiger Suchsland examines German cinema from 1919, when the Republic of Weimar is born, to 1933, when the Nazis come into power. (Followed by Hitler's Hollywood, 2017.)

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

ZDF

LOOKSfilm

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung

ARTE

From Caligari to Hitler Trailers

Cast

Self - Narrator (voice)

Rüdiger Suchsland

Self - Narrator (voice)

Hans Henrik Wöhler

Self - Filmmaker

Volker Schlöndorff

Self - Filmmaker

Fatih Akin

Self - Film Historian

Thomas Elsaesser

Self - Historian

Eric D. Weitz

Self - Cultural Critic

Elisabeth Bronfen

Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

Fritz Lang

Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

Ernst Lubitsch

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Friedrich Ebert

Self - Politician (archive footage)

Joseph Goebbels

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.

6.9

Michael Collins

Oct 25, 1996

Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.

7.6

Memoirs of a Geisha

Dec 6, 2005

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

0.0

Discovering Buñuel

Jan 1, 2012

Luis Bunuel, the father of cinematic Surrealism, made his film debut with 'Un Chien Andalou' in 1929 working closely with Salvador Dali. Considered one of the finest and controversial filmmakers with, 'L’Age d’Or' (1930), attacking the church and the middle classes. He won many awards including Best Director at Cannes for 'Los Olvidados' (1950), and the coveted Palme d’Or for 'Viridiana' (1961), which had been banned in his native Spain. His career moved to France with 'The Diary of a Chambermaid' with major stars such as Jeanne Moreau and Catherine Deneuve.

6.9

The Tin Drum

May 2, 1979

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

7.6

The Last Emperor

Oct 4, 1987

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

8.0

Mirror

Mar 7, 1975

A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.

8.0

Poland 1939: When German Soldiers Became War Criminals

Aug 31, 2019

September 1st, 1939. Nazi Germany invades Poland. The campaign is fast, cruel and ruthless. In these circumstances, how is it that ordinary German soldiers suddenly became vicious killers, terrorizing the local population? Did everyone turn into something worse than wild animals? The true story of the first World War II offensive that marks in the history of infamy the beginning of a carnage and a historical tragedy.

3.3

El Sett

Dec 10, 2025

Ailing from a sickness that threatens to silence her forever, Umm Kalthoum, the greatest Egyptian singer the world has ever known, takes to the stage one final time for her most important performance yet, one with the potential to heal a nation broken by the shadow of a great defeat. As she slowly steps onto the stage to deafening chants and applause, fearful for her health and country, a legend finds herself walking down memory lane, reminiscing on her humble beginnings and the seven decade journey of triumphs, failures, defying social conventions, and loves lost that followed.

7.8

The Untouchables

Jun 3, 1987

Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.

6.8

Chariots of Fire

May 15, 1981

In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners train for the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God's glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath. Harold Abrahams overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart in his single-minded quest.

7.0

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Feb 4, 2002

In 1931, three Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a trek across the Outback.

0.0

Salty Dog Blues

Jan 1, 2012

The film looks at men and women of color in the U.S. Merchant Marine from 1938-1975. Through chronicling the lives of these men and women who, with a median age of 82, are beset with a host of life-threatening illnesses, the movie tells how they navigated issues of racism, disparities in the workplace, gender and familial relations.

5.7

Amelia

Oct 22, 2009

A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.

5.1

The Founding of an Army

Aug 1, 2017

The Founding of an Army is a 2017 Chinese film commissioned by China's government to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

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0.0

Wake of '38

Sep 21, 1978

Personal experiences of Northwest Ohio residents during the January 1978 blizzard that disrupted daily activities. Stories include the helicopter rescue of an expectant mother, effects on emergency services, and methods people used to survive without electricity and heat.

9.0

Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn

Oct 17, 2007

The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba

7.1

John Rabe

Apr 2, 2009

A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.

5.1

Saint-Exupéry

Dec 11, 2024

The story takes us back to 1930 and centres around Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, an Airmail pilot in Argentina. When his best friend who happens to be Airmail’s best pilot Henri Guillaumet disappears in the Andes, Saint-Ex decides to set out in search of him, against all odds. This impossible quest forces him to push beyond his limits, turning his capacity to dream into his greatest strength...

5.8

Legionnaire

Dec 3, 1998

Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.