Customer Reviews

Maedchen in Uniform [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Other customers have fairly criticized the poor sound, subtitles that can't be read against white background, and all the other problems that can come with a movie from the early 1930's which has been censored to pieces. Nevertheless, here tender lesbian love blooms and is successfully defended in bold defiance of oppression. This kind and inspiring movie stands above the many of today with their touch of voyeurism and their well-meaning but menacing practice of knocking off gay characters.

The way the intense, loving relationship between the young schoolgirl and the teacher was portrayed and developed was very moving. However, I didn't get a sense of sexual love or tension between the two. Instead, I felt more like the movie showed me the different kinds of love possible between two people, regardless of gender. The girl loved her teacher almost like a mother, but not quite. There was definitely something more to it than that type of strong yet simple and easily understood love. There was a sense of longing and forbidden love mixed in with this maternal love. I saw this movie not as an illustration of lesbian love, but rather as a sort of wake-up call that made me question my previous notions regarding love and what it meant to me. And if you ask me, saying that a movie can make you question these types of things is the highest form of praise I can think of.

this is a beautifully executed film, capturing all the passions and confusions of being young and in love. the premise is accessible to anyone who has ever had an adolescent crush-- not limited to lesbians. the flavor of WWII germany comes through powerfully-- at least, my impression of the era. i'm consistently impressed with how liberated a theme this film has amidst the timing of its production {although it /was/ suppressed for a while}.

"Maedchen In Uniform" by all means is a landmark film in movie making. Despite the poor picture quality, bad sound, and the fact that every other word in the movie is obliterated by background lighting, the movie suceeds in showing us the perils of obsessive love forbidden by social morality. Although the movie's lesbianism was actually a quiet metaphore for the anti-facist movement in Germany at the time, some of the movie's lesbian dialog(subtitles) and scenes were edited out by censors before it ever came to the U.S. The version of the movie we see here is the censored one that survived. The original uncensored version of Leontine Sagan's film is lost and gone forever, destroyed either by the facists or neglect. Luckily, the movie can still be enjoyed by fans because of the natural charm of the two main characters played by Dorothea Wieck and Hertha Thiele. Thiele gives a wonderful performance as the starstuck pupil who's face just lights up whenever Fraulein von Bernburg(Wieck) enters the room. My only regret is that I can't really enjoy the film totally because of the missing pieces. I only hope that someone will try and make faithful remake of playwright Christa Winsloe's story.

Maedchen in Uniform is an interesting and enjoyable movie. The film deals with the topic of lesbianism. I've viewed it several times and must say that it's quite intriguing. This German film was released in 1931 and is in black and white. The dialogue is German with English subtitles. The film's plot deals with a teenaged girl that is brought to a strict and oppressive boarding school by her aunt. The girl then develops a crush on one of her teachers, and things get quite troublesome once that happens. I find the acting and character development to be better than good. The story is also fascinating. The film keeps a good pace in its entirety and isn't boring. It would be nice if the picture and sound were better, but I try to remember that it's an older movie. Also, at times during the movie, the subtitles are obscured by the light background. This doesn't happen incessantly, though. Maedchen in Uniform was originally banned in Germany and the U.S. The ban was eventually lifted in the U.S. Maedchen in Uniform is quite an impressive film. I actually give it 3.5 stars. It's well worth a viewing.

This movie is a bit old, but that still doesn't negate it's interesting and surprising plot. The movie deals with a girl who is taken to an all girls boarding school when she's a teenager. There she meets all her fellow students and befriends one of the "nicer than the the others" teachers. Ends up she developes a crush or obsession on this teacher and the teacher does the same with her. Turmoil ensues after that. This movie was released in 1931, and for me I'm surprised that a movie back then would deal with the topic of lesbianism. This film deals with it in a semi-shrouded way that about makes it look normal. Whoever created this was very brave for back then. All the people in it do a fine job of acting. I just wish the sound and picture would've been better. But back then, there wasn't much you could do about that. Recommmended.

According to imdb, MAEDCHEN IN UNIFORM (Germany-1931) runs 88 minutes with American versions one minute less than that. Not sure if this minute contains scenes of physical intimacy, but in its present form there's nothing controversial here beyond a kiss on the lips in the girls dormitory.

The tape has a HiFi audio track but this early talkie is poorly recorded, with a noticeable hiss. There's no background music.

"Maidens in Uniform" was banned as decadent in both Germany and America. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had that ban lifted here while the Nāzis tried but failed to destroy all existing copies of the film. In retrospect, this was a lot of hysteria over very little.

SYNOPSIS--
When her mother dies, 14½-year-old Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is sent to a girls boarding school that's run very much like a prison or reformatory. The inmates (for lack of a better word) wear striped uniforms. They're underfed, forced to march in circles, are denied all luxuries and privileges, lectured to and abused by monitors, and are subject to a draconian demerit system.

Because Manuela is homesick and heartbroken, her studies suffer. In a foreshadowing of the Reich's persecution of Jews, Manuela is branded an outsider and singled out for ever-worsening treatment by headmistress Fräulein Oberlin (Emilia Unda). One of Manuela's teachers, Fräulein von Bernburg (Dorothea Wieck) takes pity on the girl's suffering. This kind attention induces love for Bernburg within Manuela.

In one telling scene, the children mount a stageplay and there's a party afterward. A woman in the kitchen mixes up a potent batch of punch and everyone, kids and adults alike, gets giddy from it. Manuela has too much of the stuff and in a state of extreme intoxication she publicly declares her undying love for Fräulein Bernburg. She's confined to the infirmary until sober, then an angry Oberlin isolates Manuela by demanding no one speak to her. Nothing however is done to the preparer of the alcoholic brew that has loosened Manuela's tongue.

In utter despair, Manuela turns to her beloved teacher and is told by Bernberg that they can no longer be friends. With nothing left to live for, the wretched child climbs the school's loftiest staircase...


Director Leontine Sagan, an Austrian Jew who emigrated to the UK shortly after completing this film, made only two other movies and was fourth unit director on George Cukor's adaptation of DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935). Ms. Sagan experimented here with unusual camera angles. One shot of the intimidating Fräulein Oberlin is an upward look from waist-level that amplifies the malign aura surrounding her.

Approach this story with no expectations of an illicit lovefest and you won't be disappointed. Thiele is a charming youngster and she plays well opposite Wieck. The two co-starred again in ANNA AND ELIZABETH (Germany-1933), a work not currently available on home video.

I initially found this film while watching Henry & June. It's one of the films they watch at the movie theater. If you are a fan of early film or a history buff into pre-Nazi Germany movies... or a collector of homosexual or feminist films... then this is definitely worth purchasing. An interesting fact is that this film is pieced together in parts because the original was destroyed by the Nazis. It was reformatted from various copies, so you will see some sections with different types of subtitles.. and different levels of quality. My only complaint is that some of the subtitles are impossible to read because they are white... and there is a great deal of white clothing etc that interferes with reading. Still, a great collectors item!

I have watched this movie in a class that I am taking now entitled German Film:Beyond Faschism.
If one looks at the film as a pre-fascist film, it asks the German people to question authority. Pre-faschist films often deal with the idea of blind obedience of the Germans or with the military. This film was banned by the Nazis.

Manuela has lost her mother, enrolls in a Prussian Boarding School, and seeks a replacement for her mother in von Bernberg(her teacher). It appears to be a platonic realationship because there is nothing sexual mentioned by either one of the characters in the film.
Manuela doesn't obey people blindly like the other girls in the school. She becomes emotional and as non-prussian as she can be. She tries to commit suicide to get out of the Prussian way. Her comiting suicide is her way of questioning authority. She is rebelling against the system for punishing her for declaring her platonic love for her teacher.
In the end, the Prussian system is put into question. Are they a rebel, like Manuela or are they Prussian, like the head-mistress of the school?
Why didn't the Germans question authority, before Hitler came to power?

This is -under any perspective you analyze it- the bravest and boldest film around the lesbianism. But this approach will allow you to explore the most dark corners related with the feminine loneliness and ontological desperation.

Magnificent, mature and until now simply unequalled. This picture anticipated years light to its own age.

Not only a towering cult movie but also a must for you to watch it. A treasured gem of countless carats. Go for this without reserves.