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Kaiser, Kintopp & Karonssen - Die Filme von Julius Neubronner
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Otto Hunte - A Film Architect; Alfons Arns, Hans-Peter Reichmann (ed);
Kinematograph #10; 144 pages, 204 illustrations, DM 28,-.
Film Architektur. Set Designs von Metropolis bis Blade Runner. Deutsches Filmmuseum / Deutsches Architektur Museum
The Deutsches Filmmuseum has published a comprehensive critical survey on Otto Hunte, one of the most important German film architects. The very few details which are known about Otto Hunte's life hardly suggest the breadth of his work or the position he held within the complex and intertwined process of film production. A number of his brief, self-reflective statements are published in the present catalog, which allows a glance at the "complete" Otto Hunte. The monograph portrays the film architect who became a star by virtue of his designs for pictures such as Die Nibelungen, Metropolis, Die Frau im Mond and Der blaue Engel, and extends our knowledge of Hunte into the National Socialist period when he worked on films including Gold, Jud Süss or Die Entlassung. The book follows Hunte through the war period and details his role as the set designer of the first post-war film produced by DEFA, Die Mörder sind unter uns. Contributions to the catalog, which take into consideration issues of film history as well as architecture, attempt to set Otto Hunte in the context of the self-awareness of German film architects as a whole. The essays investigate the continuity of Hunte's work over half a century of German film history. Single films, such as those directed by Fritz Lang, Jud Süss and Die Entlassung are examined in some depth. An interview with the late Alfred Hirschmeier, who was in close contact with Hunte and who influenced him considerably, provides a very personal view of the film architect. The catalog's inventory lists all those designs by Otto Hunte which are in the collection of the Deutsches Filmmuseum. A comprehensive filmography lists all productions to which Hunte contributed as an architect.
Dietrich Neumann (ed)
This catalogue accompanies the exhibition with the same title, curated by Dietrich Neumann. The exhibition has been complemented with objects from the collections of the Deutsches Filmmuseum and the Deutsches Architektur-Museum, which have collaborated on the show. The catalogue contains five essays, descriptions of 24 films, reprints of contemporary texts and statements on film and architecture from the twenties, and biographies of film architects. 208 pages, 293 illustrations. The German edition (paperback) is available for 49,80DM, the English edition (hardcover) for 98DM,-. Both editions have been published by Prestel. They can be purchased at both museums or ordered by mail.