Although the first Austrian film in history – Von Stufe zu Stufe by Heinz Hanus – dates back to 1908, it has to be said that a production company, Saturn-Film, founded by photographer Johann Schwarzer and specialised exclusively in the production of erotic short films, had already been established in Austria for a couple of years. The films produced here include The vain Housemaid.
Die Verwundbaren – a unique shocking film in the history of Austrian cinema – is the only directing experience of the painter, set and costume designer Leo Tichat, who has always been fascinated by the Nouvelle Vague, to the point that he wanted to make a feature film that would be completely in line with the principles of the revolutionary French film movement.
While Baroque Statues – Austrian painter Maria Lassnig’s first short film – was already a particularly good work, Iris, her next film, made in 1971, ranks as a natural completion of her previous work, as well as the perfect summa of the artist’s poetry.
The scene in which actors Hans Moser and Paul Hörbiger, dressed as bellhops, are struggling with the transport of some heavy luggage, including a big wooden box, is, to this day, considered one of the most famous sketches in the history of Austrian cinema. This is one of the highlight scenes of the comedy Hallo Dienstmann, directed by Franz Antel in 1951.
Georg Wilhelm Pabst worked practically never in Austria. Yet, the influences of his homeland were always clearly evident in his style, particularly with regard to its being audaciously unconventional, constantly poised between the desire for renewal and a strong decadentism, the hallmark of much Austrian cultural works.
Cabaret in Austria is an art form that is much more widespread than one might think. It was born with specific political and social aims and, even today, continues to have a strong relevance throughout the country, as well as influencing, in its own way, the seventh art. But when exactly did cabaret originate in Austria?
Climate change has, for several years now, become a rather topical issue. And what does cinema, for its part, do? Great witness of our times, the seventh art has also often had its say on the subject. One example is the feature film The Station – made by Marvin Kren in 2013 – a reinterpretation/tribute to John Carpenter’s famous The Thing (1982). An operation, this one, however, very risky.
If VALIE EXPORT (born Waltraud Lehner) with her photographs, installations and video installations has become world-famous since the 1970s, it was not long before she made her debut in the world of seventh art. Invisible Adversaries, made in 1976, is therefore his first feature film, in which numerous influences from other art forms are evident.
Superworld – the second film by actor and director Karl Markovics – stages a true mystical experience, along with the rediscovery of a love relationship that had been considered, for too many years, irretrievably failed. And yet, despite the issues dealt with, Markovics doesn’t want to express any particular thesis on the subject, leaving the spectator great freedom of interpretation.
On Monday, the 2nd of September, the Honorary Golden Lion was awarded to Julie Andrews at the 76th Venice Film Festival. And if we think of a cult film for which we think of Julie Andrews and Austria, this is the legendary The Sound of Music, made in 1965 by Robert Wise. A story, this one, inspired by real-life characters. But who was, actually, the von Trapp family?