In 1960, a film was screened in the Competition of the Berlin International Film Festival that defied all filmic conventions and dumbfounded the critics. A bout de souffle (Breathless, France 1959/60) not only marks young Godard’s international breakthrough but in retrospect also the arrival of the nouvelle vague, one of the most extraordinary milestones in the history of the festival. On an excursion through the 60 years of the Berlinale, the Retrospective PLAY IT AGAIN ...! brought discoveries of the past back to the big screen and spotlighted a number of films exemplary for the festival’s development: from the first decades, which were overshadowed by the Cold War; and the festival’s opening up to films from socialist countries; to the end of Europe’s political division, which some 20 years ago released the festival from its balancing act between cultural openness and political pressures. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Berlinale was able to establish itself as a platform for Eastern European and Asian cinema; in more recent years, it has increasingly succeeded in placing German films on equal footing with international productions. The Retrospective showcased the festival’s diversity with some 40 films from the Competition, Forum, Panorama, and Generation sections. The renowned British film critic David Thomson has put together the programme.

Rarities from the festival’s pioneering days, such as Curzio Malaparte’s Il Cristo proibito (The Forbidden Christ, I 1950/51), Alf Sjöberg’s Fröken Julie (Miss Julie, S 1950/51), and Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru (To Live, J 1952) stood in contrast to more recent films, such as Niels Arden Oplev’s Drømmen (We Shall Overcome, DK/GB 2005/06), a gripping father-son story not only for the younger generation, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (USA 1999), which won the Golden Berlin Bear in 2000. In 1976, Nagisa Oshima’s Ai no corrida (In the Realm of the Senses, J/F 1975/76) caused a huge stir: after the first screening, the film print was confiscated by the district attorney’s office, and charges were filed against the Director of the International Forum of New Cinema, Ulrich Gregor, for “disseminating pornography”. Then, in 1979 Michael Cimino’s anti-war drama The Deer Hunter (USA 1978) created an uproar. When, despite Soviet protest, the film was shown in the Competition, several socialist countries withdrew their films from the programme and ordered their delegations home.

 

David Thomson’s selection also showcased European auteur cinema, such as Werner Herzog’s feature-film debut Lebenszeichen (Signs of Life, FRG 1967/68) and Alain Tanner’s subtle, melancholy film Dans la ville blanche (In the White City, CH/P 1982/83), as well as cinematic gems from Asia, such as Zhang Yimou’s Hong gaoliang (Red Sorghum, 1987/88). With the Golden Berlin Bear in 1988, the latter was the first film from the People’s Republic of China to win a major award at an international festival.

Since 1977, the Berlin International Film Festival has been holding film-historical Retrospectives and Homages in co-operation with the Deutsche Kinemathek. The Retrospective is always dedicated to an important director or a theme in film history. The Retrospective is where classic movies are rediscovered, or long-forgotten films are given a second life. The programmes bring German and international films back to the big screen – often as a restored version or a new print. In the Retrospective, films are placed in their historical context.

 

The Homage honours great directors, actors or actresses presenting his or her lifework. The Homage of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival was dedicated to Hanna Schygulla and Wolfgang Kohlhaase, two film artists who have decisively shaped post-war German cinema in different ways. During the festival they were awarded Honorary Golden Bears for their Lifetime Achievements. Find more information on them and the showcase under Homage.

 

Retrospective and Homage are organized by the Deutsche Kinemathek. It is given a free hand – in consultation with the festival management – in shaping the Retrospective.

 

In 2006 there was a change-over at the head of the section: Director of many years Hans Helmut Prinzler retired and was replaced by Dr. Rainer Rother. Rother previously worked as director of the film programme at the German Historical Museum and already belonged to the selection committee of the Berlinale for several years. For the Berlinale, he also curated Selling Democracy, a three-year series of Marshall Plan films (2004-2006).

 

Every Retrospective has its own requirements. Various criteria need to be considered: significance in film history and originality; balancing difference and continuity to previous retrospectives; contemporary, maybe political relevance. The theme should appeal to a broad audience as well as to professional festival guests from both Germany and abroad. Is the theme worthy of research in the field of film history? Can it be meaningfully documented in the accompanying publications? What is the availability of copies? Who can be invited? What kind of parallel events can be organised?

 

The Retrospective has honoured many influential directors: Billy Wilder (1980), Curtis Bernhardt (1982), Ernst Lubitsch (1984), Rouben Mamoulian (1987), Erich von Stroheim (1994), Buster Keaton (1995), William Wyler (1996), G.W. Pabst (1997), Robert and Curt Siodmak (1998), Otto Preminger (1999), Fritz Lang (2001), F. W. Murnau (2003), and Luis Buñuel (2008). And have been dedicated to a variety of themes in cinema history: Exile (1983), Special Effects (1985), Colour (1988), Europe 1939 (1989), The Year 1945 (1990), Cold War (1991), Babelsberg (1992), CinemaScope (1993), Slapstick & Co. (1995), Artificial Humans (2000), European 60s (2002), New Hollywood (2004), Production Design & Film (2005), Female Stars in the Films of the 50's (2006), City Girls. Images of Women in Silent Film (2007), 70 mm - Bigger than Life (2009), PLAY IT AGAIN ...! (2010).

 

The following personalities have been Homage guests in Berlin: James Stewart (1982), Melina Mercouri and Jules Dassin (1984), Fred Zinnemann (1986), Jane Russell (1991), Hal Roach (1992), Gregory Peck (1993), Sophia Loren (1994), Alain Delon (1995), Elia Kazan (1996), Jack Lemmon (1996), Kim Novak (1997), Catherine Deneuve (1998), Shirley MacLaine (1999), Jeanne Moreau (2000), Kirk Douglas (2001), Claudia Cardinale (2002), Anouk Aimée (2003), Arthur Penn (2007), Francesco Rosi (2008), Maurice Jarre (2009).

To bring back films to the screen in the best possible print quality is one of the goals of the Retrospective, a concern that has gained importance over the last few years. This endeavor is supported by an international network of archives, distributors, private collectors and copyright owners who provide prints and the right to show them. The Deutsche Kinemathek is a member of the Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film (FIAF) and maintains contact with numerous film archives around the world. Thanks to the costly restorations carried out by these archives, films can be discovered or rediscovered in all their original visual and audio brilliance, in their authentic colour or subtle grey tones as they were first shown.

 

The Retrospective programme is accompanied by a series of events at the Deutsche Kinemathek including lectures, discussions, readings and presentations of documentation. The event series is a forum for our guests, a chance for discoveries, encounters and exchange – living cinematography.

 

The Deutsche Kinemathek is responsible for conceiving and producing accompanying publications which are sold during the festival at special sales counters and in the Berlin Film Museum’s M-Shop. Their content is very closely tied to the theme and film programme of the Retrospective or the Homage. The books take an in-depth look at and shed light on the theme from several angles. They also provide a historical context – so that the publications will continue to serve as useful reference works beyond their original purpose. The films shown are documented with comprehensive filmographies and original reviews in “FilmHefte” (Film Magazine) which have been published every year since 1997.

Further Information on the Berlinale's Retrospective on the website of the Deutsche Kinemathek:  www.deutsche-kinemathek.de