Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Encyclopedia
Biography
Pabst was born in Raudnitz, BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(today's Roudnice nad Labem
Roudnice nad Labem
Roudnice nad Labem is a small town on left bank of the Elbe River . It has about 13 500 inhabitants and covers an area of 16,67 km². The town is situated near the famous hill Říp, which is well known for its legendary connection with Praotec Čech....
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
), the son of a railroad employee.
Returning from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he was in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began. He was interned there near Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
until 1919.
Some of his most famous films concern the plight of women in German society, including The Joyless Street (1925) with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
and Asta Nielsen
Asta Nielsen
Asta Nielsen , was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were made in Germany where she was known simply as Die Asta...
, Geheimnisse einer Seele (1926) with Lili Damita
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
, The Loves of Jeanne Ney (1927) with Brigitte Helm
Brigitte Helm
Brigitte Helm was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double, the Maschinenmensch, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis.-Career:...
, Pandora's Box (1928), and Diary of a Lost Girl
Diary of a Lost Girl
Diary of a Lost Girl is a 1929 silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and starring the American silent star Louise Brooks. It is shot in black and white, and various versions of the film range from 79 minutes to 116 minutes in length. This was Brooks' second and last film with Pabst, and...
(1929), the last two starring American actress Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
. He also co-directed with Arnold Fanck
Arnold Fanck
Arnold Fanck was a pioneer of the German mountain film....
a mountain film
Mountain film
A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of man against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlightenment....
entitled The White Hell of Pitz Palu
The White Hell of Pitz Palu
The White Hell of Pitz Palu is a 1929 silent mountain film directed by Arnold Fanck and Georg Wilhelm Pabst and starring future filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl and World War I flying ace Ernst Udet.-Plot:...
(1929) starring Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
.
After the coming of sound he made a trilogy of films that secured his reputation: Westfront 1918
Westfront 1918
Westfront 1918 is a German film, set mostly in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I. It was directed in 1930 by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, from the novel Vier von der Infanterie by Ernst Johannsen, and deals with the impact of the war on a group of infantrymen...
(1930), The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera (1931 film)
The Threepenny Opera is a 1931 German musical film directed by G. W. Pabst. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal's Nero-Film for Tonbild-Syndikat AG , Berlin and Warner Bros. Pictures GmbH, Berlin. The film is loosely based on the 1928 musical theatre success The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht...
(1931) with Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
(based on the Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
and Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
musical), and Kameradschaft
Kameradschaft
Comradeship is a dramatic film with socialist overtones directed by German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The French-German co-production drama is noted for combining expressionism and realism ....
(1931). Pabst also filmed three versions of Pierre Benoit
Pierre Benoit (novelist)
Pierre Benoît was a French novelist and member of the Académie française.Pierre Benoit, born in Albi was the son of a French soldier. Benoit spent his early years and military service in Northern Africa, before becoming a civil servant...
's novel L'Atlantide in 1932, in German, English, and French, titled Die Herrin von Atlantis, The Mistress of Atlantis, and L'Atlantide, respectively. In 1933, Pabst directed Don Quixote, once again in German, English, and French versions.
After making A Modern Hero
A Modern Hero
A Modern Hero is a 1934 American drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It was Pabst's only American talking film.-Plot:...
(1934) in the U.S. and Mademoiselle Docteur (1936) in France, Pabst returned to Austria and Germany in 1938—to take care of family business, he later claimed. He made two films during World War II for Nazi Germany under the direction of Joseph Goebbels, Komödianten (1941) and Paracelsus
Paracelsus (film)
Paracelsus is a 1943 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, based on the life of Paracelsus.-Cast:* Werner Krauss - Paracelsus* Annelies Reinhold - Renata Pfefferkorn* Harry Langewisch - Pfefferkorn* Mathias Wieman - Ulrich von Hutten...
(1943).
In 1953, Pabst directed four opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
productions in Italy: La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
(conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos, the cast included Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
, Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri was an Italian mezzo-soprano.Barbieri was born in Trieste. She made her official debut in Florence in 1940, but retired in 1943 because of her marriage. She re-emerged in 1945. She was one of the first performers to investigate and perform in early operas by Monteverdi and Pergolesi...
, Mario del Monaco
Mario del Monaco
Mario Del Monaco was an Italian tenor who is regarded by his admirers as being one of the greatest dramatic tenors of the 20th century....
, Aldo Protti
Aldo Protti
Aldo Protti was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory....
, Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...
), and a few weeks later, for the Arena di Verona Festival
Arena di Verona Festival
The Arena di Verona Festival is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona, , and then, following legislation in 1996 and...
, a spectacular Aïda
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, with Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
in the title role (conducted by Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
, with del Monaco), Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
and again La forza del destino.
Pabst died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He was interred at the Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
in Vienna.
Filmography
- Der SchatzThe Treasure (film)The Treasure is a 1923 silent German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It was Pabst's debut film as a director.-Cast:* Albert Steinrück - Svetocar Badalic, Master Foundryman* Lucie Mannheim - Beate* Ilka Grüning - Anna...
(1923) - Gräfin DonelliGräfin DonelliCountess Donelli is a 1924 silent German film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Paul Hansen - Graf Donelli* Henny Porten - Mathilde, seine Frau* Friedrich Kayßler - Graf Bergheim...
(1924) - Die freudlose Gasse (1925)
- Geheimnisse einer SeeleSecrets of a SoulSecrets of a Soul is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Werner Krauss - Martin Fellman* Ruth Weyher - Seine Frau* Ilka Grüning - Die Mutter* Jack Trevor - Erich* Pavel Pavlov - Dr...
(1926) - Man spielt nicht mit der LiebeOne Does Not Play with LoveOne Does Not Play with Love is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It is an adaptation of the 1834 play by Alfred de Musset, On ne badine pas avec l'amour...
(1926) - Die Liebe der Jeanne NeyThe Love of Jeanne NeyThe Love of Jeanne Ney is a 1927 silent German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Édith Jéhanne - Jeanne Ney* Uno Henning - Andreas Labov* Fritz Rasp - Khalibiev* Brigitte Helm - Gabrielle* Adolf E...
(1927) - AbwegeThe Devious PathThe Devious Path is a 1928 silent German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Gustav Diessl - Thomas Beck, Rechtsanwalt* Brigitte Helm - Irene Beck, seine Frau* Hertha von Walther - Liane, ihre Freundin...
(1928) - Die Büchse der PandoraPandora's Box (film)Pandora's Box is a 1929 German silent melodrama film based on Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora . Directed by Austrian filmmaker Georg Wilhelm Pabst, the film stars Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, and Francis Lederer...
(1929) - Tagebuch einer VerlorenenDiary of a Lost GirlDiary of a Lost Girl is a 1929 silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst and starring the American silent star Louise Brooks. It is shot in black and white, and various versions of the film range from 79 minutes to 116 minutes in length. This was Brooks' second and last film with Pabst, and...
(1929) - Die weiße Hölle vom Piz PalüThe White Hell of Pitz PaluThe White Hell of Pitz Palu is a 1929 silent mountain film directed by Arnold Fanck and Georg Wilhelm Pabst and starring future filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl and World War I flying ace Ernst Udet.-Plot:...
(1929) - Westfront 1918Westfront 1918Westfront 1918 is a German film, set mostly in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I. It was directed in 1930 by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, from the novel Vier von der Infanterie by Ernst Johannsen, and deals with the impact of the war on a group of infantrymen...
(1930) - Skandal um EvaSkandal um EvaScandalous Eva is a 1930 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Henny Porten - Dr.Eva Rüttgers* Oskar Sima - Dr.Kurt Hiller* Ludwig Stössel - Dir.Rohrbach* Paul Henckels - Prof.Hagen* Adele Sandrock - Vulpius...
(1930) - Die 3-Groschen-OperThe Threepenny Opera (1931 film)The Threepenny Opera is a 1931 German musical film directed by G. W. Pabst. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal's Nero-Film for Tonbild-Syndikat AG , Berlin and Warner Bros. Pictures GmbH, Berlin. The film is loosely based on the 1928 musical theatre success The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht...
(1931) two versions: German and French - KameradschaftKameradschaftComradeship is a dramatic film with socialist overtones directed by German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The French-German co-production drama is noted for combining expressionism and realism ....
(1931) - L'AtlantideL'Atlantide (1932 film)L'Atlantide is a German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The film was made in three languages - French, English, and German - with Brigitte Helm starring in all three versions.-Cast:* Brigitte Helm - Antinéa...
(1932) three versions: German, French, and English - Adventures of Don QuixoteAdventures of Don Quixote (film)Adventures of Don Quixote is the English title of a film adaptation of the classic Miguel de Cervantes novel, directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, starring the famous operatic bass Feodor Chaliapin. Although the film stars Chaliapin, it is not an opera; however, he does sing three songs in it. It is...
(1933) three versions: German, French, and English - Du haut en basHigh and Low (1933 film)High and Low is a 1933 French drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Ariane Borg – * Pauline Carton – Seamstress* Janine Crispin – Marie de Ferstel * Christiane Delyne* Jean Gabin – Charles Boulla...
(1933) - Cette nuit-là (1933)
- A Modern HeroA Modern HeroA Modern Hero is a 1934 American drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It was Pabst's only American talking film.-Plot:...
(1934) - Mademoiselle DocteurStreet of ShadowsStreet of Shadows is a 1937 French drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. An English-language version was made under the title Under Secret Orders.-Cast:* Pierre Blanchar - Grégor Courdane* Dita Parlo - Mademoiselle Docteur...
(1937) - Le drame de ShanghaïThe Shanghai DramaThe Shanghai Drama is a 1938 French drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Raymond Rouleau - Franchon* Louis Jouvet - Ivan* Christl Mardayn - Kay Murphy, cabaret singer * Elina Labourdette - Nana, the nurse...
(1938) - Jeunes filles en détresseGirls in Distress-Cast:* Marcelle Chantal - Marthe Presle* Micheline Presle - Jacqueline Presle* André Luguet - Maître Jacques Presle* Jean Aquistapace - Ternier, le ministre de la justice * Pierre Bertin - Legris, le secrétaire de Me Presle...
(1939) - KomödiantenThe Comedians (1941 film)The Comedians is a 1941 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It is based on the novel Philine by Olly Boeheim.-Plot:Karoline Neuber attempts to improve the lot of actors, who are looked down upon as vagabonds...
(1941) - ParacelsusParacelsus (film)Paracelsus is a 1943 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, based on the life of Paracelsus.-Cast:* Werner Krauss - Paracelsus* Annelies Reinhold - Renata Pfefferkorn* Harry Langewisch - Pfefferkorn* Mathias Wieman - Ulrich von Hutten...
(1943) - Der Fall MolanderDer Fall MolanderThe Molander Case is a 1945 German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. The movie is based on the novel Die Sternegeige by Alfred Karrasch. On August 28, 1944, Pabst started shooting the movie for Terra Filmkunst...
(1945) - Der ProzeßThe Trial (1948 film)The Trial is a 1948 Austrian drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. At the 1948 Venice Film Festival, Pabst won the Award for Best Director; Ernst Deutsch won the award for Best Actor and the Volpi Cup. The story is based on the events of the Tiszaeszlár blood libel.-Cast:* Ewald Balser – Dr....
(1948) - Geheimnisvolle TiefeMysterious ShadowsMysterious Shadows is a 1949 Austrian drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Paul Hubschmid - Dr. Benn Wittich* Ilse Werner - Cornelia* Stefan Skodler - Robert Roy* Elfe Gerhart - Charlotte* Hermann Thimig - Heinemann...
(1949) - Ruf aus dem Äther (1951)
- La voce del silenzioVoice of SilenceVoice of Silence is a 1953 Italian drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, written by Giuseppe Berto, starring Aldo Fabrizi and Jean Marais.-Cast:* Aldo Fabrizi - Pio Fabiani* Jean Marais - L'ancien maquisard* Daniel Gélin - L'ancien prisonnier...
(1953) - Cose da pazziCose da pazziCrazy Affairs is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Aldo Fabrizi - Gnauli* Carla Del Poggio - Dalia Rossi* Enrico Viarisio - Professor Ruiz* Enzo Fiermonte - Paolo* Rita Giannuzzi - Silvia...
(1953) - Das Bekenntnis der Ina KahrThe Confession of Ina KahrThe Confession of Ina Kahr is a 1954 German crime film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Curd Jürgens - Paul Kahr* Elisabeth Müller - Ina Kahr* Albert Lieven - Dr...
(1954) - Der letzte AktThe Last Ten DaysThe Last Ten Days is a 1955 Austrian-German drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Albin Skoda - Adolf Hitler* Oskar Werner - Hauptmann Wüst* Lotte Tobisch - Eva Braun* Willy Krause - Joseph Goebbels* Erich Stuckmann - Heinrich Himmler...
(1955) - Es geschah am 20. JuliJackboot MutinyIt Happened on July 20th is a 1955 Austria film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst about the July 20 Plot to kill Adolf Hitler. Bernhard Wicki as Stauffenberg...
(1955) - Rosen für Bettina (1956)
- Durch die Wälder, durch die AuenThrough the Forests and Through the TreesThrough the Forests and Through the Trees is a 1956 German comedy film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It was Pabst's final film.- Cast :* Eva Bartok - Caroline Brand* Peter Arens - Carl Maria von Weber* Joe Stöckel - Kutscher Treml...
(1956)
Further reading
- Georg Wilhelm Pabst, « Servitude et grandeur de Hollywood », Le rôle intellectuel du cinéma, Paris, SDN-Institut International de Coopération Intellectuelle, 1937, pp. 251–255
- Barthélémy Amengual, G.W. Pabst, Paris, Seghers, 1966
- Lee Atwell, G.W. Pabst, Boston, Twayne Publishers, 1977
- Jean MitryJean MitryJean Mitry was a French film theorist, critic and filmmaker, co-founder of France's first film society and later of the Cinémathèque Française in 1938....
, Histoire du cinéma. Art et industrie, 5 volumes, Paris, Editions Universitaires - J.P. Delarge, 1967–1980 - Siegfried KracauerSiegfried KracauerSiegfried Kracauer was a German-Jewish writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist...
, De Caligari à Hitler. Une histoire psychologique du cinéma allemand, Paris, Flammarion, 1987 - The Films of G.W. Pabst. An extraterritorial cinema, edited by Eric Rentschler, New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1990
- John Baxter, "G.W. Pabst" in International Directory of Films and Filmmakers, Chicago, 1990, pp. 376–378
- G.W. Pabst, herausgegeben von Wolfgang Jacobsen, Berlin, Argen, 1997
- Enrico Groppali, Georg W. Pabst, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1983
- Marc Van den Berghe, La mémoire impossible. Westfront 1918 de G.W. Pabst. Grande Guerre, soldats, automates. Le film et sa problématique vus par la 'Petite Illustration (1931), Bruxelles, 2001 http://art-chitecture.net/publications.php