Those “Porcupine” Films (Das Stachetier)

If you’ve read more than a couple of the articles on this blog, you’ll have come across the name “Das Stacheltier.” Formed in 1953 as a subgroup of the documentary film group at DEFA, Das Stacheltier made short films intended to play before the main features at East German cinemas. Stacheltier means porcupine in German1, …

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The Land Beyond the Rainbow

After the Wall came down and West Germany, for all intents and purposes, took over East Germany, there followed the inevitable retrospection. What the hell happened? How did we get from there to here? There were plenty of people who still believed in socialism and thought it could lead to a better world than unbridled …

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Latest from the Da-Da-R

Identifying the beginning of the East German movie industry is easy. It began in 1946 with The Murderers Are  Among Us. That film—started before DEFA even existed—was the first of a long line of excellent films to come out of the GDR before the government came crashing down under the weight of its own ossification …

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