By Sabine Hake (NHC Fellow, 2010–11) From the late 1930s to the early twenty-first century, European and American filmmakers have displayed an enduring fascination with Nazi leaders, rituals, and symbols, making scores of films from Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) and Watch on the Rhine (1943) through Des Teufels General (The Devil’s General, 1955) and Pasqualino settebellezze (Seven Beauties, 1975), up to Der … Continued
By Eric G. Wilson (NHC Fellow, 2003–04) In the last twenty years or so, numerous mainstream movies have drawn from the ideas and images of ancient thought to address the collapse of appearance and reality. These films have consistently featured the Gnostic currents that emerged from Plato: not only Gnosticism itself but also Cabbala and … Continued
By Richard Abel (NHC Fellow, 1988–89) Richard Abel's magisterial new book radically rewrites the history of French cinema between 1896 and 1914, particularly during the years when Pathé-Frères, the first major corporation in the new industry, led the world in film production and distribution. Based on extensive investigation of rare archival films and documents, and … Continued
By John F. Kasson (NHC Fellow, 1980–81; 2009–10) Her image appeared in periodicals and advertisements roughly twenty times daily; she rivaled FDR and Edward VIII as the most photographed person in the world. Her portrait brightened the homes of countless admirers: from a black laborer’s cabin in South Carolina and young Andy Warhol’s house in … Continued
Edited by Sabine Hake (NHC Fellow, 2010–11) and Barbara Mennel In the last five years of the twentieth century, films by the second and third generation of the so-called German guest workers exploded onto the German film landscape. Self-confident, articulate, and dynamic, these films situate themselves in the global exchange of cinematic images, citing and … Continued
Edited by Susan Wolf (Trustee; NHC Fellow, 2012–13) and Christopher Grau
By Peter Lurie (NHC Fellow, 2009–10)
By Narendra Panjwani (NHC Fellow, 1997–98) Cinema is not just a visual medium; it is also an emotional medium. This emotional dimension is what makes some films-like Kismet, Aawara, Baiju Baawra, Pyaasa, Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, Mere Mehboob, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony DDLJ-our films. Each year a few films become mega-hits in India (and Pakistan) because … Continued
By Steven C. Caton (NHC Fellow, 1992–93) Combining ethnography, film criticism, and his extensive knowledge of the Middle East, Steven C. Caton presents an innovative and fascinating examination of the classic film, Lawrence of Arabia. Caton is interested in why this epic film has been so compelling for so many people for more than three decades. … Continued
This talk examines the complicated issue of Latinx representation in speculative cinema. While we ought to recognize the problems inherent when a non-Latinx actor plays a Latinx character—should Latinx actors only be relegated to Latinx roles? And how does one determine Latinx identity on film? How is Latinx identity expressed in a speculative film? Here … Continued