East Germany Film: History of DEFA
These films are included in Hans-Micheal Bock's article in The Oxford History of World Cinema whose editor is Geoffrey Nowell-Smith.
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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.
- DirectorFalk HarnackStarsErwin GeschonneckKäthe BraunGefion HelmkeAfter a crime is committed during the Nazi era in the Reeperbahn area of Hamburg, the aspiring local leader, a ship owner, needs to find an executioner to kill the perpetrators and turns to a butcher.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorWolfgang StaudteStarsWerner PetersPaul EsserRenate FischerDiederich Heßling is scared of everything and everyone. But as he grows up, he comes to realize that he has to offer his services to the powers-that-be if he wants to wield power himself. His life motto now runs: bow to those at the top and tread on those below. In this way, he always succeeds: as a student in a duel-fighting student fraternity and as a businessman in a paper factory. He cajoles the obese district administrative president Von Wulkow and wins his favor. He slanders his financial rivals and hatches a plot with the social democrats in the town council. On his honeymoon with his rich wife Guste, he finally finds a chance to do his beloved Kaiser a favor. And when a memorial to the Kaiser is unveiled in the town where Diederich lives and works, he delivers the address. He stands behind the lectern in the pouring rain, saluting his Kaiser. The crowd is dispersed. Everything is laid in ruins...
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsGünther SimonHans-Peter MinettiKarla RunkehlThe second part of the Ernst Thälmann films encompasses the time period between 1930 and Thälmann's murder in 1944. It shows Thälmann's battle to achieve a united front with all German workers against the National Socialists, his arrest following Hitler's seizure of power and the eleven years of his incarceration, in which he is unwavering in his beliefs until his death. An attempt to free him on the part of his comrades ends disastrously, and a corrupt offer of freedom from Göring himself receives Thälmann's refusal. He must also witness how his brave fellow Socialist Aenne Jansen in the women's prison across from his tragically loses her life during a bombing raid. The second primary character of the film is Aenne's husband Fiete Jansen, who already proved his loyalty to Thälmann's side as a friend and fighter in the first part. As the commander of the Thälmann Battalion, he fights in Spain on the side of the people and later in the ranks of the Red Army toward a speedy end to the war against Fascism.
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsGünther SimonHans-Peter MinettiErich FranzThis historical-biographical film begins in the first days of November 1918 on the western front. News comes to the soldiers of a revolutionary uprising in Kiel. Young Thälmann, a soldier against his will, would like to join the expanding conflict on the side of his comrades in Hamburg. As the revolution becomes threatened by the betrayal of the right-wing Social Democrats and the splintering of the working class, he nevertheless tries unremittingly to unite the workers. The reactionaries grow ever stronger and the neediness of ordinary people multiplies. In this dire situation, the Hamburg police commissioner would like to block the unloading of a ship full of provisions that were sent from Petrograd as a message of solidarity. But Thälmann prevails in unloading it. The high point and conclusion of the first part of the Thälmann films is established at the Hamburg Uprising in October 1923.
- DirectorMartin HellbergStarsWolf KaiserOtto MelliesMarion van de KampFerdinand is an army major and son of President von Walter; Luise Miller is the daughter of a middle-class musician. When they fall in love, their fathers urge them to end their relationship.
- DirectorGérard PhilipeJoris IvensStarsGérard PhilipeJean VilarFernand LedouxTyll Ulenspiegel's adventures fighting the Spanish lead by the duke of Alba.French co-production
- DirectorMartin HellbergStarsMarita BöhmeOtto MelliesChristel BodensteinThis film takes place during the Seven Years' War. The Prussian Major von Tellheim has become engaged to the Saxon noblewoman Minna von Barnhelm. After the war, the King - in an unwarranted move - deprives the major of his honor. Von Tellheim becomes impoverished and, filled with shame, breaks off his relationship to Minna. An innkeeper in Berlin, who is a police informer, makes the Major move to a shabby little attic because he cannot pay his debt. In the meantime, Minna has also arrived at the inn. She and her lady's maid Franziska are questioned and spied on by the nosy innkeeper. Minna has followed her beloved Tellheim and she now cunningly manages to elicit a new declaration of love from him. Because he is so focused on maintaining his honor she keeps him in suspense for quite a while before telling him that the King has reinstated him. Minna and Tellheim become a happy couple and Franziska, too, finds the love of her life - Werner, a sergeant. A sweeping story of love, pride and betrayal. Based on the drama by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
- DirectorAlfred WeidenmannStarsLiselotte PulverHansjörg FelmyNadja TillerFirst part of two of the saga of the troubled Buddenbrook family and their business in mid-19th-century Germany.West-Germany co-production
- DirectorAlfred WeidenmannStarsLiselotte PulverNadja TillerHansjörg FelmySecond part of two of the saga of the troubled Buddenbrook family and their business in 19th-century Germany.West-Germany co-production
- DirectorKonrad WolfStarsJaecki SchwarzVasiliy LivanovAleksey EybozhenkoGregor Hecker, who fled Germany with his parents, returns to Germany as a lieutenant in the Red Army.
- DirectorKonrad WolfStarsUlrike von ZerboniGünther SimonErwin GeschonneckPeople are sent off to a Soviet controlled uranium mine in 1950's Germany.
- DirectorKonrad WolfStarsSasha KrusharskaJürgen FrohriepErik S. KleinThe tragic love of a Jewish girl and a Nazi officer is presented as a symbol of human purity defeated by fascism and racial prejudice.
- DirectorHeiner CarowStarsErnst-Georg SchwillAngelika HurwiczWilhelm Koch-HoogeA refugee from a Nazi concentration camp is discovered by some boys in WWII Berlin. They provide him with food and help him to continue his flight. Later one of the boys, the son of a communist, is charged with theft, arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsErnst BuschErwin GeschonneckManfred KrugThe Spanish Civil War in the year 1936. Five brigadiers are singled out to stay behind in the Spanish Sierras and fend off the fascist enemy while the rest of the troops recede. They are supposed to rendezvous with a radio operator, but when they get to the meeting point there is nobody there. In search for the missing man, Kommissar Wittig is shot. Before his death he hands over a piece of paper with an important message which the remaining men have to transport across enemy lines. The paper is torn into five pieces and each piece is hidden in a cartridge. An odyssey across the mountain desert begins - with constant fear of enemy fire and dehydration.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsAnnekathrin BürgerArmin Mueller-StahlUlrich TheinSet in the historical context of anti-Nazi resistance, this love story explores the moral issues of the period. Beyer's second antifascist film, it stands out stylistically due to the clear references to the work of Tarkovsky.
- DirectorGerhard KleinStarsIlse PagéEkkehard SchallHarry EngelThe story of a group of rebellious teens in East Berlin.
- DirectorGerhard KleinStarsHannjo HasseChristoph BeyerttWolfgang KalweitRe-enacted true story of successful assault by Nazis, posing as Poles, on a German border radio station so that Hitler could "justify" thereby his invasion of Poland.
- DirectorFrank VogelStarsArmin Mueller-StahlKati SzékelyUlrich TheinOn August 13th, 1961-the night that the Berlin Wall goes up-three people must make a decision that will change their lives forever.... Upon learning of the building of the Wall, the director and scriptwriter changed the story they were working on to center it on this historic event. For four months a small team filmed with mobile cameras on the streets of East Berlin, capturing both its ordinary life and the extraordinary atmosphere of the period with precision and humor. Although the Wall itself would later become a taboo subject for East German filmmakers, And Your Love Too deals openly with the topic. The role of the border guard was one of the first major parts played by Academy Award nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine, Angels & Demons).
- DirectorKonrad WolfStarsRenate BlumeEberhard EscheHans Hardt-HardtloffIn 1961, Rita returns to her childhood village after a breakdown. As she recovers, she remembers the past two years: her love for chemist Manfred, 10 years her senior; his enthusiasm about his new chemical process, which turned to bitter disappointment in the face of rejection; his escape to West Berlin a few weeks before the Wall was built; and his hope that she would follow him. This East German classic, praised by critics as one of Germany's 100 Most Important Films, is based on Christa Wolf's internationally-known novel, criticized in the GDR for questioning the construction of the Wall. Produced during a brief cultural thaw in the early 1960s, this film was strongly influenced by French Nouvelle Vague cinema.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsErwin GeschonneckMarita BöhmeManja BehrensAfter the second World War, Dresden has a lot of reconstructing to do. To get the cigarette factory he once worked for running again, Kalle has to travel to Wittenberg - the only place where carbide can be found. Once there, Kalle finds himself in the unfortunate situation of having to hitchhike his way back to Dresden, transporting seven heavy barrels of carbide. However, his inventiveness and optimistic attitude help transform the grueling task into an adventurous, entertaining, and funny journey.
- DirectorGünther RückerStarsHorst DrindaLissy TempelhofHerwart GrosseIn 1945, Ernst Machner returns home from the war in his mid-20s. Tuche would like him to weave for a living, but his comrades persuade him to become a young teacher instead. This decision begins to pose demands on him, however. Machner takes his leave of Hilde Tamm, who had lovingly taken him in as a homecomer. As a classroom teacher working in small villages, he starts a career that constantly puts him in new locales and new challenging situations. At the beginning of the 50s, he becomes the director of a Gymnasium steeped in tradition. There, the "average" teacher and extensively bourgeois faculty have already rejected the "Reds" and headed to the West. Machner is no professional match for the departed teachers, but he learns the more he teaches. Soon, the outright rejection of the conservative students collapses under his attention and concentration. New assignments await him, but he is skeptical as whether or not he has grown enough to handle them. Nevertheless, Machner chooses to tackle the challenges.
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsAngelika WallerWolfgang WinklerAlfred MüllerThe Rabbit Is Me was made in 1965 to encourage discussion of the democratization of East German society. In it, a young student has an affair with a judge who once sentenced her brother for political reasons; she eventually confronts him with his opportunism and hypocrisy. It is a sardonic portrayal of the German Democratic Republic's judicial system and its social implications. The film was banned by officials as an anti-socialist, pessimistic and revisionist attack on the state. It henceforth lent its name to all the banned films of 1965, which became known as the "Rabbit Films." After its release in 1990, The Rabbit Is Me earned critical praise as one of the most important and courageous works ever made in East Germany. It was screened at The Museum of Modern Art in 2005 as part of the film series Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany.
- DirectorGerhard KleinStarsDieter MannMonika GabrielErwin GeschonneckThe story of tensions in a factory in communist east Germany and their society more generally - mostly through the adventures of two provocative factory workers.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsManfred KrugKrystyna StypulkowskaJutta HoffmannA film about living and working conditions in the GDR of the 1960s, including a little love story, of course.
- DirectorEgon GüntherStarsStephan JahnkeGerry WolffManfred KrugAdam receives a flashlight with special powers: every liar it shines on flies into the air. Production was canceled in 1965 due to the film's political content. Only in 1989-1990 could the director reconstruct the film, replacing missing sounds and images with script inserts.1965
- DirectorFrank VogelStarsPeter ReusseAnne-Kathrein KretzschmarHans Hardt-HardtloffHigh-school senior Peter considers the adults around him to be hypocritical, self-congratulatory, and immersed in the past. He gets suspended for writing an essay that his teachers consider to be a challenge to the state. Just Don't Think I'll Cry became one of twelve films and film projects-almost an entire year's production-that were banned in 1965-1966 due to their alleged anti-socialist aspects. Although scenes and dialogs were altered and the end was reshot twice, officials condemned this title as "particularly harmful." In 1989, cinematographer Ost restored the original version, and this and most of the other banned films were finally screened in January 1990. Belatedly, they were acclaimed as masterpieces of critical realism.1965
- DirectorJürgen BöttcherStarsMonika HildebrandRolf RömerPaul EichbaumDDR film from the mid-60s: Li and Al, not long married, want to divorce. They feel trapped in their marriage and in their one-room apartment. They long for an unconventional, meaningful life, but the search for meaning confounds them.1965
- DirectorEgon GüntherStarsJutta HoffmannBarbara DittusRolf LudwigA disillusioned single mother decides to give love one last chance.
- 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.
- DirectorHeiner CarowStarsAngelica DomröseWinfried GlatzederHeidemarie WenzelPaul and Paula have had bad experiences with love: Paul is financially well off but has lost all affection for his wife, and Paula leads a troublesome life raising two children on her own. They meet and discover a strong passion for each other. Life seems like a dream when they're together - but their short flights from the burdens of reality are once and again interrupted by Paul's ties to family and career.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsVlastimil BrodskýErwin GeschonneckHenry HübchenA Jewish ghetto in central Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow by steady progress towards central Europe. In order to keep his companion in misfortune, Mischa, from risking his life for a few potatoes, he tells him what he heard and announces that he is in possession of a radio - in the ghetto a crime punishable by death. It doesn't take long for word of Jakob's secret to spread - suddenly, there is new hope and something to live for - and so Jakob finds himself in the uncomforting position of having to come up with more and more stories.
- DirectorEberhard ItzenplitzStarsKlaus HoffmannLéonie ThelenHans-Werner BussingerThe painter Edgar flees from Wittenberg to East Berlin. The rebel finds a shelter in a gazebo. On the loo, Edgar discovers a strange reading: "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Goethe.
- DirectorKonrad WolfStarsKurt BöweUrsula KarusseitAndreas SchmidIn this film, Wolf and scriptwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase explore the role of art and the artist in socialist society. A sculptor questions the reception and value of his work, in a delicately nuanced narrative interweaving personal memories, historical dilemmas, and political defeats.
- DirectorSiegfried KühnStarsBeata TyszkiewiczHilmar ThateMagda VásáryováEduard and Charlotte live an isolated, idyllic life together. But soon Eduard feels that something is missing and he invites his friend Otto to come and stay. Meanwhile, Charlotte decides that her foster daughter Ottilie should come live with them. Complex and passionate relationships begin among the four people. Based on Goethe's novel of the same title.
- DirectorEgon GüntherStarsLilli PalmerMartin HellbergRolf LudwigBased on the novel by Thomas Mann. Charlotte Kestner, the love of Goethe's youth, became famous because she was the real-life Lotte represented in his renowned The Sorrows of Young Werther. At age 44 she travels to Weimar to see Goethe again, and high society's posturing and Goethe's personal history lead her to an unexpected conclusion. Dramaturge (later Studio Director) Walter Janka was befriended by the Thomas Mann family, making this adaptation possible.
- DirectorEgon GüntherStarsHans-Jürgen WolfKatharina ThalbachHilmar BaumannRebellious young Werther is passionately, but hopelessly, in love with Lotte. Although he knows that she is married to somebody who can offer her a secure future, Werther tries to be near her. Lotte cannot decide between these two men. She eventually rejects Werther, who does not survive her decision. Based on the novel by Goethe. Director Egon Günther and set designer Helga Schütz make cameo appearances.
- DirectorLothar WarnekeStarsHilmar EichhornUte LuboschChristine SchornLast years in the Life of german Dramatican Georg Büchner
- DirectorHeiner CarowStarsKatrin SassMartin SeifertBerko AckerScenes from an East German marriage. A young couple, Sonya and Jens, are very much in love; they get married and have a child. When Sonya wants to go back to work after her maternity leave, they clash for the first time; Jens insists that she remain a full-time wife and mother. Until Death Do Us Part turns an actual police report into a gripping drama, as the director explores the depths of his characters' emotions, driving the conflict to a catastrophic climax.
- DirectorKonrad WolfWolfgang KohlhaaseStarsRenate KrößnerAlexander LangHeide KippSunny is a singer in a band which is constantly on the road. She therefore leads a relatively restless life, which she cannot afford to give up, having to rely on the fee she gets paid..
- DirectorRainer SimonStarsKurt BöweKatrin KnappeGudrun RitterIn a small town, everyone has tried to forget what happened shortly after WWII. That is, until a stranger finds a book that Jadup (Kurt Böwe) gave to the young refugee Boel (Katrin Knappe), who resettled in the town over 30 years ago. Painful memories about Boel and the post-war period begin to surface and shake up the whole town. Boel vanished back then and nobody knew why. Word spread about a rape and some tried to blame a Russian soldier. Jadup, the town's respected and popular mayor, remembers, though, how he mistrusted Boel and did not help her through this difficult time; HE didn't even notice THAT Boel loved him. Jadup's confrontation with the past gives him a new, critical view of his current situation and surroundings. Originally censored and later banned by GDR officials for being too controversial, Jadup and Boel was not released until 1988.1981
- DirectorLothar WarnekeStarsChristine SchornMike LepkeHermann BeyerInge Herold is in her mid-thirties. She is divorced and lives with her 15-year-old son. She works as a psychologist and social worker and is involved with a married man. Suddenly, Inge finds out she may have breast cancer, which would mean an operation the very next day. The 24 hours before the planned surgery puts her under enormous psychological pressure and she begins to reevaluate her life. With heightened awareness of matters of everyday life, she realizes that what she previously considered meaningful, was actually void of any real meaning. Her relationship with the married man is particularly on her mind. By questioning much of what has been important to her up to now, Inge achieves a high level of sincerity with herself. She finds a faithful confidant in her son who provides much needed sympathy and understanding. Although the anxiety remains, Inge Herold finds the strength to face her illness with a strong will to live and to make consistent decisions in her life. Shot exclusively on location using lay actors. Christine Schorn of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin plays the leading role, delivering a sincere, understated and powerful performance.
- DirectorRoland GräfStarsHermann BeyerKurt BöweJutta WachowiakThe distinguished Professor Winfried Menzel of Berlin has rediscovered a forgotten poet from the Mark, Max von Schwedenow. He meets a teacher from the country called Poetsch on a trip. He must later concede that Poetsch is closing in on Schwedenow's trail, and knows even more about him than Menzel does. He begs Poetsch to collaborate with him in Berlin, putting him in the position of assistant. Poetsch is delighted. In his research, he discovers evidence that puts Menzel's revolutionary portrait of Schwedenow into question. He had discovered that in his youth, Schwedenow had worked for the Prussian government as a reactionary censor - under different names. Menzel wants Poetsch to ignore this, so as to not jeopardize his own work. As Poetsch persists with this evidence, Menzel uses his position to bring him down. Poetsch, however, still hopes for the last word in the matter.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsSylvester GrothFred DürenMatthias GüntherTeenage German soldier is falsely accused of being a war criminal and arrested in Poland of 1945.
- DirectorSiegfried KühnStarsCorinna HarfouchAndré HennickeMichael GwisdekThe film is set in the 1930s in Germany. Maria Rheine and Mark Löwenthal, two young actors working in a small theater, are in love with each other. Their love affair is interrupted by Nazi racial policies; Mark is no longer allowed to perform in German theaters because he is a Jew. In order to continue acting, he joins the newly formed Jewish Theater in Berlin. Maria, who is not Jewish, faces no restrictions on her career, and she becomes a successful actress at a big theater in Munich. But her love for Mark eventually leads her to decide to sacrifice both career and security to remain close to him. She fakes a suicide, assumes a Jewish identity and, as Manja Löwenthal, joins the Jewish Theater
- DirectorJürgen BrauerStarsNadja KlierHermann BeyerSuher SalehThe tale of young Gritta who lives with her father, an unsuccessful inventor. When her new stepmother tries to put her away in a convent she discovers some dark secrets there.
- DirectorUlrich WeißStarsUwe KockischMichael GwisdekJenny GröllmannA communist is released from prison in 1935 Hamburg. He tries to link up with the Party again, but is unsure as to who he can trust, and has difficulty adjusting to life in Nazi Germany.
- DirectorKarl-Heinz LotzStarsSylvester GrothMirko HaningerAndré HennickeA day in Berlin during the Great Depression in the late 1920s. The paths of different young people cross. The unemployed taxi driver Emanuel is about to leave town. But once again he wants to cross them in the car. His friend Fritz lends him his taxi. Fritz also has problems, suffering from the fact that his girlfriend Frieda is being sexually blackmailed by her boss. Emanuel meets two dancing girls on the way and falls in love with one - Susi, who is also taken with the shy young man.
- DirectorPeter KahaneStarsJörg SchüttaufThomas PutensenDaniela HoffmannEte and Ali make a brave attempt to convince Ete's estranged wife to take him back. The two men have finished their military service, and when they go to Ete's hometown together they discover that his wife is being courted by another man.
- DirectorPeter KahaneStarsKurt NaumannRita FeldmeierJudith RichterThe architect Daniel Brenner is in his late thirties when he receives his first challenging and lucrative commission: to design a cultural center for a satellite town in East-Berlin. He accepts the offer under the condition that he gets to choose who he works with. This way, he reunites with former colleagues and friends - most of them architects or students of architecture who have since chosen a different profession due to personal restraint or economic confinement. Together, they develop a concept which they hope will be more appealing to the public than the conventional and dull constructions common to the German Democratic Republic. However, their ambitious plans are once and again foiled by their conservative supervisors. As frustration grows, Daniel has trouble keeping his career in balance with his family-life: his wife Wanda wants to leave for West-Germany.
- DirectorLothar WarnekeStarsJörg PoseManfred MöckKarin GregorekAt the beginning of the 50s, two extremely disparate men meet in a private sanatorium for consumptives: an officer in the People's Police, Josef Heiliger; and a young Protestant curate, Hubertus Koschenz. On account of their consumption, they have to share a room. Initially, this is the only thing they have in common.
- DirectorPeter SchamoniStarsNastassja KinskiHerbert GrönemeyerRolf HoppeChronicles the illustrious 19th-century love affair between composer Robert Schumann and pianist Clara Wieck.
- DirectorFrank BeyerStarsGötz GeorgeRolf HoppeOtto SanderMassive robbery from the safe of German railways set in 1946
- DirectorJörg FothStarsSteffen MenschingHans-Eckardt WenzelPeter DommischIn a loose set of cabaret pieces, Steffen Mensching and Hans-Eckardt Wenzel - highly acclaimed East German poets, songwriters and clowns - satirize East German life in its final days and the arrival of new times after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The clowns are allowed to leave prison to sing for people outside. As they perform their pieces, however, the country sinks into rebellion, the prison is attacked and looted, and the people chase the clowns away. Latest from the Da-Da-R was the first film made by an artistic production group that had fought for independence within the structures of the state-owned DEFA film studio for years. "Da-Da-R" is a wordplay on the irreverent Dada art movement of the 1920s and the German acronym for East Germany- the DDR.