Goethe video collection
Top 10 Reasons to View Goethe's Video Library
Unlike Alliance Francaise de Manille and Instituto Cervantes, which screen its video collection weekly, the video library of Goethe Institute (a.k.a. German Cultural Center) remains sheltered and unknown to many. Now here are 10 reasons on why film buffs should dig in this video goldmine:
10. The silent classics from the 1920s. Aside from Sergei Eisenstein's landmark Battleship Potemkin, Goethe has also the Expressionist must-sees such as Metropolis and Nosferatu. Their silent collection also boasts of less-popular works of Fritz Lang such as Die Nibelungen, an epic masterpiece of German mythology (almost 4 hours long!), and Dr. Mabuse, a two-feature noir on an underworld kingpin that perhaps inspired the mobster genre in Hollywood during the 30s and 40s.
9. East German Cinema. Not much is known about films from the former German Democratic Republic. Goethe has some samples such as The Legend of Paul and Paula and Solo Sunny, both of which are subtle satire on the hard life in the East that the Iron Curtain covered up for decades. Furthermore, cineastes have the chance to see Jacob the Liar, a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee 25 years ago. Robin Williams also remade it a few years ago.
8. Recently-acclaimed German films. Caroline Link's Beyond Silence, Joseph Vilsmaier's Comedian Harmonists and Ivan Fila's Lea have been cited in international award-giving bodies and film festivals. Goethe gives viewers the opportunity to relish these pictures that are raved by not a few.
7. German films you missed at film festivals. Last year's line-up of the German Film Week is good, which includes Crazy and In July. For those who failed to catch it at Shangri La, there's another chance to see them at the center.
6. Tom Tykwer. Undoubtedly the most promising German filmmaker of recent, the thirtysomething Tykwer wowed audiences with Heaven (starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi). Known for his visually-arresting photography and his frequent tackling on the theme of fate, fans of Tykwer would be delighted to know that Goethe has his early works like Wintersleepers and Life is All You Get.
5. Franka Potente. After Marlene Dietrich, no German talent has gotten Hollywood's attention - until Potente came along. Regular viewers would remember her opposite Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity but she made head turns with the constant changing of her hair color (e.g. blonde in Anatomy and flaming red in Run Lola Run). That doesn't mean she's a slouch in the acting department, as her admirers can flock to Goethe to see how good she is in her debut work, the precocious comedy It's a Jungle Out There (1995). Her fans would discover in that film too her real hair color - black.
4. East Side Story. This is a documentary on Eastern European musicals, mostly from the former Soviet Union. What is most interesting is the musical numbers are undeniably Hollywood-inspired while the actors are singing the glories of Communism. It's impossible not to imagine Josef Stalin and his Red comrades secretly enjoying old Hollywood flicks while they publicly spit out anti-Western messages. The moral lesson of the documentary is capitalism prevailed in the East decades ago thanks to those classic MGM musicals.
3. Little-known German gems. A decade ago, Edgar Reitz made an ambitious TV miniseries about the political and social scene in Germany during the 60s. Second Homeland: the Chronicle of the Youth is more than 25 hours in running time and its video box consists of 13 tapes, each focusing on a certain character and theme. This series is recommended for those looking for depth in their viewing experience.
2. Recent acquisitions. Bella Martha (featured during last year's Cine Europa), A Map of the Heart, Grill Point, The Policewoman and England!.
1. One must pay 150 pesos. The cost is Goethe Library's membership fee good for a year. There are about 70 titles to indulge in and the fee is cheaper than frequent renting at video rental shops if you managed to watch more than 10 titles. Aside from viewing, one also gets to surf the Internet for an hour or two and borrow some books as well.
(First published in The Manila Times on October 17, 2003)
Unlike Alliance Francaise de Manille and Instituto Cervantes, which screen its video collection weekly, the video library of Goethe Institute (a.k.a. German Cultural Center) remains sheltered and unknown to many. Now here are 10 reasons on why film buffs should dig in this video goldmine:
10. The silent classics from the 1920s. Aside from Sergei Eisenstein's landmark Battleship Potemkin, Goethe has also the Expressionist must-sees such as Metropolis and Nosferatu. Their silent collection also boasts of less-popular works of Fritz Lang such as Die Nibelungen, an epic masterpiece of German mythology (almost 4 hours long!), and Dr. Mabuse, a two-feature noir on an underworld kingpin that perhaps inspired the mobster genre in Hollywood during the 30s and 40s.
9. East German Cinema. Not much is known about films from the former German Democratic Republic. Goethe has some samples such as The Legend of Paul and Paula and Solo Sunny, both of which are subtle satire on the hard life in the East that the Iron Curtain covered up for decades. Furthermore, cineastes have the chance to see Jacob the Liar, a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee 25 years ago. Robin Williams also remade it a few years ago.
8. Recently-acclaimed German films. Caroline Link's Beyond Silence, Joseph Vilsmaier's Comedian Harmonists and Ivan Fila's Lea have been cited in international award-giving bodies and film festivals. Goethe gives viewers the opportunity to relish these pictures that are raved by not a few.
7. German films you missed at film festivals. Last year's line-up of the German Film Week is good, which includes Crazy and In July. For those who failed to catch it at Shangri La, there's another chance to see them at the center.
6. Tom Tykwer. Undoubtedly the most promising German filmmaker of recent, the thirtysomething Tykwer wowed audiences with Heaven (starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi). Known for his visually-arresting photography and his frequent tackling on the theme of fate, fans of Tykwer would be delighted to know that Goethe has his early works like Wintersleepers and Life is All You Get.
5. Franka Potente. After Marlene Dietrich, no German talent has gotten Hollywood's attention - until Potente came along. Regular viewers would remember her opposite Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity but she made head turns with the constant changing of her hair color (e.g. blonde in Anatomy and flaming red in Run Lola Run). That doesn't mean she's a slouch in the acting department, as her admirers can flock to Goethe to see how good she is in her debut work, the precocious comedy It's a Jungle Out There (1995). Her fans would discover in that film too her real hair color - black.
4. East Side Story. This is a documentary on Eastern European musicals, mostly from the former Soviet Union. What is most interesting is the musical numbers are undeniably Hollywood-inspired while the actors are singing the glories of Communism. It's impossible not to imagine Josef Stalin and his Red comrades secretly enjoying old Hollywood flicks while they publicly spit out anti-Western messages. The moral lesson of the documentary is capitalism prevailed in the East decades ago thanks to those classic MGM musicals.
3. Little-known German gems. A decade ago, Edgar Reitz made an ambitious TV miniseries about the political and social scene in Germany during the 60s. Second Homeland: the Chronicle of the Youth is more than 25 hours in running time and its video box consists of 13 tapes, each focusing on a certain character and theme. This series is recommended for those looking for depth in their viewing experience.
2. Recent acquisitions. Bella Martha (featured during last year's Cine Europa), A Map of the Heart, Grill Point, The Policewoman and England!.
1. One must pay 150 pesos. The cost is Goethe Library's membership fee good for a year. There are about 70 titles to indulge in and the fee is cheaper than frequent renting at video rental shops if you managed to watch more than 10 titles. Aside from viewing, one also gets to surf the Internet for an hour or two and borrow some books as well.
(First published in The Manila Times on October 17, 2003)
posted by Francis Rex Alger @ 3:32 PM
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