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The 1000 eyes of Dr. Mabuse = Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse. France/Germany. 1960. (99 min.). The swanky Hotel Luxor is the locus of a ten-year crime spree. Every room is watched from a surveillance headquarters in the basement of the hotel, and a gang of criminals taking their orders from a mysterious leader's recorded voice plan crimes, including the theft of military secrets and the explosion of a nuclear weapons plant. Police commissioner Kras and his men relentlessly search for clues, while hotel guests Marion, a suicidal young woman, and Travers, a millionaire planning to buy the nuclear weapons plant, spark up a romance. DVD 1790,
The 3 penny opera = Die 3groschenoper. Germany. 1931. (110 min.). Set in the impoverished back alleys of Victorian London, The threepenny opera follows underworld antihero Mackie Messer (a.k.a. Mack the Knife) as he tries to woo Polly Peachum and elude the authorities. With a palpable evocation of corruption and dread, set to Weill's irresistible score, The threepenny opera remains a benchmark of early sound cinema. DVD 3125
The adventures of Prince Achmed = Die abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed. Germany. 1926. (67 min.). Premiered in Germany in 1926 and is based on the stories from "The Arabian nights", this movie has been hailed as the first full-length animated film. This is the story of a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into mounting a magical flying horse that sends the rider off on a flight to his death. DVD 565
Aguirre, the wrath of God = Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes. Germany. 1972. (94 min.). A band of Spanish conquistadors, led by Pizarro, go up the Amazon in search of gold. As the soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of nature and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (the self-styled "Wrath of God") is consumed by visions of conquering all of South America and leads a revolt, but Aguirre’s megalomania turns the expedition into a death trip. DVD 1807
Ali, fear eats the soul = Angst essen Seele auf. Germany. 1974. (93 min.). Lonely widow Emmi Kurowski meets Arab worker Ali in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love--to their own surprise, and to the shock of family, colleagues, and drinking buddies. An emotional power that reflects the ethnic tensions within German society. DVD 615
The American Friend = Der Amerikanische Freund. France/Germany. 1977.(125 min.). Story about a Hamburg picture framer who is perfectly ordinary except that he is suffering from a rare and fatal blood disease. His peace and sanity are upset when he is offered money to assassinate a Mafia figure in Paris. DVD 1686
The American soldier = Der Amerikanische soldat. Germany. 1970. (80 min.). Fassbinder’s homage to American gangster movies. Ricky, i professional killer, is hired by 3 Munich policemen upon his return to Germany from America. He visits family, meets up with friends, and drops by old haunts, all the while carrying out his kills without hesitation of emotion. Upon completion of all his assignments, Ricky finds himself in a shoot-out with the cops who hired him. DVD 3551
Anna Boleyn: a historical drama in six acts. 1920. (118 min.). Tragic drama of the second wife of England's Henry VIII, made in Berlin by Lubitsch before he moved to Hollywood to make comedies. DVD 2898
Asphalt. Germany. 1928. (93 min.). A femme fatale steals jewels, and seduces the cop sent to bring her in. DVD 2146
Bagdad cafe AKA Out of Rosenheim. 1988. (91 min.). Comedy about a dump in the middle of nowhere and the mismatched characters who find happiness there. Jasmine (Sa ̈ gebrecht) is a pudgy German tourist abandoned by her husband who finds herself at the Bagdad Cafe, a motel-diner on the edge of the Mojave Desert, where she encounters a variety of characters, such as a grumpy black woman named Brenda (CCH Pounder), a former Hollywood set painter turned artist (Palance) who becomes obsessed with Jasmin, a Bach-playing pianist (Flagg), a taciturn tattooist (Kaufman) and a blond backpacker with a boomerang. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 9015
Berlin Alexanderplatz. Germany. 1979-1980. (940 min.). Story of Franz Biberkof, a former transportation worker. When we first see Franz, he has just been released from prison where he has served four years for an irrational act of violence. He returns to his Berlin neighborhood resolved to go straight but forces in his environment, the influences of his cronies, the grinding poverty, the decay of society overwhelm him and he begins his duel with fate. DVD 3385
Berlin, symphony of a great city = Berlin, die symphonie der grossstadt. Germany. 1927. (62 min.). A cross section of life in Berlin from dawn to midnight on a late spring day. Uses montage, cutting, and editing to capture the pulse and tempo of this city. DVD 3437
Beyond silence = Jenseits der Stille. Germany. 1997. (ca. 107 min.). Since the earliest days in her childhood, Lara has had a difficult but important task. Both her parents are deaf-mute, and Lara has to translate from sign-language to the spoken word and vice versa when her parents want to communicate with other people. Getting older and more mature, she becomes interested in music and starts to play the clarinet very successfully. Since her parents are deaf, they cannot share Lara's musical career. The day comes when Lara has to decide between her parents and her own ambitions. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 8836
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant = Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant. Germany. 1972. (124 min.). Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer who carries on a melodrama of erotic attractions with two other women in her claustrophobic apartment. DVD 1389
The Blue Angel = Der Blaue Engel. Germany. 1929.(188 min.). One of the early sound masterpieces of German cinema, this film made Marlene Dietrich an international star and helped assure director Joseph von Sternberg a place in cinematic history. The story is a gripping portrait of a middle-aged professor who is degraded by his obsession with a tawdry cafe entertainer. DVD 727
The blue light = Das blaue licht: eine Berglegende. Germany. 1932. (79 min.). Junta is hated by the people of the village who believe she is a witch. Only she can climb the nearby mountains to a cave high up, whence a mysterious blue light glows when the moon is full. She is driven out of town and takes to living in the mountains. Eventually when she shares the secret of the blue light with one man, he betrays it. DVD 2910
The Blum affair = Affaire Blum. Germany. 1948. (110 min.). Dramatic film that looks at institutional antisemitism in pre-Hitlerite Germany. Based on actual events which occurred in the 1920s. An accountant responds to an advertisement and is murdered for his money. Mr. Blum, a Jewish businessman, is blamed for the murder by antisemitic police because the accountant was about to give evidence about a tax fraud involving Blum's company. The investigation and trial lead to a scandalous political affair. DVD 15269
The Boat is Full = Das Boot ist voll. Switzerland/Germany/Austria 1981. (104 min.). Set in 1942 during World War II. The Swiss government, alarmed at the vast numbers of people fleeing Nazi Germany, has declared the country "a full lifeboat" and set up stringent immigration policies. When a Swiss innkeeper's wife finds a group of refugees hiding on her property she takes them in over her husband's objections. When the authorities are alerted, she, her husband and the townspeople must decide what to do. DVD 15493 and Streaming video
Das boot = The boat. Germany. 1981. (293 min.). Superb detailing of life in a German U-boat during WWII. The original uncut version. Based on the novel by Lothar G. Buchheim. Includes a making-of featurette; restored original stereo audio; and much more. DVD 852
The BRD trilogy: Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss, Lola. Germany. (541 min.). The marriage of Maria Braun. 1979. (120 min.). -- Veronika Voss. 1982. (104 min.). -- Lola. 1981. (115 min.). -- The BRD triology : the supplements. 2003. (202 min.). In 1978 Rainer Werner Fassbinder embarked upon a project to trace the history of postwar Germany in a series of films told through the eyes of 3 remarkable women. The 3 films would garner him the international acclaim for which he had always yearned and place his name foremost in the canon of New German Cinema. DVD 1030 pt.1 - pt.4
The cabinet of Dr. Caligari = Das cabinet des Dr. Caligari. Germany. 1919. (74 min.). In the film The cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a somnambulist commits murders under a hypnotist's influence. Also featured is a lengthy excerpt of Genuine. Both films are examples of the German Expressionist movement. DVD 496
Circle of deceit = Die Faelschung. Germany. 1981. (109 min.). Grateful for a respite from his imploding marriage, Hamburg newspaperman Georg arrives in civil war torn Beirut to chronicle the bloody Lebanese war. Inside a shell-pitted hotel, Georg and colleague Hoffman, join a cynical international coterie of competitive fellow journalists. Outside, they take their lives in their own hands, dodging bullets and conducting interviews that are always just a trigger pull away from becoming executions. DVD 841
Coup de grace = Der Fangschuß. France/Germany. 1976. (98 min.). Set in Latvia in 1919 at the end of the Russian civil war, a Prussian soldier rejects the advances of an aristocratic woman. She retaliates by joining the Bolsheviks. DVD 967
Destiny = Der Müde Tod. Germany. 1921. (99 min.). In a middle-European village a century ago, Death takes a young man just before he is to be married. His lover seeks out the Death figure and pleads with him for her fiance's life. Filled with pity for her, he promises to return her fiance if she can save even one of three lives about to flicker out. DVD 2913
Diary of a lost girl = Das tagebuch einer Verlorenen. Germany. 1929. (116 min.). A pharmacist's daughter seduced by her father's assistant has a child and is banished to a repressive reform school. Escaping, she makes her way penniless to a brothel where she lives for the moment. DVD 2920
Different from the others = Anders als die andern. Germany. 1919. (50 min.). A prosperous man encounters a sleazy blackmailer who discovers that he is gay. Released in 1919, this film is an amazingly frank depiction of a homosexual relationship. Banned at the time of its release, later burned by the Nazis, the film was believed lost for more than forty years. DVD 2453
Downfall = Der Untergang. Germany. 2004. (155 min.). Takes you into Hitler's bunker, in 1945, during the brutal and harrowing last days of the Third Reich. Seen through the eyes of Hitler's infamous secretary Gertraud (Traudl) Junge, optimism crumbles into grim realization and terror as it becomes clear that Germany's defeat is inevitable. As the Russian army circles the city, the dimly lit halls of the underground refuge become an execution chamber for the Fèuhrer and his closest advisors. DVD 2727
Dr. Mabuse, the gambler. Germany. 1922. (270 min.). Sinister Dr. Mabuse maintains his wealth through counterfeiting, manipulating the stock exchange and bending weaker minds to his will. In part 1, Mabuse builds his empire and casually ruins Count Told while entrancing the thrill-seeking Countess. In part 2, Mabuse turns from criminal to villain, murdering the Count and kidnapping the Countess. DVD 2703
Dragon chow = Drachenfutter. Germany. 1987. (75 min.). An Asian political refugee arrives in Hamburg and finds himself in a land of welfare hotels and con men. He joins forces with a friend in an attempt to open a restaurant and storm the citadel of Western capitalism. DVD 11316
Effi Briest AKA Fontane - Effi Briest oder: Viele, die eine Ahnung haben von ihren Möglichkeiten und Bedürfnissen und dennoch das herrschende System in ihrem Kopf akzeptieren durch ihre Taten und es somit festigen und durchaus bestätigen. Germany. 1974. (140 min.). Effi Briest is a radiant beauty, a vivacious blend of naivete and intelligence, forthrightness and willful self interest. She is married when very young to a much older Prussian diplomat and carried away to a remote Baltic port where she drifts into a brief, passionless affair with a local womanizer. The full effects are felt only later, in a chilling manifestation of the Prussian legal code. DVD 3556
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser AKA Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle = Every Man for Himself and God Against All. Germany. 1974. (110 min.). Film based on the true story of a young man who appeared in a small German town in 1829 after having lived in total isolation from humans since birth. He is taught to speak read, and write by townspeople, but is then mysteriously murdered. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 3541
Even dwarfs started small = Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen. Germany. 1969. (96 min.). A group of dwarves living in a sort of prison in a remote country are fed up with their condition and begin rebelling against their keepers. Their acts of rebellion grow to alarming proportions. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 3542
Fare Dodger AKA Schwarzfahrer = Black Rider. Germany. 1992. A woman on a bus verbally abuses a man of color. He finds the perfect way to exact revenge. DVD 18
Faust: eine deutsche Volkssage. Germany. 1926. (116 min.). Classic tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil, based on Goethe's Faust and folk sagas. DVD 802
Fear of fear = Angst vor der angst. Germany. 1975. (88 min.). A pregnant middle-class housewife, living an ideal, comfortable life, begins to experience moments of uncontrollable undirected fear. Her anxiety grows and becomes more frequent. After giving birth, she turns to drugs and alcohol, but nothing seems to alleviate her tempestuous nerves. DVD 3558
Fitzcarraldo. Germany/Peru. 1982. (157 min.). Story of a man obsessed with a dream to build his own personal opera house in a remote Peruvian town. DVD 3540
Fox and his friends = Faustrecht der Freiheit. Germany. 1975. (123 min.). Fassbinder directs and stars as a gay lower-class carnival performer known as Fox the Talking Head, who strikes it rich by winning a lottery. Then he has an ill-fated romance with an elegant upperclass lover. DVD 1568
Das Fräulein. Switzerland/Germany. 2006. (81 min.). Das Fräulein is the story of two Balkan refugees. Reza owns a restaurant and has lived in Switzerland for 25 years. Ana is a Bosnian who breezes into Reza's life and injects both joy and discontent. DVD 3058
Germany, pale mother = Deutschland bleiche mutter. Germany. 1980. (123 min.). Love story set during and after the Nazi era. Explores the private lives of a young bride and her Nazi soldier husband, and her parents, bystanders who tolerated Hitler. While not excusing the actions of its protagonists, it uses them to show how easily the unthinkable can happen. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6380
The goalie's anxiety at the penalty kick = Die angst des tormanns beim elfmeter. Germany. 1971. (101 min.). Josef Bloch, a suspended soccer player, picks up a girl in Vienna strangles her, and escapes to a small town where he passively waits, reading newspaper accounts of the police dragnet that is slowly closing in on him. DVD 9638
Gods of the Plague = Götter der Pest. Germany. 1969. (88 min.). Fassbinder’s third feature about the alienated, aimless post war generation in Munich. A flashy nightclub singer, whose petty criminal boyfriend has left her for another woman, betrays him to a police detective. DVD 3552
The Golem: how he came into the world = Der golem: wie er in die Welt kam. Germany. 1920. (86 min.). Based on the legend of the golem, a popular figure in Jewish tradition. In medieval Prague, the Rabbi Loew gives life to the golem, a clay monster. The golem falls in love with the Rabbi's daughter and brings fear to the emperor's court, but is eventually destroyed by an innocent child. DVD 2883
Good bye Lenin! Germany. 2003. (ca. 121 min.). Alex's proud, socialist mother falls into a coma for eight months. When she wakes, her heart is weak, so Alex has to keep the secret that the Berlin Wall has fallen and capitalism has triumphed. What begins as a little white lie turns into a major scam. DVD 946
La habanera. Germany. 1937. (93 min.). Working at Germany's famed UFA Studios under the very noses of the Nazi authorities that would later force him into Hollywood exile and eminence, Sirk transformed a glossy musical vehicle for UFA's "new Garbo" into a dark and intimate anti-colonial melodrama. Desperate to escape the "cold Swedish minds" of her homeland, beautiful Astree falls under the enchanting spell of the Caribbean love serenade La habanera and into the arms of Puerto Rican land baron Don Pedro de Avila. But ten years later, when Astree's old flame arrives in Puerto Rico, all is far from heavenly. DVD 2889
The Haunted Castle = Schloß Vogeloed. Germany. 1921. (ca. 75 min.). One of Murnau's first films, and a vintage, if crusty, example of German expressionism. When the Count Oestsch steals his brother's sweetheart, a family row begins which has unnerving results. A gothic story of murder, innuendo, suspicion and hatred. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5726 and Streaming video.
Head-on AKA Gegen die Wand = Against the wall. Germany. 2004. (118 min.). A melodrama of a Turkish man and woman living in Germany, torn between two cultures, tradition and modernity, survival and death. DVD 2768
Heart of glass = Herz aus Glas. Germany. 1976. (92 min.). Set in the pre-industrial past, film tells the story of a German village that loses the secret of making its unique Ruby glass. The townspeople turn to madness, murder, and magic in a desperate effort to recover the pure ingredient they have lost. During the filming, Herzog hypnotized his actors in order to help convey the atmosphere of hallucination, prophecy and the visionary. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 3544
Heimat. Germany. 1987. (924 min.). A massive chronicle of life in Germany, from 1919 to 1982, as reflected in the fluctuating fortunes of the members of one family, initially peasant-farmers, in the fictitious village of Schachbach in the Rhineland. Heimat is an extraordinary succession of mostly ordinary events and characters--history seen from ground level--vividly acted by a huge cast of both professional and nonprofessional actors. Streaming video
The holy mountain = Der heilige Berg. Germany. 1926. (105 min.). Set against a backdrop of the German Alps, a love triangle develops as two men vie for the affection of a dancer. One of Fanck's legendary "mountain films." DVD 801
Hot summer = Heißer Sommer. East Germany. 1968. (93 min.). Set on the Baltic Sea, is the lovin' and fightin' of 10 teenage boys and 11 teenage girls on vacation. A musical version of coming of age. This bit of fluff lit up the East German box offices in 1968. There is a blend of pop songs, rock and upbeat lyrics. DVD 495
The Indian tomb = Das Indische Grabmal. Germany/France/Italy. 1959. (100 min.). In the grand tradition of the serialized cliffhanger, this film picks up right where The tiger of Eschnapur ends. The adventure concludes with a rescue from a sandstorm, a trek through the jungle, a cave of lepers, and a bloody palace rebellion. DVD 2922
In the year with 13 moons = In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden. Germany. 1978. Contained on The Fassbinder collection II. [2004]. This drama follows the last few days in the life of Elvira (formerly Erwin) Weisshaupt. Years before, Erwin told a co-worker, Anton, that he loved him. "Too bad, you aren’t a woman," he replied. Erwin took Anton at his word. Trying to salvage something from the wreckage love has made of his life, he now hopes that Anton will not reject him again. DVD 3549
Jacob the liar. East Germany/Czechoslovakia. 1974. (96 min.). Trapped in a Polish ghetto with thousands of other Jews facing starvation or deportation to the death camps, Jacob is detained one evening at the local Gestapo headquarters. Eavesdropping, he overhears a radio report about a nearby Russian victory. At first he is silent, but circumstances compel him to pass on the good news of hope. In order to be believed, he feigns access to a hidden, strictly forbidden radio. Quickly he becomes a one-man bulwark against despair, a reluctant hero, but a tragic figure still-- a man ultimately powerless to see or change the fate of his people. DVD 349
The Joyless street = Die Freudlose Gasse. Germany. 1925. (96 min.). First international screen appearance by Greta Garbo. A drama about the hungers and passions of Germans and Austrians living under the distorted conditions of the inflation-ridden, post World War I Vienna. Streaming video
Jud Süß. Germany. 1940. (ca. 95 min.). Based on the character of Josef Su ̈ ss Oppenheimer who was tax advisor to Karl Alexander during the early 1700's and was publicly executed in Stuttgart for manipulation of state funds, film was made at the behest of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. In this version a power seeking Jewish man victimizes innocent Aryans. Streaming video
Kings of the road = Im Lauf der Zeit. Germany. 1975. (176 min.). Wenders looks at the fall of Civilization as he depicts the experiences of two young men in modern Germany. Bruno (Vogler) repairs cinema equipment; Robert (Zischler) has lost faith in Civilization and is suicidal. They meet at a traffic accident and together set off on a rambling trip across Germany, listening to rock 'n roll, visiting closed movie theatres, meeting strangers and learning what it means to be living in today's Germany. DVD 13220
Kriemhild's revenge = Die Kriemhilds rache. Germany. 1924. (95 min.). The conclusion of a two-part version of the Nibelungenlied. Kriemhilde avenges the murder of Siegfried by marrying Attila the Hun and causing mass slaughter. Streaming video
Land of silence and darkness. Germany. 1971. (85 min.). A documentary about 56 year-old Fini, blind and deaf since her teens. DVD 1364
The last laugh = Der letzte mann. Germany. 1924. (91 min.). The story of a hotel doorman who is demoted to washroom attendant because of his age. Humiliated, he considers suicide. Then, by a strange twist of fate, he becomes a millionaire. This silent film is told entirely by camera, without title cards. DVD 2880
The legend of Rita = Die Stille nach dem Schuss. Germany. 1999. (101 min.). This political thriller, set in the final years of the Cold War, recounts the struggles of a young West German woman member of a terrorist group (loosely based on the real Baader-Meinhof gang). When the group disbands, she goes into hiding with an invented identity in East Germany. She struggles with the realities of a Communist state while keeping the distant ideal of socialism. DVD 810
Liebelei. Germany. 1932. (83 min.). In turn-of-the-century gay Vienna, a young lieutenant's love for a musician's daughter leads inevitably to her tragic suicide. Valse Brillante is a classical film in which Alexander Brailowski plays Chopin. DVD 16376
Liliom. France. 1934. (ca. 120 min.). A carnival barker is killed in a knife fight but is allowed to return to earth for one day to see how his wife and daughter are managing. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5329
The lives of others = Das leben der anderen. Germany. 2006. (137 min.). A 1984 East Berlin simple surveillance assignment: Capt. Gerd Wiesler, a Stasi officer and a specialist in surveillance, has been assigned to keep an eye on Georg Dreyman, a respected playwright, and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland. Though Dreyman is known to associate with blacklisted director Albert Jerska, a known dissident, Dreyman's record is spotless. Wiesler discovers that Minister Hempf has an ulterior motive in spying on this seemingly upright citizen. Wiesler's sympathies shift from the government to its people - or at least to this one particular person. DVD 3070
The lost honor of Katharina Blum = Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum. Germany. 1975. (106 min.). In the period of several days, Katharina's privacy and her honor are destroyed, first by the police who terrorize her, and then by the yellow press, which creates in her name the image of a politicized Bonnie Parker. DVD 2013
The love of Jeanne Ney = Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney. Germany. 1927. (113 min.). Jeanne Ney is the daughter of a French diplomat who is assassinated by Bolsheviks. She falls in love with a young Communist, Andreas and they have a brief interlude of happiness in Paris until her uncle is murdered and the crime pinned on Andreas. DVD 2882
M. Germany. 1931. (110 min.). Drama based on the actual case of the Dusseldorf murderer of children who is hunted by police, but is caught and tried by the city's criminals. DVD 56
Maedchen in Uniform = Mädchen in Uniform. Germany. 1931. (90 min.). Living in the prison-like confines of a Prussian boarding school for the daughters of army officers, a young girl finds herself choked by the institution's strict regimentation and rigid discipline. Under the unbending rule of a matriarchal staff, she falls in love with the school's only caring teacher. When the principal finds out about the affair, she is isolated from the rest of the students and is driven from her unhappiness to attempt suicide. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 17408
Martha. Germany. 1974. (116 min.). Contained on The Fassbinder collection II. Martha is a librarian who watches helplessly as her father dies of heart failure on the Spanish Steps in Rome. On her way for help to the German Embassy in Rome, she passes by a man who takes special notice of her. Martha meets the man again at a wedding reception in Germany. After a brief courtship, she marries him and begins her slow descent into a living hell. DVD 3549
Mephisto. Germany/Hungary/Austria. 1981. (144 min.). An actor of the Art Theatre Company of Hamburg, who subordinates everything to his success, befriends a principal figure in the Nazi power machinery and is drawn into the poisonous circle of evil from which he can no longer escape. DVD 328
The merchant of four seasons = Händler der vier Jahreszeiten. Germany. 1972. (88 min.). Hans, a fruit peddler, watches his unexceptional life disintegrate. Seduced and rejected to the point of a nervous breakdown, Hans drinks himself to death as he toasts his loved ones at the dinner table. DVD 3555
The Merry Jail = Das fidele Gefangnis. Germany. 1917 on Trouble in Paradise. A neglected wife disguises herself in order to lure her wastrel husband into a compromising position. DVD 548
Metropolis. Germany. 1927. (124 min.). An expressionistic vision of a struggle between management and labor in a city of the future using science fiction and spectacular special effects to tell a story of biting social satire. In a futuristic time and place, an above ground city of lightness, culture and respectability is kept going only by the enslaved proletariat laboring beneath in the underground city: a nightmarish, cruel, and dark place. A banker's son rejects the upper world and joins the workers of the underworld. He meets Maria who urges a peaceful change and passive progress for the workers. The hero's father hires an evil scientist to make a violent robot who looks like Maria, who will incite the workers to riot, thereby giving the banker an excuse to enslave the workers. The workers riot and almost destroy society, until the real Maria appears to tranquilize them. The banker learns his lesson, and designates his son as mediator between society and workers. DVD 83, DVD 1283
Michael. Germany. 1924. (86 min.). A great, aging artist succumbs to despair when the young model and pupil he adores leaves him for a woman. Although the story is discreetly played at a father/adopted son level on the surface, the homosexual subtext is quite clear in this early Dreyer film made in Germany. DVD 2451
Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven = Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel. Germany. 1976. (112 min.). A factory worker goes berserk one day killing the boss’ son and then throwing himself into the machinery. Trying to clear her husband’s name, the murderer’s widow journeys through ludicrous arenas of yellow journalism and left-wing politics. DVD 3557
Münchhausen. Germany. 1943. (111 min.). The famous Baron Munchhausen is called to the court of St. Petersburg. He becomes a favorite of the Tsarina, duels with a jealous Potemkin and receives the gift of eternal life from the diabolical Cagliostro. DVD 1983
The Murderers Are Among Us = Die Mörder sind unter uns. Germany. 1946. (85 min.) Susanne is a concentration camp survivor who, despite unspeakable experiences, is filled with a new desire to live. She wants to move back into her apartment in war-torn Berlin where Hans has taken up residence. He is a former officer and surgeon in the German army who finds himself unable to deal with the haunting memories of his role in the war. Together, this broken man gathers new strength and courage. DVD 2909
The Nasty girl = Das Schreckliche Mädchen. Germany. 1990. (94 min.). Sonja, a model student, becomes a celebrity when she wins an essay contest. She is invited to compete in another contest and she chooses the topic "My hometown during the Third Reich" -- which according to lore didn't collaborate with the Nazis. However, the local archives produce contradictory evidence and she is denied access to local newspaper files. She quickly becomes the object of scorn and threats from the townspeople who have a surprising lot to conceal. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 11250
Die Nibelungen. Germany. 1924. (291 min.). In part one, Siegfried wins the hand of Kriemhilde by slaying the dragon and defeating Brunhilde. When Brunhilde learns that magic has been used to conquer her, she has Siegfried murdered. In part two, Kriemhilde seeks revenge for Siegfried's death and marries Attila, king of the Huns, in order to further her purpose. DVD 1282
The Niklashausen journey = Die Niklashauser Fahrt. Germany. 1970. (86 min.). Can a small group of people start a proletarian revolution, asks the "Black Monk" in a leather jacket. The medieval shepherd, Hans Boehm, claims to have been called by the Virgin Mary to create a revolt against the church and the landowners. The "Black Monk" suggests that he would have more success if he dressed up Johanna and had her appear as the Virgin Mary. DVD 3550
The ninth day = Der neunte tag. Germany/Luxembourg/Czech Republic. 2004. (93 min.). Noted German director Volker Schlondorff's (The Tin Drum) highly compelling The Ninth Day provides a unique examination of historical events that took place during the Holocaust. DVD 1806
Nosferatu: a symphony of horror. Germany. 1922. (94 min.). Directed by F.W. Murnau. Rather than depict Dracula as a shape-shifting monster or debonair gentleman, Murnau’s Graf Orlok is a nightmarish, spidery creature with a bulbous head and taloned claws. DVD 393
Nosferatu the vampyre. Germany/France. 1979. (107 min.). Jonathan Harker, against the wishes of his wife, departs on a journey over the Carpathian Mountains to arrange a real estate transaction for Count Dracula, with tragic results. A remake of the German silent classic by F.W. Murnau, closely based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Count Dracula (Kinski), bald, bat-eyed and fanged, moves to the town of Virna - which he then destroys with a plague spread by rats. The pure and self-sacrificing heroine Lucy (Adjani) must then try to save her husband Jonathan (Ganz) from the vampire. Dr. Van Helsing (Ladengast) drives the stake through the vampire heart - but Lucy is dead and Jonathan has become a vampire. DVD 3875
Nowhere in Africa = Nirgendwo in Afrika. Germany. 2001. (142 min.). Critically acclaimed, this is the award winning true tale of a Jewish family who flee the Nazi regime in 1938 and learn to cope with their new life, and each other, on a remote farm in Kenya. DVD 1155
The Ogre = Der Unhold. Germany. 1996. (117 min.). A seductive fairy tale about Hitler's Germany in which a naive mechanic comes to symbolize the seductive appeal of the Nazi regime. Abel is a French orphan who believes he is a "magical creature." As a reclusive adult, he soon finds that children are his only friends, but when one girl accuses him of molesting her, he is imprisoned and branded a monster. Abel is offered redemption by entering the army on the eve of World War II. It's the beginning of a journey that will take him from Herman Goering's private hunting estate to a school for Hitler youth. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 6898
Olympia. Germany. 1936-1938. (165 min.). Commissioned by the 1936 Olympic Committee as a documentary on the Berlin Olympics, Riefenstahl combines the poetry of bodies in motion with close-ups of athletes in the heat of competition, including American track star Jesse Owens's sprint races. Some say that the production tends to glorify the young male body and express the Nazi attitude toward athletic prowess. DVD 1663
Othello. Germany. 1922. (80 min.). Cavernous chambers and stony battlements cast shadows of impending doom upon Othello and Desdemona as the mephistophelian Iago dances about them, methodically destroying their happiness and steering them toward their bitter fate with impish delight. DVD 3709
Our Hitler: a film from Germany = Hitler, ein Film aus Deutschland. Germany/UK/France. 1977. (450 min.). In a series of 22 tableaux set on a soundstage, Syberberg makes use of puppets, props, a Wagnerian soundtrack, and rear-screen projection to evoke Nazi Germany, the orgins of the Third Reich, and the aftermath that followed. DVD 3470
The oyster princess: a grotesque comedy in 4 acts = Die Austernprinzessin. Germany. 1919. (60 min.). & I Don't Want to Be a Man = Ich möchte kein Mann sein. Germany. 1920. (45 min.). The Oyster Princess: a comedy in which a pampered American oyster tycoon plans to find a prince to marry his much-indulged daughter, but things don't go his way. I don't wanna be a man: while her father is away, a teenage tomboy impersonates a man in this gender-bending absurdist comedy. DVD 2897
Pandora's Box = Die Büchse der Pandora. Germany. 1929. (133 min.). Lulu, a chorus girl who uses her sexuality to destroy the lives of men and begins a downward spiral into prostitution. DVD 3144,
People on Sunday = Menschen am sonntag. Germany. 1930. (58 min.). Follows the romantic misadventures of a taxi driver and his married salesman friend as they spend one Sunday trying to pick up a shopgirl and a model. Their flirtations take them from the bustling streets of Berlin to a beach on the Wannasee lake, where they spend a lyrical day swimming and playing with the girls, then return to their lives in the city at the end of the day. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10034 and Streaming video
Phantom. Germany. 1922. (120 min.). Alfred Abel plays Lorenz Lubota, a man obsessed with his own desires to achieve fame and wealth, who must confront the barriers of class keeping him from a woman with whom he has had a fateful encounter. DVD 2468
Pioneers in Ingolstadt = Pioniere in Ingolstadt. Germany. 1971. (87 min.). A group of young German recruits are on assignment to build a wooden bridge in the town of Ingolstadt. The young men seek relief from boredom with alcohol, acts of brutality and sexual escapades with the local women. Alma and her friend Berta welcome the excitement that the new arrivals bring to their lives, but while Alma picks up passing soldiers, Berta searches for true love. DVD 3553
The princess and the warrior = Der Krieger und die Kaiserin. Germany. 2000. (133 min.). When shy, beautiful Sissi is the victim of a horrible car accident, a handsome small-time criminal comes to the rescue and saves her life. Once she recovers, she sets out to find him and discovers that he is a violent man with a conflicted past and dangerous future. It doesn't take long for the two to meet again - during a deadly bank robbery. Now it is her turn to save his life. DVD 1993
The promise = Das versprechen. Germany/France/Switzerland. 1995. (115 min.). The story of two lovers trapped on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall after one successfully escapes to the West. DVD 16570
Querelle AKA Querelle - Ein Pakt mit dem Teufel = Querelle: A pact with the devil. Germany/France. 1982. (109 min.). Fassbinder’s final film; a stylized, delirious interpretation of Genet’s story of a proud and tough loaner, the sailor Querelle who becomes involved in drug-smuggling, sexual adventures and murder. Originally shot in English; also released in a German-dubbed print as "Querelle--ein pakt mit dem Teufel". DVD 3560
Rotation. East Germany. 1949. (84 min.). A German family becomes divided over supporting the Nazis. It's father against son as one betrays the other during the war and after. DVD 2919
Run Lola run = Lola rennt. Germany. 1998. (81 min.). A post-MTV, roller-coaster ride about two star-crossed lovers who have only minutes to change the course of their lives. Time is running out: Lola has just received a frantic call from her boyfriend Manni, who's accidentally lost a small fortune he was to deliver to his mobster boss. If they cannot find a way to replace the money within twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences. DVD 92
The second awakening of Christa Klages = Das Zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages. Germany. 1978. (ca. 93 min.). Christa Klages is a young mother distraught at the prospect that her day care center is running out of money. With her lover, Werner, and another friend, she robs a bank. The friend is captured and Werner is killed while eluding the police, so Christa flees with her friend, Ingrid, who helps Christa escape to Portugal. DVD 2319
Secrets of a soul = Geheimnisse einer Seele. Germany. 1926. (58 min.). By deciphering dream symbols, a psychoanalyst is able to resolve his patient's unconscious conflicts, curing him. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 3943
Sex in chains = Geschlecht in fesseln. Germany. 1928. (90 min.). When Sommer accidentally kills a nightclub patron harassing his wife Helene, he's sentenced to three years in prison. Denied the comforts promised in their marriage, the young newlyweds risk their future and find release where they can -- Sommer in the arms of a handsome fellow prisoner and Helene with the boss whose kindness becomes her only solace. DVD 2452
Siegfried. Germany. 1924. (96 min.). Part one of The Nibelungen saga. Siegfried wins the hand of Kriemhilde by slaying the dragon and defeating Brunhilde. When Brunhilde learns that magic has been used to conquer her, she has Siegfried murdered. HOME USE COLLECTION BLU 1282
Signs of life = Lebenszeichen. Germany. 1968. (87 min.). An injured German soldier is sent to recuperate at a remote Greek island during the Second World War. The islands beauty tempts him with the promise of peace, but ultimately he can't accept the potential of this enchanting place. DVD 1421
Sonnenallee. Germany. 1999. (87 min.). Set in the 1970s, this comedy chronicles the antics of a group of kids from East Berlin that grow up in the shadow of one of the few crossing stations to the West. DVD 1550
Sophie Scholl: die letzten Tage. Germany. 2005. (117 min.). The film depicts the last six days (February 17-22, 1943) in the life of Sophie Scholl from her own perspective: that of a courageous and vibrant young woman who is willing to face death for her belief in her ideals and those of the White Rose, an underground resistance movement to which she belongs. Through their resistance and protest against the Nazi regime, Sophie and her fellow members of the White Rose become synonymous with civil courage and a peaceful struggle against the rule of violence and oppression. DVD 2366
S.O.S iceberg = S.O.S. Eisberg. Germany/USA. 1933. (162 min.). Explorer Karl Lorenz is stranded on a steadily eroding iceberg. A rescue crew reaches him only to become stranded themselves. When his wife arrives, she crashes her plane and is stranded too. They soon battle the elements and hope for a miracle. DVD 2892
Spies = Spione. Germany. 1928. (143 min.). First true spy film. A power-hungry banker with many disguises marshals his forces to steal the secrets of an important treaty. DVD 1284
The spiders = Die Spinnen. Germany. 1919. (137 min.). An adventure story about an organized band of criminals who scheme to dominate the world. Crime is an end in itself for The Spiders syndicate headed by a respectable man, Dr. Telphas, but energized by a woman, the fantastically resourceful Lio Sha. Follow the syndicate as they chase from Peru to England, India and the Falkland Islands in a mad chase for jewels and dominance of the world. DVD 2921
Stalingrad. Germany. 1993. (ca. 150 min.). This film features the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare - the legendary battle of Stalingrad - where over 2 million men lost their lives. Stalingrad was the turning point in the war for the Germans. They never recovered from this devastating defeat. Stalingrad's emphasis is not simply on the battle but on certain young men who fought in that war - their hopes, their fears, their stories. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 5732
The State of things = Der Stand der Dinge. Germany/Portugal/USA. 1982. (120 min.). Wim Wender's film is a biting satire on the conflicts between commercial moving making and art and raises the issue of whether a film must tell a story or can simply capture and create images. Friedrich, a Swiss director, is in the middle of shooting an impressionistic film about six survivors of the nuclear holocaust when the film stock suddenly runs out. He is forced to go to Hollywood in search of a producer who is an erratic genius ceaselessly roaming the L.A. streets throughout the night. DVD 9636
The Stationmaster’s Wife = Bolwieser. Germany. 1977. (111 min.). The stationmaster Bolwieser is sexually obsessed with his beautiful wife. Soon bored with her husband she engages in adulterous affairs, causing him to become sullen and depressed leading to disasterous consequences. DVD 3687
Stroszek. Germany. 1977. (108 min.). Bruno Stroszek, an ex-mental patient, can't keep from getting into trouble. Just released from his latest stay in jail, he takes up with Eva, a streetwalker, and Schertz, an eccentric old man. They decide to leave the slums of Berlin and emigrate to Railroad Flats, Wisconsin, to find the "promised land." Life is not better in a god-forsaken truck stop with mobile homes and T.V. football. VHS 4648
The Student of Prague = Der Student von Prag. Germany. 1913. (41 min.). Presents an old German legend about a poor student in Prague who falls in love with a wealthy countess. He sells his reflection to an agent of the devil in order to become rich, then buys it back at the expense of his life. DVD 2911, DVD 2912
Sugarbaby = Zuckerbaby. Germany. 1985. (86 min.). Marianne, a late night TV and snack food junkie, spends her days at a dead end job at a mortuary in Munich until she falls in love with a polite subway conductor and begins to devote all her time and energy to a quest to satisfy her passionate desires for him. DVD 11247
Summer Over Mont Blanc = Stürme über dem Mont Blanc. Germany. 1930. (ca. 95 min.). In a mountain outpost a scientist lives with little contact to the outside world. In the middle of a fierce snowstorm, his station is battered by the elements. Suffering from frostbite, he sends a desperate S.O.S. hoping that he can be rescued. DVD 2890
Sumurun: an oriental play in six acts. Germany. 1920. (103 min.). In this blending of melodrama and comedy, the story of a rebellious harem member who rejects the sheikh and falls in love with a merchant is interwoven with several other related stories. DVD 2899
Tartuffe. Germany. 1925. (63 min.). A religious hypocrite insinuates himself into a wealthy Parisian family. DVD 2881
Testament of Dr. Mabuse = Das testament des Dr. Mabuse. Germany. 1933. (ca. 121 min.). Locked away in an asylum for a decade and teetering between life and death, the criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse has scribbled his last will and testament: a manifesto establishing a future empire of crime. When the document's nefarious writings start leading to terrifying parallels in reality, it's up to Berlin's star detective, Inspector Lohmann, to connect the most fragmented, maddening clues in a case unlike any other. DVD 969
The third generation = Die dritte generation. Germany. 1979. (127 min.). An inept group of middle-class German radicals plot to kidnap the director of a multinational company. Their position is compromised by the arrival of two mysterious strangers, yet still they persist with their controversial strategy. DVD 3559
Tiefland. Austria/Germany. 1954. (94 min.). Set in 18th century Catalonia, the story of the love of a selfish feudal lord and a handsome, brave shepherd for the same beautiful gypsy dancer. DVD 2918
The tiger of Eschnapur = Der Tiger von Eschnapur. Germany/France/Italy. 1959. (101 min.). Romantic adventure set in mysterious India. Story concerns a visiting architect who arrives to build hospitals and housing in the lost kingdom of Eshnapur ruled by rival brothers. He falls in love with a dancing girl who is also loved by one of the kingdom's rulers. Features lepers, man-eating tigers, desert sandstorms, palace revolutions and a stone goddess. DVD 2923
The tin drum = Die blechtrommel. Germany/France/Poland/Yugoslovia. 1979. ( 142 min.). Feature chronicles Danzig in the 1920s/1930s and the life and times of Oskar Matzerath the son of a local dealer, a most unusual boy. Equipped with full intellect right from his birth he decides at his third birthday not to grow up as he sees the crazy world around him at the eve of World War II. So he refuses the society and his tin drum symbolizes his protest against the middle-class mentality of his family and neighborhood, which stand for all passive people in Nazi Germany at that time. DVD 40
The triumph of the will = Triumph des Willens. Germany. 1935. (120 min.). This film, commissioned by Adolf Hitler to record the 1934 Nazi party rally in Nuremberg, is the "most powerful piece of propaganda ever produced". Included are many scenes of gatherings, marches, and parades. The viewer will also hear speeches given by Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, and Hess as well as samples of monumental architecture designed by Albert Speer. DVD 351
The Tunnel = Der tunnel. Germany. 2001. (160 min.). Set in East Berlin in 1961, the film tells the story of a champion swimmer who, with his enginner friend, masterminds an attempt to dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall through which some two dozen people hope to escape to the West. DVD 2147
Vampyr. France/Germany. 1932. (72 min.). A subtle, disturbing version of the vampire legend. A young man attempts to find and kill a vampire that has assumed the form of an old woman. DVD 3734
A virus knows no morals = Ein Virus kennt keine Moral. Germany. 1985. (84 min.). A black comedy on the AIDS virus that covers just about every aspect of AIDS and its effects, as well as the rumors surrounding it. DVD 15792
Warning shadows = Schatten. Germany. 1922. (85 min.). Expressionist film in which a count is jealous of the attentions his wife pays to "the lover" and various other suitors. The situation comes to a head when a showman/mesmerist puts on a "shadow play" for them all, in which their emotion and passions are mirrored. DVD 2159
Waxworks. Germany. 1924. (83 min.). A poet imagines scenarios in a wax museum fairground that involve Jack the Ripper, Ivan the Terrible, and Haroun al-Raschid. DVD 729
Wet Asphalt = Nasser Asphalt. Germany. 1958. (89 min.). A Nazi buried in a bunker for 6 years somehow escapes and survives, left without sight. A sensationalistic reporter stuns the world with the story of the WWII survivor, only to have his assistant find out the story was made up to sell more papers. DVD 2925
The White Hell of Pitz Palu = Die Weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü. Germany. 1929. (ca. 133 min.). While enjoying a romantic stay in a remote cabin, Maria and Hans come across the tale of Dr. Krafft, who lost his wife in an avalanche. On the anniversary of her death, Dr. Krafft appears at the cabin and the couple offers to help him in his search. DVD 2891
Whity. Germany. 1970. (95 min.). Centers around the illegitimate son of the seriously deranged Ben Nicholson. Despite being their slave, [Whity] becomes the obsession of each member of the family as they try to enlist his aid in disposing of one another. DVD 3554
Why does Herr R. run amok? = Warum läuft Herr R. Amok? Germany. 1970. (88 min.). A man who seems perfectly normal and content with his boring middle-class life, gets up from watching the TV one night and inexplicably kills his family and a visiting neighbor. DVD 3548
The wildcat: a grotesque in four acts = Die Bergkatze. Germany. 1921. (82 min.). The commander of a remote fort (and his lovely daughter) eagerly awaits a new lieutenant. En route, he is captured by outlaws who roam the snow-covered mountains and the daughter of their leader quickly falls for the young officer, setting in motion an outrageous farce. DVD 2900
Wings of Desire AKA Der Himmel über Berlin = The Sky Over Berlin. Germany. 1987. (128 min.). A romantic fantasy about an angel who wishes he were mortal and is willing to fall from the sky if it means a chance to fall in love. Set in modern day Berlin, the film follows angel Damiel’s path from heavenly flight to earthly delight in a manner that’s comical, touching and entertaining. DVD 3520
Woman in the moon = Frau im Mond. Germany. 1929. (169 min.). An early silent film describing a journey by rocket ship to the moon. Rather than a flight of pure fantasy, director Fritz Lang conceived a modernized "trip to the Moon" grounded in state-of-the-art astrophysics & spiced with romance and espionage. One of the most influential science fiction films of its era, in many respects technically accurate. DVD 1285
Young Törless = Der Junge Törless. Germany/France. 1966. (87 min.). Set at a military boarding school at the turn of the 20th century, the shy and intelligent Toerless wants to report the humiliation and torture of a fellow classmate, but remains silent when the others threaten to name him as an accomplice. DVD 3648