Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Barbara Mennel is a Professor of Film Studies and German Studies at the University of Florida, USA. She is the author of Su Friedrich (2023) and Women at Work in Twenty-First-Century European Cinema (2019).Leontine Sagan's Mädchen in Uniform (1931) is a groundbreaking German film that showcases women’s agency and desire behind and in front of the camera.
Adapted from Christa Winsloe's lesbian play, the story follows Manuela, an orphan in a boarding school for impoverished Prussian nobility. When she declares her love with her female teacher, the oppressive principal punishes her, leading to a desperate suicide attempt.
Barbara Mennel's compelling study firmly establishes Mädchen in the Weimar cinema canon. Mennel contextualises the film in 1920s theories of sexuality and the conventions of modernist cinema. She contrasts its international success to the extensive censorship battles that surrounded it. The film’s unique transnational and fragmented history results from the exile of many of its makers during the Nazi regime. By attending to the many remakes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Mennel underscores the film's timeless impact that continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.
Acknowledgments
Notes about Titles
Introduction 1. Staging the Third Sex
2. Sagan Directs a Hit
3. International Success and Censorship Battles
4. The Nazi Film Industry and Routes of Exile
5. Remakes, Rediscoveries and Remixes
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Credits
"An indispensable part of every cineaste's bookcase" - Total Film
"Possibly the most bountiful book series in the history of film criticism." - Jonathan Rosenbaum, Film Comment
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"A formidable body of work collectively generating some fascinating insights into the evolution of cinema." -Times Higher Education
Celebrating film for over 30 years
The BFI Film Classics series introduces, interprets and celebrates landmarks of world cinema. Each volume offers an argument for the film's 'classic' status, together with discussion of its production and reception history, its place within a genre or national cinema, an account of its technical and aesthetic importance, and in many cases, the author's personal response to the film.