Performing Arts, History & Criticism, Industry, Communication & Media Studies, Film & Television, Social Sciences, Media Studies 

National Cinemas 

Examines a range of films in relation to the social, political, economic and technological events surrounding them. This book assesses the work of directors and stars alike, exploring the competing definitions of German cinema as art cinema, entertainment, political propaganda and rival of Hollywood. 

Contents: Introduction 1. Wilhelmine Cinema 1895-1919. Cinema: A New Technology, Industry and Mass Medium. Elements of a National Cinema: Stars, Genres and Directors. German Cinema after the First World War 2. Weimar Cinema 1919-33. Weimar Cinema as Art Cinema. Weimar Cinema as Popular Cinema. Film, Politics, and the Coming of Sound 3. Third Reich Cinema 1933-45. The Restructuring of the Film Industry. Third Cinema as Popular Cinema. Third Reich Cinema as Political Cinema 4. Post-War Cinema 1945-61. The Reconstruction of the Film Industry. Rewriting History, Forging New Identities. The Politicisation of Cinema in the East. The Depoliticisation of Cinema in the West 5. East German Cinema 1961-89. The New Waves and the Plenary. The Seventies: The Discovery of Everyday Life. The Eighties: Crises and Transformation 6. West German Cinema 1962-89. The Oberhausen Manifesto and the Young German Cinema. The Seventies: The Emergence of New German Cinema. The Eighties: Crises and Transformation 7. Post-Unification Cinema 1989-2000. Elements of Popular Cinema: The Return to Genre. Once Again: Coming to Terms with the Past(s)