A Very Timely Celebration of One Hundred Years of Austrian
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Robert von Dassanowsky. Austrian Cinema: A History. Jefferson: Mcfarland, 2007. 328 pp. $75.00, paper, ISBN 978-0-7864-3733-7. Reviewed by John Warren Published on HABSBURG (April, 2010) Commissioned by Jonathan Kwan (University of Nottingham) I suppose one must start with an acceptance make sense if I briefly summarize their content, that Austria's place in public consciousness as a the last chapter bringing us into an important and filmmaking nation is not strong, but we now have successful phase of Austrian cinema, Austrian cin‐ a book, Robert von Dassanowsky's Austrian Cine‐ ema in the twenty-first century. ma, that provides a complete picture of cinema in The very early years from 1895 to 1928 cover Austria from 1895 to the early party of the twenty- experiments, hectic growth, and the post-1918 sto‐ first century. This reprint in paperback of the ry of Austria's contribution to the silent flm. Early original case bound edition (published in 2005) is film production pre-1914 in Austria was marked a valuable and brave venture, revealing that this by a variety of work, including that of Louise small state has made many important contribu‐ Kolm, one of the frst ever female directors. A tions to the development of flm, even if most of more important fgure was Sascha Kolowrat them have been abroad, most notably in Berlin (Alexander Josef Graf Kolowrat-Krakowsky, and in Hollywood. Within some 285 pages of text, 1886-1927), who spent his inherited fortune on his Dassanowsky has covered the widest possible film company Sascha-Film-AG in 1918 under range of topics: flms and different flm genres, di‐ whose aegis the Hungarian Mihály Kertész, in‐ rectors, actors, production companies, fnance, in‐ spired by the work of D. W. Griffith, produced two ternational connections and cooperation, and last major blockbusters, Sodom und Gomorrah (1922) but by no means least much reference to the Aus‐ (now available on DVD) and Die Sklavenkönigin trian political situation at various key periods in (The slave queen) (1923-24).[1] He left for Holly‐ the development of its flm industry. The author wood in 1926 where he made a successful career has organized the telling of the story into seven as Michael Curtiz. If Austrian flm production chronologically based chapters, outlining over reached a peak in 1922 with seventy-five flms, it one hundred years of Austrian cinema, and it will fell to a mere fve by 1925, and the industry was H-Net Reviews affected not only by a lack of capital but also by boom in flm production--the "Wien-Film: the loss of so much talent to Berlin where many of 1938-1945," when countless flms providing light Babelsberg's greatest directors were in fact Aus‐ entertainment were produced in Vienna, albeit tro-Hungarians: Fritz Lang and Georg Pabst at under the supervision of Berlin. Ucicky, natural their head, but Richard Oswald, Karl Grune, Gus‐ son of the painter Gustav Klimt, continued his ca‐ tav Ucicky, Walter Reisch, Josef von Sternberg, Joe reer in Berlin making the notorious flm May, Alexander Korda, Paul Czinner, Emeric Heimkehr (Homecoming) in 1941 starring Paula Pressburger, and many others played a major Wessely as the victimized German in Poland. part in the triumphs of the German cinema be‐ However, we are told that of the more than ffty tween the wars. feature flms only four were overtly political and The second chapter, "Sound and Diverging Vi‐ cinema audiences were happy to laugh at what sions: 1929-1938," outlines the introduction of the the author terms the "dream team" of Hans Moser "talkies," and continues the complicated history of and Paul Hörbiger. interaction with Germany--particularly so after Under the heading "Postwar and Second Re‐ the National Socialist (NS) takeover in 1933 with public Boom: 1946-1959-- Reconnections and Re- all the problems introduced by their race laws. visions," chapter 4 covers the immediate postwar Willi Forst made his debut as director with the years up to 1959 when the Austrian flm industry Schubert flm Leise fehen meine Lieder (The un‐ endeavored to forget its immediate past and to finished symphony) (1933). Dassanowsky sees him reestablish itself. The occupying powers played as "one of its greatest flmmakers ... and one more their parts but there was no fnancial support casualty from the negligence that has greeted Aus‐ from the Austrian government. In addition to the trian cinema since the 1950s" (p. 49). An added "dream team" and Wessely and her husband, Atti‐ complication was the desire of the clerical fascist la Hörbiger, several new names now established Austrian Corporate State to establish itself as an themselves--directors Karl Hartl, Ernst Marischka, alternative "German" state. Landmark flms from and E. W. Emo, and "stars" O. W. Fischer, Oskar the thirties include two starring the popular ac‐ Werner, and Romy Schneider. However, Wessely's tress Paula Wessely: Forst's Maskerade (1934) and casting as a Jewess in Hartl's flm of Ernst Lothar's Episode (1935) directed by Reisch. There was also novel Der Engel mit der Posaune (The angel with the Austro-Czech production Ekstase–Symphonie the trumpet) in 1948 was much criticized in view der Liebe (Ecstasy–symphony of love) in 1933, of her wartime role (p. 127). This decade and a which made headlines in part because of its nude half is described by the author as a period of "un‐ scene. More typical of the type of flm promoted expected success," but the fnal years showed a se‐ by the Corporate State was the third flming of the rious drop in production that was an omen of "Volksstück" Der Pfarrer von Kirchfeld (The priest things to come (p. 176). from Kirchfeld) in 1937, a coproduction by Louise Chapter 5 bears the heading "The Missed and Jakob Fleck. Yet another Austrian director, Wave: 1960-1979--Commercial Disintegration; Ac‐ Otto Preminger, left for success in Hollywood, tionism; Isolated Experimentation." Under the in‐ having achieved it frst in the theater as director creasing dominance of television coupled with a of Max Reinhardt's "Theater in der Josefstadt," be‐ continued lack of funding, these years produced fore making his frst flm, Die grosse Liebe (1931), in the Austrian flm industry a situation where and then quitting Austria forever. the International Film Guide of 1977 could de‐ The year 1938 saw the "Anschluss" with NS clare that "there is no real flm culture in Austria." Germany, and those years, oddly enough, saw a Films were made of stage productions of Ferdi‐ 2 H-Net Reviews nand Raimund, for example, and the Burgthe‐ lyzed at great length. It continued the long Austri‐ ater's production of Friedrich Schiller's Don Car‐ an tradition of the "Heimatfilm," and is seen in los (1961). In 1968, "only seven 'nominally' Austri‐ some measure by the author as a corrective to an flms made it to the screens" (p. 192). However, Hollywood's The Sound of Music. Since the book newcomer Georg Lhotzky made a flm for televi‐ was written, Ruzowitzky has made the prize-win‐ sion of Gerhard Fritsch's novel Moos auf den ing flm Die Fälscher (The counterfeiters [2007]) Steinen (now available on DVD), which the author also available on DVD, which includes an interest‐ describes as the "only true Austrian flm" (p. 193). ing interview with the director in which he makes Also described are the attempts at the creation of the point that German-speaking critics fnd it diffi‐ ultraradical "alternative flmmaking," some of cult to reconcile flms which entertain and yet which were described by the Kronen Zeitung as possess a moral, ethical content. "perverse trash" and ultimately "conservative cen‐ Finally with "Austrian Film in the Twenty- sorship" won the day (pp. 196, 199, 197) The intro‐ First Century," we reach the stage where one or duction of color TV did nothing to help the cause two directors are producing flms able to win of Austrian cinema but two flms stand out: Maxi‐ nominations for "Best Foreign Films" at interna‐ milian Schell's screening of Ödön von Horváth's tional festivals. The names of men like Michael Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Haneke Die Klavierspielerin (The piano teacher) Vienna woods) in 1979 and Axel Corti's grim story in 2001 and now Das weisse Band (The white rib‐ Der Fall Jägerstätter (The case of Jägerstätter) in bon) and Ruzowitzky are known to more than the 1972--a simple man who refuses military service dedicated cineaste. They are of course "Euro di‐ and is executed by Nazi authorities. rectors," since flmmaking has long become a In chapter 6, "New Austrian Film: 1980-2000," business of international cooperation and, cru‐ we learn of important changes: a certain amount cially, of funding. There are also talented women of government support is introduced into federal at work, like Barbara Albert whose flm Nor‐ law and Dassanowsky senses a new interest in drand (1999) was "the frst Austrian flm in film from the public and even some international decades invited to screen in competition at the recognition. However, there was a decline in the Venice Film Festival in 1999" (p. 271). This, too, is number of cinemas in the early eighties from 495 now available on DVD. in 1981 to 345 in 1988. Franz Antel produced Der I very much hope there will be a second edi‐ Bockerer (Bockerer) in 1981--an important at‐ tion; Dassanowsky has given us a mass of well-re‐ tempt (influenced in part by the Italian cinema) to searched material covering so many different ar‐ get to grips with the Nazi past. Another key pro‐ eas that if the book is to be of use to students and duction was Der Schüler Gerber (The student Ger‐ researchers, it is imperative that a second edition ber) in 1980, Wolfgang Glück's flm of Friedrich provides a subject index.