G.W. Pabst
G.W. Pabst
RANKED:
8. Secrets of a Soul (1926)
After Sigmund Freud published his defining work "The Ego and the Id" in 1923, psychoanalysis became all the rage in Germany. In "Secrets of a Soul," G.W. Pabst showcases how a professor begins to have episodes in which he cannot bring himself to touch knives. Through psychoanalysis, he is able to review his dreams which ultimately lead him to a better understanding of himself - his hopes and fears. The film can be seen as an hour-long advertisement for psycho-therapy.
7. The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927)
In the late 1920s, filmmakers were fascinated by Soviet cinema after the release of Eisenstein's "Strike" and "Battleship Potemkin." G.W. Pabst was no exception. With "The Love of Jeanne Ney," he got to make a film set in the midst of the Bolshevik Revolution. The titular Jeanne, although her kindness and love are pure, must deal with man after man abusing her to get the things they want. To film Jeanne's constant disillusionment with the power-hungry men in her life, Pabst employs all methods of filmmaking: Soviet montage, German Expressionism, French mise-en-scene, and even F.W. Murnau's 'unchained camera.' The result is a film that tries to unite the film movements together to form a cohesive vision.
6. Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)
In his second outing with Louise Brooks, G.W. Pabst constructs a film depicting the harsh mistreatment of women in contemporary society. Brooks stars as Thymian, who goes from the daughter of a wealthy pharmacist to a prostitute. Her descent has nothing to do with any actions on her part, but rather the actions that are done to her. She is raped by her father's assistant. After becoming pregnant and giving birth, she is sent to a reformatory where she is harshly mistreated. This mistreatment only forces her to run away. She has nowhere to go and no money, so she ends up a prostitute. She does, however, get her victory in the end by marrying a patron's wealthy uncle who makes her a member of the board of the reformatory where she worked. There, she can set straight a new regime where women are treated with respect. This film showcases not only the abuse of women by men but also how economics is used as a weapon to further oppress them.
5. The Joyless Street (1925)
By 1925, many German filmmakers believed that Expressionism had started to become too pretentious for its primary subjects: the lower class. With "The Joyless Street," G.W. Pabst was able to re-establish that connection using plain-style filmmaking. This plain style and matter-of-fact approach sparked the New Objectivity movement, which would later go on to inspire New Realism and Neo-Realism. This New Objectivity style showcases things as close to real life as possible. That way, viewers are able to connect more with the harsh daily life of Germany's lower class. Because of its unflinching view of prostitution, murder, and the economic rape of the poor, the film was continuously censored throughout the 1920s.
4. Westfront 1918 (1930)
By 1930, sound pictures had become the primary focus of filmmakers. With his first sound film, "Westfront 1918," G.W. Pabst places you right in the center of the horrors of war. The explosions and gunfire was a shock to audiences who were not accustomed to sound pictures, making the experience that much more terrifying. The film demonstrates the senseless terror and horrifying consequences of life during wartime. It was such a pacifist piece that Joseph Goebbels deemed the film unpatriotic and cited its "cowardly defeatism." Regardless, its ability to showcase the sights and sounds of what real war was like to audiences was something to behold.
3. Kameradschaft (1931)
While the Nazis were stoking xenophobia and nationalism in the early 1930s, G.W. Pabst's "Kameradschaft" was offering a differing vision of unity. Based on the actual mining incident that occurred on the border of France and Germany in 1906, the film showcases the best of humanity, as Germans and French unite to save those trapped below. The word 'kameradsachft' is a German word most closely related to the English word 'comradeship.' That's exactly what the film implores us to do: to see each other as comrades rather than enemies.
2. The Threepenny Opera (1931)
In 1931, while Hollywood was trying to distract people from the fallouts of the economic crisis with glitzy, lavish musicals, G.W. Pabst was making a completely different musical in Germany. "The Threepenny Opera" follows the woes of a handful of citizens who must partake in the criminal underworld just to stay afloat. Eventually, they are able to work their way up the crime ring to bank owners, where they can now use their newfound skills of manipulating the poor to their own economic advantage. The film is a stinging critique of capitalism, coming at a perfect time.
1. Pandora's Box (1929)
G.W. Pabst's 1929 masterwork "Pandora's Box" is an enduring piece of art from Germany's Weimar Republic. Starring Louise Brooks as the prostitute Lulu, the film makes us obsess over this carefree woman. Everyone else in the film does the same. She is incredibly naive, but this allows her to be sexually liberated, class indifferent, and even amoral. Her self-acceptance, carefree attitude, and alluring physical form forces everyone to impulsively upend their life to chase after her. Everyone who does ends up either economically destitute or dead, however. Not because they can't control themselves, but because the authoritarian, fascist, capitalist society they live in punishes them for being their natural, true selves. The film is a rebellion against fascism, sexual intolerance, and economic oppression that the Weimar Republic was facing at the time.
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