The History of German Literature on Film

Christiane Schönfeld (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

720 Seiten

2025
Bloomsbury Academic USA (Verlag)
978-1-5013-9957-2 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Januar 2025)
Versandkostenfrei
Auch auf Rechnung

Artikel merken

This book tells the story of German-language literature on film, beginning with pioneering motion picture adaptations of Faust in 1897 and early debates focused on high art as mass culture. It explores, analyzes and contextualizes the so-called ‘golden age’ of silent cinema in the 1920s, the impact of sound on adaptation practices, the abuse of literary heritage by Nazi filmmakers, and traces the role of German-language literature in exile and postwar films, across ideological boundaries in divided Germany, in New German Cinema, and in remakes and movies for cinema as well as television and streaming services in the 21st century. Having provided the narrative core to thousands of films since the late 19th century, many of German cinema’s most influential masterpieces were inspired by canonical texts, popular plays, and even children’s literature. Not being restricted to German adaptations, however, this book also traces the role of literature originally written in German in international film productions, which sheds light on the interrelation between cinema and key historical events. It outlines how processes of adaptation are shaped by global catastrophes and the emergence of nations, by materialist conditions, liberal economies and capitalist imperatives, political agendas, the mobility of individuals, and sometimes by the desire to create reflective surfaces and, perhaps, even art. Commercial cinema’s adaptation practices have foregrounded economic interest, but numerous filmmakers throughout cinema history have turned to German-language literature not simply to entertain, but as a creative contribution to the public sphere, marking adaptation practice, at least potentially, as a form of active citizenship.

Christiane Schönfeld is Associate Professor and Head of German Studies at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. Her research on German-language literature and cinema focuses on a wide range of cultural representations and sheds light on their significance for the public sphere. Among her publications are books and articles on literary and visual cultures from the 19th to the 21st century.

List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Beginnings of German-language Literature on Film (1897-1906)
2. Early Transnational Narrative Cinema and the Impact of the First World War (1907-18)
3. The ‘Golden Age’ of Silent Cinema: Literary Adaptation, Radicalism, and Censorship (1919-29)
4. Literary Talkies: Sound and Internationalization (1922-32)
5. The Other German Cinema: Exile and the Second World War (1933-45)
6. A History of Abuse: German-language Literature in Nazi Cinema (1933-45)
7. The Postwar Period: Reconstructions and Deconstructions (1946-61)
8. Split Screens: Continuities and a New German Cinema (1962-89)
9. The Walls Come Down: Entrepreneurs, Auteurs, and Art-house Cinema (1990-2021)

Bibliography
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	17.05.2023
Reihe/Serie	The History of World Literatures on Film
Zusatzinfo	50 bw illus
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
ISBN-10	1-5013-9957-8 / 1501399578
ISBN-13	978-1-5013-9957-2 / 9781501399572
Zustand	Neuware