Danish and German Silent Cinema - by Lars-Martin Sørensen & Casper Tybjerg

About the Book

Analyses the cultural exchange of two important and highly entangled European film nations of the silent era.

Book Synopsis

The book examines how Danish and German film interacted with one another from 1910 through World War I till the advent of sound around 1930. The film businesses of the two countries were closely connected, and many film professionals crossed back and forth across national borders. The studies in this book include production and distribution history, censorship, celebrity studies, and aesthetic analysis. They contribute to European film and cultural history through extensive empirical investigation of films, persons and companies. The underlying perspective is that of entangled film history, an approach that stresses cross-border interchanges and mutual influences. Written by an international team of scholars, the book marks the conclusion of a four-year collective research project running alongside the stumfilm.dk initiative to digitise the entire Danish silent film heritage.

From the Back Cover

Based on extensive archival research, Danish and German Silent Cinema examines how the film of these nations interacted from 1910 through to the advent of sound in 1930. Written by an international team of scholars, this book marks the conclusion of a four-year collective research project running alongside the stumfilm.dk initiative to digitise Danish silent film heritage. This collection focuses on production and distribution history, critical reception, censorship, celebrity studies, and aesthetic analysis. This collection cultivated by Sørensen and Tybjerg contributes to European film and cultural history by extensive investigation of a number of films, persons and companies who had an international outlook - case studies include the Nordisk Film Company, Asta Nielsen and the comic duo Pat & Patachon Lars-Martin Sørensen is Head of Research at the Danish Film Institute. Casper Tybjerg is Associate Professor of Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen.

Review Quotes

This collection offers fresh insights into the complex question of a common Danish and German film culture. Based on an entangled film history and access to digitized Danish periodicals and films, it meticulously analyses migrant directors, actors, genre, and style, alongside each nation's leading stars.--Martin Loiperdinger, University of Trier

About the Author

Lars-Martin Sørensen is Head of Research at the Danish Film Institute.

Casper Tybjerg is Associate Professor of Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen.