DEFA 1945-1990
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- DirectorWolfgang StaudteStarsHildegard KnefElly BurgmerErna SellmerAfter returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds an ex-soldier living in her apartment. Together the two try to move past their experiences during World War II.Prototyp des Trümmerfilms
- DirectorMilo HarbichStarsUrsula VoßFritz WagnerHerbert WilkAfter the war, infinite numbers of refugees leave in search of a new home. They now stand in the hall of a large mansion, waiting to receive their deeds of ownership for sections of land that the lord of the manor had left behind after he fled. Among them is the young Jeruscheit who, during her travels, had to bury one of her own children. Her husband has been declared missing, and up until now she has had little purpose in life. But then she discovers it: to work, to build, and to help others. And maybe someday Jeruscheit will find her family.
- DirectorGerhard LamprechtStarsCharles BrauerHarry HindemithHedda SarnowAfter WWII, Berlin lies in ruins. For Gustav, Willi and their friends the rubble provides an adventurous, dangerous playground. Especially for Gustav, it helps pass the time, as he longs for his father's return from a POW camp. One day a stranger arrives, looking helpless and hopeless... Gerhard Lamprecht built his reputation during the 1920s and '30s with films like Emil and the Detectives (1931, script Billy Wilder) and socially-critical Berlin films based on the drawings of Heinrich Zille. In Somewhere in Berlin-his first postwar film, made just months after the cessation of hostilities-he portrays the people of the shattered city with precision and psychological realism.
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsPaul KlingerIlse SteppatAlfred BalthoffIn Nazi Germany actor Hans refuses to divorce his Jewish wife Elisabeth. He is threatened to be drafted and sent to the front while she will be deported to a concentration camp. Desperate, Hans decides that suicide is their only way out.Rassismus in der Unterhaltungsbranche
- DirectorErich EngelStarsHans Christian BlechErnst WaldowPaul BildtThis early postwar suspense story, based on a well-known 1926 murder trial with Dreyfus-like overtones also represents an East German reflection on Nazism. Dr. Blum, a Jewish manufacturer living in Germany, is falsely accused of killing his booker. Even when the real killer's identity becomes evident, the state prosecutor refuses to accept Blum's innocence. The film explores German reaction to the trial and investigates the relationship between the legal system, antisemitism, and fascism, providing insight into the historical context that allowed Nazism to flourish.Alltäglicher Antisemitismus
- DirectorSlatan DudowStarsViktoria von BallaskoPaul BildtHarry HindemithA story about a family after the Second World War. The petty bourgeois cashier Karl Weber of Berlin observes from a distance how his son Ernst participates in the building of a new socialist society. Karl does not understand Ernst's visions, instead he confides in his other son Harry. However, Harry becomes involved in illicit business and Karl quickly realizes that it would be best to join his son Ernst in the citizen-owned factory. With this film, director Slatan Dudow (1903-1963) continued the traditions of proletarian German film from the Weimar Republic. As with his first feature film Kuhle Wampe, from a screenplay by Bertolt Brecht, Dudow wanted an art that "cultivates the viewer's psyche." His postwar films were intended to make the viewers realize the importance of supporting the "new order" in East Germany. Our Daily Bread became known as a premiere film of its day under the rubric of "socialist realism." Slatan Dudow's work was convincing mainly through his detailed descriptions of socialist everyday life. Music by Hanns Eisler was the centerpiece of contemporary review. After coming back from his exile in America, the composer created a score that challenged, thrilled, and focused. Berlin's world of ruins is captured in almost documentary fashion.
- DirectorWolfgang StaudteStarsPaul EsserIrene KorbKarl Heinz DeickertThe life of the worker Hans Behnke and his family from 1925 to 1945 in Berlin. Hans ultimately does join the Nazi party, but still shows signs of disagreement with their ideology.
- DirectorRalf KirstenStarsManfred KrugMarita BöhmeHeinz SchubertThe story of the steel smelter, Martin Hoff, whose factory sends him to a drama school, corresponds to the real life of the actor, Manfred Krug. Like his character, Krug worked as a steel smelter, did artwork, sang and acted, and was sent to drama school. Like his character, due to unruly and conspicuous behavior, Krug was soon expelled from school. From this point on, the biographies of Krug and Martin Hoff part ways. At the farewell party from the school Hoff meets a young woman. She fascinates him completely, especially because she does not immediately give in to his bold charm but simply gives him the cold-shoulder. He simply cannot take this treatment, especially after he makes a bet with some friends. He sets out to look for the unknown woman and actually manages to find her on a construction site. To his amazement, she turns out to be the architect in charge, Ottilie Zinn. Martin has to go to great lengths to get Ottilie's attention. His work is exemplary and he shows off his artistic talents. Finally, he succeeds in winning over the woman he admires. He is also delegated to drama school once again.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsJutta HoffmannArmin Mueller-StahlSigfrit SteinerThree married couples who are friends want to spend their holidays together. One of them has a traffic accident, the other is prevented by work. So designer Robert and youth support worker Ellen are forced to spend a few days alone in the remote farmhouse with their young son.
- DirectorHeiner CarowStarsMatthias FreihofDagmar ManzelDirk KummerA young teacher in East Berlin struggles with accepting his homosexuality.
- DirectorEgon GüntherStarsJutta HoffmannJaecki SchwarzMagdalena ZawadzkaDuring their holiday in Kraków, a young worker and a student are asked if their love, despite different views on life, will endure. The accidental death of the girl brings to the young man his lack of understanding and his inability to meet other people, to consciousness.
- DirectorRoland OehmeStarsRolf HerrichtMarita BöhmeWinfried GlatzederAfter grandma remarries and moves out, the overworked Piesold family hires domestic helper Erwin to take care of children and household. But is a man up to the job?