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A Companion to Fritz Lang Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell 2015 (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Film Directors), 607 S., ISBN 9780470670972, EUR 144,–

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A Companion to Fritz Lang Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell 2015 (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Film Directors), 607 S., ISBN 9780470670972, EUR 144,– 526 MEDIENwissenschaft 04/2015 Joe McElhaney (Hg.): A Companion to Fritz Lang Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell 2015 (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Film Directors), 607 S., ISBN 9780470670972, EUR 144,– Das Interesse an Fritz Lang hat sich in Neugier zuletzt vergleichsweise weniger jüngster Zeit vor allem auf neu zutage stark an. Norbert Grobs BiografieFritz getretene Details seines Lebens gerich- Lang – „Ich bin ein Augenmensch“ (Berlin: tet. Seine Filme zogen hingegen die Propyläen, 2014) ist das aktuellste Bei- Fotografie und Film 527 spiel für eine Tendenz, die mit Patrick Sektion, die an ausgewählten Beispielen McGilligans Fritz Lang: The Nature of hervorstechende Merkmale der Gestal- the Beast (New York: St. Martin’s Press, tung und Erzählweise in Einzelanaly- 1997) ihren Anfang genommen hat und sen und Querschnittsbetrachtungen seither nicht abriss. Abgesehen von eini- beleuchtet, etwa die Kameraästhetik gen kleineren Studien steht dieser Kon- und die Funktion von Objekten in den junktur des Biografischen eigentlich frühen deutschen Filmen oder perfor- nur Tom Gunnings The Films of Fritz mative Aspekte des Schauspiels und die Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity Texturierung von Oberflächen in den (London: BFI, 2000) entgegen. Unter Hollywood-Produktionen Langs. Die dem Stichwort der ‚destiny machine‘ Aufmerksamkeit wird auf diese Weise hat es eine ebenso komplex gedachte nicht nur einmal mehr auf stilistische wie am Material elegant nachgewiesene Kontinuitäten gelenkt, vor allem die Kombination von vormoderner Bild- Feinanalysen werfen immer wieder sprache und hypermodernem Technik- die grundsätzliche Frage auf, welchen fetischismus als Schneise durch Langs Anteil Kameraleute, Setdesigner_innen Gesamtwerk geschlagen, die bis heute oder Schauspieler_innen an der ästhe- die Paradigmen in der Beschäftigung tischen Gestalt der Filme hatten. Ein mit seinen Filmen prägt. Beitrag ist Metropolis (1927) gewidmet Kaum ein Beitrag in A Companion und betrachtet ausführlich, allerdings to Fritz Lang kommt deshalb ohne Ver- argumentativ äußerst verschlungen die weis auf Gunning aus, dem am Ende vielschichtige Konstitution der im Film (in einem gemeinsam mit Katharina eröffneten Wahrnehmungsräume. Der Loewe verfassten Text über Die Frau letzte Teil des Buches nimmt unter der im Mond [1929]) zudem die Ehre erwie- Überschrift „Rediscoveries and Returns“ sen wird, das letzte Wort zu haben. Die bisher weniger beachtete Werke Langs Struktur, die Joe McElhaney seinem in den Blick, darunter neben Frau im Handbuch gegeben hat, lässt Gun- Mond den KriegsfilmAmerican Guerilla nings Einfluss erkennen, setzt aber in the Philippines (1950), den Kostüm- auch eigene, neue Akzente. Die erste film Cloak and Dagger (1946) sowie die Sektion steht unter der Begriffstrias Kriminalmelodramen Ministry of Fear „Looking, Power, Interpretation“ und (1944), House by the River (1950), Clash befasst sich vor allem mit den Mabu- by Night (1952) und die Zola-Verfil- se-Filmen (1922, 1933, 1960) sowie mung Human Desire (1954). mit Spione (1928) und M (1931). Die Neben ausgewiesenen Lang-For- zweite Sektion schlägt unter dem Titel schern wie Gunning, Raymond Bell- „Myths, Legends, and Tragic Visions“ our, Anton Kaes oder Lutz Koepnick eine Brücke von Der müde Tod (1921) kommen in allen Sektionen überwie- und Die Nibelungen (1922-24) zu den gend Wissenschaftler_innen zu Wort, im amerikanischen Exil entstandenen die bisher noch nicht mit Arbeiten über Western und Films Noir. „Matters of Lang hervorgetreten sind. Darüber Form“ stehen im Zentrum der dritten hinaus fällt in der Zusammenstellung 528 MEDIENwissenschaft 04/2015 der Beiträge auf, dass Positionen aus 15 Jahre nach Gunnings bisher verschiedenen Ländern und Kultur- recht einsam in der Landschaft der kreisen versammelt werden. Dies führt Lang-Forschung dastehendem Buch in der Summe zu einer gelungenen liegt nun endlich ein zweites ähnlich Mischung aus einerseits bewährten gewichtiges Kompendium vor. Damit Perspektiven, andererseits frischen ist der zukünftigen Beschäftigung Zugängen und ungewöhnlichen Blick- mit diesem Regisseur eine solide Basis winkeln auf ein Korpus von Filmen, das geschaffen, von der wichtige Impulse zwar weiterhin einige blinde Flecken für eine erneute Hinwendung zu Langs aufweist (so fehlt bspw. eine nähere Werk und eine vertiefte Auseinander- Betrachtung von Langs Filmarbeit vor setzung mit den vielfältigen ästhe- Der müde Tod), über den international tischen Herausforderungen seiner Filme kanonisierten Bestand an Klassikern ausgehen sollten. jedoch entschieden hinauszugreifen versucht. Michael Wedel (Potsdam).
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