From Caligari to Hitler [Paperback]

Siegfried Kracauer (Author), Leonardo Quaresima (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691025053 | ISBN-13: 978-0691025056 | Publication Date: May 1, 1966

A landmark, now classic, study of the rich cinematic history of the Weimar Republic, From Caligari to Hitler was first published by Princeton University Press in 1947. Siegfried Kracauer--a prominent German film critic and member of Walter Benjamin's and Theodor Adorno's intellectual circle--broke new ground in exploring the connections between film aesthetics, the prevailing psychological state of Germans in the Weimar era, and the evolving social and political reality of the time. Kracauer's pioneering book, which examines German history from 1921 to 1933 in light of such movies as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Metropolis, and The Blue Angel, has never gone out of print. Now, over half a century after its first appearance, this beautifully designed and entirely new edition reintroduces Kracauer for the twenty-first century. Film scholar Leonardo Quaresima places Kracauer in context in a critical introduction, and updates the book further with a new bibliography, index, and list of inaccuracies that crept into the first edition. This volume is a must-have for the film historian, film theorist, or cinema enthusiast.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The thesis of this unusually interesting book is that the German films of the twenties were filled with premonitions of the German totalitarianism of the thirties. (Nation )

Review

An undisputed classic of modern film historiography, Kracauer's From Caligari to Hitler had a major impact on the way we relate movies to history and society. Although Kracauer is not afraid of using such contested concepts as collective psychology and German 'soul,' his productive readings of Weimar films as harbingers of emerging fascism still resonate today. Leonardo Quaresima's engaging and erudite introduction is critical in situating Kracauer's project both in its historical moment and in our time. (Anton Kaes, University of California, Berkeley )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 1, 1966)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691025053
• ISBN-13: 978-0691025056
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #781,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant look at early German Film, July 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: From Caligari to Hitler (Paperback)

Here it is: probably the most insightful, psychologically brilliant and well researched study of the great early German films (1910-1940) ever written. The author's thesis is this: popular films are popular because they are the dreams shared by a people at any given time. If we study films as if they were keys to the subconscious of the audience, we gain tremendous insight into the culture and mass psychology of the time. The author builds a very convincing case for his thesis that the whole build up to Hitler can be found in the fims that preceded him. I am convinced. This book is also an excellent history of German film as the author is a very good film scholar. Now, if only we had someone around who could interpret the current films of the USA so that we could find out what the future holds in store for us! I loved this book. It was stimulating and I had seen most of the films that he writes about. One advantage todays readers have is that many of these films are no! w out on video.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A psychological history of The German film, December 17, 2001

By 

bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film (Princeton Classic Editions) (Paperback)

This book shows how the cinema paralleled and sometimes helped form the German psyche. Yet it is more than just a documentary. This brings you from the beginning of the industry to show what Hitler inherited. However the information caries far beyond the political dimension.

I use it more for information on the film industry as a whole for that time and the basis of what we inherited today. It is interesting that from the beginning people complained that the film was to long and inclusive or too short and excluded characters form history or books.

Two good parallel and overlapping timeline books for the era are "Cagliari's Children: The Film As Tale of Terror" ISBN: 030680347X which is a different view on the same subject and "The UFA Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945 (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism, 23)"

They tried to capture the feel of the time and of the German actors' attitude toward film, in the movie "Shadow of the Vampire" (2001)

The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945 (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism, 23)

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Thorough, but not Impartial, March 26, 2000

By 

Heath M. Hewitt - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Caligari to Hitler (Paperback)

Not that any book can be impartial, but Kracauer's generally socialist reading of films should not be viewed as definitive.

With this point taken into account, this book does offer an imcomparable survey of early German film, its symbolism, and also, the early careers of such actors as Peter Lorre and Marlene Dietrich.

This book is a very entertaining study of these films, and a must for any student of modern Germany, or early film. It does perhaps reflect generally on the modern German society, and WWII in particular.