Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood
Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood was a 1995 documentary produced by David Gill and silent film historian Kevin Brownlow.[1]
The six-part mini-series focused on the origin of European cinema, from its infancy as a novelty created by French inventors Louis and Auguste Lumiere to a serious artistic and commercial contender against America (that is, until the surge of the Nazis).[2]
The documentary is narrated by filmmaker and actor, Kenneth Brannagh. Original music in the film was composed by Carl Davis, Philip Appleby & Nic Raine.[3]
The series originally aired on the BBC in 1995, later airing on TCM in the US in 1996. In 2000, Image Entertainment released the whole series on a 2-disc DVD (3 episodes on each disc).
The documentary was shown from time to time on public television stations, usually at late night slots, due to its length and occasional mature content.
[edit] Episodes
The documentary is divided into the following episodes (with original BBC airdates):[2]
- "Where It All Began" (Introductory Episode)
- October 1, 1995
- Highlighting the world's first public presentation of films in Paris, the silent film industries in Denmark and Italy, the comedies by Max Linder and Ernst Lubitsch, Abel Gance's J'Accuse and the onset of World War I.
- "Art's Promised Land" (Sweden)
- October 8, 1995
- Including Ingeborg Holm by Victor Sjostrom and Greta Garbo's star-making performance opposite Lars Hanson in Mauritz Stiller's Gosta Berling's Saga. Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
- "The Unchained Camera" (Germany)
- October 15, 1995
- Featuring The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein, Metropolis, Die Nibelungen, and Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler by Fritz Lang, Joyless Street starring Greta Garbo, F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, Emil Jannings, The White Hell of Pitz Palu featuring Leni Riefenstahl and Louise Brooks becomes a star in G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl.
- "The Music of Light" (France)
- October 22, 1995
- Highlighting Abel Gance's masterpieces, Napoleon and La Roue.
- "Opportunity Lost" (Britain)
- October 29, 1995
- Exploring the early career of Alfred Hitchcock.
- "End of an Era" (Finale)
- November 5, 1995
- Focusing on the arrival of sound films, The Jazz Singer, The Blue Angel, and the onslaught of World War II.
[edit] References
- ^ Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood, Part 1 - Where it All Began (1995), review in New York Times
- ^ a b Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Douglas Pratt. Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!, Volume 1, UNET 2 Corporation, 2004. pg. 252
