Film & TV for the Germany course

Directed by Robert Wiene and released in 1920, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari German Expressionist film that tells the story of an insane hypnotist a sleep walker to commit murders

Directed by Friedrich Murnau and released in 1922, Nosferatu is a vampire horror and German Expressionist film based on Dracula.

Directed by Arnold Fanck and released in 1926, The Holy Mountain was a film that romanticised the past as it tells the story of two macho mountain climbers who fall for a mysterious women, Leni Reifenstahl (who go on to direct a Nazi propaganda film). Available here

Directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1927, Metropolis was a groundbreaking film that used new techniques and focused on modernity. Available here

Also directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1929, Woman in the Moon has been considered a high point in Weimar cinema. The film describes the first trip to the moon again showcasing Lang's modernist vision.

Directed by Paul Wegener and released in 1920, Der Golem is a horror based on the popular Jewish legend. Wegener used radical experimental techniques to create stunning visual sequences. Available here

Directed by and starring Leni Riefenstahl and released in 1932. Riefenstahl was one of the few women to direct films in Germany at this time. You can find a version with English subtitles here.

Created by Walter Ruttman in 1921. Ruttman was an experimental film maker who looked to the future. He believed in creating beautiful images rather than telling stories. Opus I is a collection of pulsing geometric shapes.

Also created by Walter Ruttman in 1927. This film celebrates modern urban life. The film possesses experimental techniques such as speeding up and slowing down the rate of the film.

Directed by Leni Riefenstahl in 1936, Olympia was a film/documentary that presented Nazi Germany as the rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman civilisation. You can also watch her film The Triumph of the Will with commentary and parts of Day of Freedom. Both are propaganda films for the Nazis.

A 2005 German film about Sophie and Hans Scholl, leaders of the White Rose Movement that opposed the Nazis. You can see the full film here with English subtitles.

A 2008 film based on the events of the Stauffenberg Bomb Plot in July 1944.

I'm sure you have all seen a meme from this film with Hitler outraged at something but the film itself it actually very good. It depicts the last few months of Hitler's life in the bunker. A German film but it does have subtitles. A trailer is available here.

A film based on Hitler's rise to power that mainly focuses on his personality during the 1920s in his bid to become Chancellor of Germany. The film is available on YouTube here.

An incredibly moving film set in the Warsaw ghetto. There are some very upsetting scenes but shows the horrors of the Holocaust. The film is available here.

A 2008 German film about the leaders of the Red Army Faction - a protest/terrorist group in the FRG during the late 1960s and 1970s. A full version of the film with English subtitles is available here.

A 2003 German film set in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification. A young man sets out to protect his mother, who has been in a long coma, from a fatal shock that East Germany is no more!

By Italian director Roberto Rossellini and released in 1948, Germany Year Zero takes place in Allied occupied Berlin and it tells the story of a young boy struggling with war torn Germany. A full version with English subtitles can be found here.

A German series (can be found on All 4) that tells the story of an East German spy in the West German army. It demonstrates the tensions between the FRG and GDR really well and gives an idea of the time period.