Greatest German Film of All Time?

Honorable Mentions:

The Tin Drum (1979)

Colonel Redl (1985)

The Hands of Orlac (1924)

The Last Laugh (1924)

Liebele (1933)

Paris, Texas (1984)

Possession (1981)

The White Ribbon (2009)

The Experiment (2001)

Stroszek (1977)

You can't ignore Olympia and its lasting influence on cinematography.

The Marriage of Maria Braun.

Lesbo favorite Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform).

What, no love for "Marriage of Maria Braun"?

The Lives of Others is one of my favorite movies.

Nobody directed smoking scenes better than Fritz Lang

Wenders' hypnotic second feature, "The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick" and Fassbinder's extraordinary "Effi Briest" are right up there with "M" and "Aguirre" for me.

Gay favorite (made in 1919!) Anders Als Die Anderen (Different From The Others)

I would add, Barbara (2012). Personally, I think it is a better film than The Lives of Others. Also The Baader Meinhof Complex .

Toni Erdmann is one of the great German films of the last couple decades.

The Sound of Music!

Where’s Valkyrie? With Tom Cruise. Where they tried to kill Hitler. I’d vote for that one.

OP, you're an idiot for not including any Fassbinder (thank you, R3 & R5). IMHO, a far more interesting director than Herzog.

BTW, I started to watch WINGS OF DESIRE (dir Wim Wenders) after seeing it 34 years ago... and it was just interminable. It felt incredibly pretentious and dull.

Run Lola Run

I loved “ The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum” from 1975.

German cinema is not really my favourite. I’ve always much preferred Italian and French. More glamour, more beautiful stars. German film always looks grubby and rather bleak to me. I do love some fassbinder but that epitomises what I see in German cinema.

[quote]The Tin Drum (1979)

Die Blechtrommel! That's one of my favorites, even though it's quite bizarre

Der junge Törless

I think some people have a problem understanding the meaning of "greatest". Different from Others is an important historical document, it it is in no way a great film. Fassbinder's best film is French, Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes by François Ozon. I think his early work such as Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel is far superior to his "popular" work.

As long as we are mentioning great, but not greatest, I would add The White Ribbon.

Pandora's Box

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) - the oldest surviving animated film, made frame by frame from paper cutouts

The school curriculum made us read several ground braking and though provoking literature when I was in secondary school and in the gymnasium. One was Dürrenmatt's The Physicists, a satiric drama and absurdist comedy about the responsibility of scientists. We also read Kafka's Morphosis and Bertold Brecht's Life of Galileo. I remember as a youngster growing up, it made a huge impression on me and I think it shaped my evaluation on ethics, civil and human rights. Music was fun, had a positive attitude and was not trashy as it is today. You could leave the house unlocked at night, there was no crime. As teenagers we would smoke hash, dance out butts off to Grace Jones at the disco, discuss philosophy and the arts and went on long walks in the woods nearby.

The 70s and 80s were a great time growing up in Germany.

The Physicists was made into a TV movie and the director and actors did a really good job bringing the absurdity of the murder story to the small screen. For those of you who speak Deutsch ...

Madchen vibes.

Colonel Redl is not even a very good film.

Triumph des Willens

R24 Why do you say that? It is one of my favorites.

"The Lives of Others" is phenomenal -- all the more so given the real-life biography of its star, Ulrich Mühe (RIP).

R27 Yes. For sure.

I think I've seen Metropolis in a theater more than any other movie. But that may be because it seems every so many years, there's a more pristine print or a longer version or something being released. (And as an aside, Giorgio Moroder should've been jailed for that truncated monstrosity from the mid-1980s.)

R14 - I think Wim Wenders is unwatchable beginning with Paris Texas, which is a shame because I love the earlier films.

And since you brought up Herzog, I appreciate his documentaries more than his narrative films - although overall, I'd rather see him being interviewed. I love listening to him talk.

And R19 re The White Ribbon - isn't Michael Haneke Austrian? If we're going to include non Germans making films set in Germany, then let me add Éric Rohmer's exquisite The Marquise of O.

Ali, Fear Eats the Soul

That’s Dr. Caligari, danke very much. I didn’t spend six years at evil, medical school for nothing.

Hard to go wrong with the already mentioned Marriage of Maria Braun. I thought Nina Hoss's performance in Phoenix was one of the very best I have seen in recent years.

Goodbye Lenin.

Phoenix is a PHENOMENAL movie.

I adored "Goodbye Lenin" mostly because of my DDR obsession.

Mephisto is the one losing

[quote] I think some people have a problem understanding the meaning of "greatest"

And some Dataloungers refuse to take part in facile, superficial, subjective questionnaires without criteria.

I voted for “M”, but since as R36 points out there were no criteria: my heart is with “Free Fall.”

No love for Querelle?

I spit on Querelle!

Since there is no criteria, why not Pura vida Ibiza?

A Night at the Fikstutenmarkt

Angela Das Angel - Sandra Bullock nails Angela Merkel's accent, although the cosmetic effects to pull of Merkel's ageing over the decades is less successful.

Agree, R34 and others; “Phoenix” an *excellent* piece of filmmaking all around and is one of my favorite films to come out in the past several years—German or not.

Like many others, I can't believe OP didn't include a Fassbinder film in the poll. My choice would be "Veronika Voss". Rosel Zech is a marvel and the story is gripping.

Isn’t Europa Europa a German film?

Another vote for Das leben der anderen (The Lives of Others)

Another vote for Mephisto and Colonel Reidl (starring the hot as fuck for 20 min Austrian Klaus Maria Brandauer)

Another vote for Angst essen Seele auf (Fear Eat the Soul)

Another vote for Das Boot (The Boat)

Honourable Mention: Maximilian Schell's doco "Marlene".

Thanks for this poll. I’ve been wanting to see some Fassbinder films, as I’ve only seen Fox and His Friends, and don’t know where to start.

The Blue Angel was filmed in Germany with German actors.

R47: the best starter Fassbinder films, IMHO:

Marriage of Maria Braun

Veronika Voss

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

OP, I like German cinema too and find that it’s underrated compared to the French, Italian, Swedish (Bergman) and even Spanish outputs. Your poll is a COMPLETE fail for not including any Fassbinder.

The BRD trilogy is must-see, as is Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. I recently got the Criterion Berlin Alexanderplatz and am excited to tackle it.

For you Fassbinder fans out there. Which film would you put and which would you replace?

I only get ten spaces. I did list a few honorable mentions, which a Fassbinder film is on.

Nekromantik.

Almost ANY of the Fassbinder films mentioned upthread would have been better choices than WINGS OF DESIRE, OP.

Fassbinder's "World on a Wire" (1973) is one of the most incredible, thoughtful films I've ever seen.

TCM's been showing some of Ernst Lubitsch's early silent films, made in Germany, and they are delightful, as was nearly all of his work. The titles shown here are in English, but they were made in Germany.

"Men" was a funny comedy from the 1980s which was turned into an off-Broadway musical, though don't think it last long.

Brilliant scene from Veronika Voss. By Fassbender.

Der Bewegte Mann had the incredibly hot Til Schweiger living with two gay men.

The Lives of Others was a bit controversial because it was directed by a West German rich kid (who went on to the cinematic heights of The Tourist). I remember a popular East German actor (Henry Hübchen) calling it a Schmonzette (crap). I guess it was so popular because of the thrills and chills of the Stasi stuff and the East German porn.

I have a soft spot for DEFA films (East German studio): Der Dritte, Solo Sunny, Die Legende von Paul und Paula, Der Architekt.

Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire) was good when I was a 20-year-old, but I don't think I could stand it now. Maybe just for a look at old-school West Berlin.

Nobody else liked Der Golem?

How about some Werner Herzog docus?

Grizzly Man, Into the Inferno and My Best Friend, the docu he made about nutcase Klaus Kinski

Anybody else ever seen the East German musical "Heißer Sommer" (1968)? It came out on video a long time ago and I saw it - it was really engaging and kind of weird knowing it was made under Communism. I still have the theme song stuck in my head.

R62, yes, I have seen it several times. It is an odd duck. The opening sequence is great, but there is a really weird beach sequence that part Beach Party Bingo and part The Young Girls of Rochefort.

I tried, R62. Didn't last 10 minutes.

"East Side Story" is a fun documentary on Iron Curtain movie musicals, if you're into that sorta thing.

R60 I hated Der Golem. I kept being reminded of that Jessica Lange.

The only German film that mattered was Run Lola Run.

And I watched half of Run Lola Run and said to myself, "oh, they're going to retell the same story again from another point of view?" and turned it off.

[quote] You can't ignore Olympia and its lasting influence on cinematography.

R2 I couldn't ignore the casual semi-nudity but I can't name a film which has been influenced by its cinematography.

R30, my now eight year old son inadvertently watched that whole movie last summer and still references it.

"Kif-kif."

I still like Wings of Desire. Parts of it didn't age well or were incongruent, I thought, but the good parts are still moving.

I just saw a wonderful film called Das Vorspiel (The Audition) starring the fabulous Nina Hoss as a violin teacher who tries to get a teen violinist a spot at a prestigious school.

R71 Nina Hoss is a fantastic talent. I wish more Americans knew her name. Her collaborations with Petzold are all excellent.

When it comes to European cinema I've always thought German films were miles better than French, even though people tend to associate high quality foreign films with France.

Christiane F. (1981)

Judy Suss taught me all about those Jewish space lasers!

[quote]I can't name a film which has been influenced by its cinematography.

Almost all sportscasting has been influenced by Olympia.

All sports photography has been influenced by Olympia. Not to mention editing and camera angles. Riefenstahl singlehandedly invented sports photography.

The cinematography in this film is pretty phenomenal. Love the use of light and shadow.

Out of the choices offered, I voted for M with Metropolis a close second. I've seen Nosferatu and the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (both very good, in that silent movie way), Wings of Desire (loved the story, visuals and mood) and The Lives of Others (loved the last scene). I would, however, nominate The Testament of Dr. Mabuse for contention. If you haven't seen it, you should. Especially if you're a Dark Knight fanboy. Watch it and see where the Nolans got their idea for their version of the Joker.

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).

Directed by Werner Herzog.

Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, and silent film legend Walter Ladengast.

R21 that's gorgeous.

Verrückte, aber lustige und talentierte Tante Leni Riefenstahl is one of the most important with a few shockingly powerful and effective movies.

Awesome thread.

I voted for TLOO. Great film, the German version, that is.

I know her role in Nazi Germany but I remember watching a Riefenstahl documentary and would like to see at least one of her films.

Propaganda is a relevant topic now, as it were.

Pappa Ante Portas

Four of Douglas Sirk's mid-30s UFA melodramas (restored) are up for your streaming pleasure on Kino Now.

Not the greatest, but still pretty great.

Although it’s not groundbreaking in technique or structure, I have a high regard for Romanze in Moll, starring the great Marianne Hoppe. The film is melancholic, sad, and even tragic. It’s unfortunate that it was produced during the Nazi period. Despite its depressive tone, it was apparently a big success when it was released in 1943, when WWII was not going well for Germany.

Germans are so much better at film than any other country.

bump

Honorable mention to The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant!

classy

Das Boot, brilliant.

R92 not as good as the Marvel movies

I've seen couple of interesting Nazi era movies. Port of Freedom was about a cabaret featuring girls riding around on ponies and a singing sailor. It was banned at the time. Another is Opfergang a technicolor melodrama about a terminally ill woman living her life to the fullest before the bitter end. It's seen as an analogy to the dying Nazi party. Hitler had a personal copy of the film.

No a German film per se, but has anyone seen The Damned with Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, and Helmut Griem?