Category: Uncategorized

What Should I Watch?

On By Jim MortonIn 11th Plenum, Banned, Berlin, Cold War, communism, Concentration Camps, Crime, Dean Reed, DEFA, Fantasy, Feminism, Frauenfilm, Gottfried Kolditz, Indianerfilme, Krimi, Love, Märchenfilm, Musical, Nazis, Pop Culture, post-war years, Rabbit Film, Rubble Film, Science Fiction, Spies, Teenagers, Uncategorized, Wende, WWII7 Comments

New to East German films? Here are a few from DEFA with English subtitles that are well worth seeing. All of these films are currently available on the Kanopy streaming service. I’m often asked for recommendations on East German movies that people should watch. There’s no one answer to this. I once showed my personal …

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The Man from the Cap Arcona

On By Jim MortonIn Uncategorized3 Comments

In 1982, Erwin Geschonneck starred in the East German television movie The Man from the Cap Arcona (Der Mann von der Cap Arcona). In it, Geschonneck plays a character named Erwin Gregorek, who has returned to Hamburg to appear in a documentary about the sinking of the Cap Arcona, a luxury liner that was being …

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Journey into the Nuptial Bed

On By Jim MortonIn 11th Plenum, Comedy, Joachim Hasler, Love, Musical, Pop Culture, UncategorizedLeave a comment

East Germany had a difficult relationship with musicals. As with Western audiences, the East German public enjoyed musicals and paid to go see them. The box office was good for nearly all the musicals DEFA made, but the art form is so inherently frivolous that it drove the more stodgy politicians crazy. Making fairytale films …

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Book Review: East German Cinema

On By Jim MortonIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Fans of East German cinema have asked me if there are any good books in English on East German movies. There is, of course, Defa: East German Cinema 1946-1992, edited by Seán Allan and John Sandford— a collection of essays by some of the world’s leading East German film scholars, including Barton Byg, Christiane Mückenberger, …

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East German Cinema

On By Jim MortonIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Welcome to my blog about East German Cinema. Much of this material will eventually end up in my book on the subject, but I wanted to make some of it public to make sure I get my facts right. If you find fault with any of it, please let me know. I hope you enjoy …

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