[LEN-E] Ewige Schönheit

[Thomas Köhler]

Hi Ron,

I remember very vaguely to have seen this film a few years ago on TV. 
It's basically an overview of how Third Reich aesthetics were promoted 
in films of the time. Unfortunately the film still holds up the old 
Kracauer thesis that the aesthetics of silent Weimar cinema seem to have 
announced or even prepared the way for Hitler. I can't recall exactly 
what is in the film, but definitely some excerpts from Leni's films, and 
probably also some bits of the infamous Veit Harlan films, "Jud Süß" and 
"Kolberg". In this respect, certainly interesting, though I wished that 
someone would dare to release these films in full, with a good 
commentary and background material. I guess they will be rather 
appalling, but I think people should be able to assess and study  their 
atrocities for themselves, as they surely form an important part of the 
history of (propaganda) film.

I don't think there's anything new about Leni in this documentary, and 
certainly not a very differentiated view. And yes: "Todessehnsucht" 
means "longing for death", and it's an old topos in German art since 
Richard Wagner probably.

Best
Thomas




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