What were the themes and characteristics of movies/films during the Weimar period?
Weimar cinema
During the Weimar period, culture in Germany was blooming. Many new cultural movements came about at this time. Cinema (which is discussed in this museum) was a very prominent part of this golden age of German culture.
New era of talent
This new "Weimar culture" had many great artists leading it. A very important figure who directed many great movies at the time, was Josef Von Sternberg.
The Blue Angel
The Blue Angel, a classic German film directed by Josef Von Sternberg, depicts a Professor who is driven from a respectful position and descends into insanity. It shows themes of jealousy, temptation and many others, and is considered one of the greatest films made in the Weimar period.
Silence
With the exception of a few films (such as The Blue Angel), most films in the era where silent films.
Nosferatu
Many different movies of many different types were made during this error, a prominent genre at this time was the horror genre. The movie Nosferatu is a great example of said horror genre.
The cabinet of Dr Caligari
This was an example of a German expressionist film. During the Weimar period, there were mainly 2 cultural movements, the expressionist, and new objectivity. Expressionist films tended to use more warped shapes and abstracter concepts.
New objectivity
The New Objectivity or Neue Sachlichkeit cultural movement was a much more direct approach to film-making. The movies were very straightforward and realistic. Hence the name "New Objectivity"). An example of this (shown above), is a movie that has psychoanalytic connotations.
Variety
Even though many of the movies at the time had many, serious themes, there were still a variety of comedic/humorous movies. Karl Valentin was an actor specializing in comedy, the picture above is from his movie "der Sonderling." A comedic movie about a man looking for a stamp.
Tackling real world problems
Movies at the time tackled real world problems at the time. As an example the movie "Different from the others" tackled various themes such as homosexuality.
The end
The end of the Weimar Period was brought about by the Nazi party. The nazi party practically abolished the New Objectivity movement.