If we consider that Vienna, City of my Dreams was made in the late 1950s, at a time when national cinema had long been seeking to move in new directions, we realise how it can be regarded as a “nostalgic” film. Willi Forst sought to create a heartfelt tribute to his city, but also to an essential era in Austrian film history. Restored by Filmarchiv Austria and presented on the Filmarchiv On channel.
Somewhere between the Nouvelle Vague and Post-Neorealism, Georg Lhotsky’s Moss on the Stones stands as a truly groundbreaking film in Austrian film history. Recently restored by Filmarchiv Austria and presented to the audience on the new channel Filmarchiv On.
Marika is a cheerful, lively and – also in a metaphorical sense – wonderfully colourful feature film. The first colour film in Austrian film history.
An unexpected encounter, a false identity, a series of misunderstandings that trigger the most unthinkable situations. In the case of The Congress dances, Franz Antel has attempted to tread a safe path by staging a past success, while revealing little courage in reinventing himself.
From Peter Turrini to Inspector Rex. A particularly intense life full of satisfaction, as well as dramatic events, that of the famous actor Fritz Muliar. And his audience, to this day, has never forgotten the nice man who for many and many years made them laugh, often also thanks to his knowledge of the Yiddish language.
Produced by the legendary Viennese production company Sascha-Film, a pioneer of silent films and the first sound films made in Austria, the amusing musical comedy Die Abenteuer des Grafen Bobby also confirms the successful harmony between a series of actors with theatrical and musical backgrounds.
The Viking who became a Bigamist is a generally enjoyable feature film that undoubtedly entertains, thanks also to the – often deliberately exaggerated – contrast between Italian and German culture. Yet, precisely because of an excessively weak screenplay, it is often predictable and banal.
In Axel Corti’s Radetzkymarsch (which was finished by Gernot Roll after the director’s sudden death), alongside the parable about the empire there is a particular focus on the father/son relationship and what the two protagonists never managed to say to each other. All this is staged also thanks to the excellent performances of a very good cast, within which the great Max von Sydow stands out.
Mother’s Day – Harald Sicheritz’s debut feature, which, alongside an often excessively fragmented plot, features an overall good characterisation of upper-class Austrian society – has become, over the years, a true cult within contemporary Austrian cinema.