The Lives of Others: (Das Leben der Anderen)
This study offers a fresh approach to the remarkable German film The Lives of Others (2006), known for its compelling representation of a Stasi surveillance officer and the moral and ethical turmoil that results when he begins spying on a playwright and his actress lover.

Annie Ring analyses the film's cinematography, mise-en-scène and editing, tracing connections with Hollywood movies such as Casablanca and Hitchcock's Torn Curtain in the film's portrayal of an individual rebelling against a brutal dehumanising regime. Drawing on archival sources, including primary research from the Stasi files themselves, as well as Enlightenment philosophies of art and Brecht's theories on theatre dating from his GDR years, she explores the film's strong but much-disputed claims to historical authenticity. She examines the way the film tracks the world-changing political shift that took place at the end of the Cold War – away from the collective dreams of socialism and towards the dreams of the private individual, arguing that this is what makes it at once widely appealing and fascinatingly problematic. In doing so, she highlights why The Lives of Others is a crucial film for thinking at the horizon between film and recent world history.

1140547703
The Lives of Others: (Das Leben der Anderen)
This study offers a fresh approach to the remarkable German film The Lives of Others (2006), known for its compelling representation of a Stasi surveillance officer and the moral and ethical turmoil that results when he begins spying on a playwright and his actress lover.

Annie Ring analyses the film's cinematography, mise-en-scène and editing, tracing connections with Hollywood movies such as Casablanca and Hitchcock's Torn Curtain in the film's portrayal of an individual rebelling against a brutal dehumanising regime. Drawing on archival sources, including primary research from the Stasi files themselves, as well as Enlightenment philosophies of art and Brecht's theories on theatre dating from his GDR years, she explores the film's strong but much-disputed claims to historical authenticity. She examines the way the film tracks the world-changing political shift that took place at the end of the Cold War – away from the collective dreams of socialism and towards the dreams of the private individual, arguing that this is what makes it at once widely appealing and fascinatingly problematic. In doing so, she highlights why The Lives of Others is a crucial film for thinking at the horizon between film and recent world history.

15.95 In Stock
The Lives of Others: (Das Leben der Anderen)

The Lives of Others: (Das Leben der Anderen)

by Annie Ring
The Lives of Others: (Das Leben der Anderen)

The Lives of Others: (Das Leben der Anderen)

by Annie Ring

Paperback

$15.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 2-4 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

This study offers a fresh approach to the remarkable German film The Lives of Others (2006), known for its compelling representation of a Stasi surveillance officer and the moral and ethical turmoil that results when he begins spying on a playwright and his actress lover.

Annie Ring analyses the film's cinematography, mise-en-scène and editing, tracing connections with Hollywood movies such as Casablanca and Hitchcock's Torn Curtain in the film's portrayal of an individual rebelling against a brutal dehumanising regime. Drawing on archival sources, including primary research from the Stasi files themselves, as well as Enlightenment philosophies of art and Brecht's theories on theatre dating from his GDR years, she explores the film's strong but much-disputed claims to historical authenticity. She examines the way the film tracks the world-changing political shift that took place at the end of the Cold War – away from the collective dreams of socialism and towards the dreams of the private individual, arguing that this is what makes it at once widely appealing and fascinatingly problematic. In doing so, she highlights why The Lives of Others is a crucial film for thinking at the horizon between film and recent world history.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781839025303
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 10/20/2022
Series: BFI Film Classics
Pages: 104
Product dimensions: 5.30(w) x 7.30(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Annie Ring is Associate Professor of German and comparative film, literature and cultural theory at UCL, UK. Her research focuses on film, surveillance, technology and the politics of subjectivity. She is author of After the Stasi (2015). She is co-editor of Architecture and Control (2018), Uncertain Archives: Critical Keywords for Big Data (2021) and has contributed to The German Cinema Book (British Film Institute, 2020).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. A Contemporary Classic - and a Conservative One?
2. The Authenticity of a Very Hollywood Film Mode
3. Depicting the Stasi's Surveillance Regime
4. The Good Spy of East Berlin: Captain Gerd Weisler
5. Brecht, Performance, and the Politics of an Aesthetic Education
6. 'Sister Art Is/Coming on Stage': Christa- Maria Sieland
7. Success? Georg Dreyman and German Unification
Conclusion
Notes
Credits
Bibliography

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews