The railway line along which the so-called Mariazeller Bahn travelled is the oldest mountain railway line in Austria. This railway line was, around the 1910s, completely electrified, also thanks to the numerous hydroelectric power stations along its route. The documentary Eine Fahrt mit der Mariazeller Bahn gives us the opportunity to get to know this reality up close.
Eine Fahrt mit der Bernina-Bahn seems to us a quite exceptional film, which in a little less than four minutes gives us a fairly comprehensive idea of a small reality in the Alps. A precious historical and artistic document, one of the oldest railway films from the origins of (Austrian and world) cinema.
In Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht we immediately recognise a strong influence from the cinema of Georges Méliès, especially with regard to the double exposure scenes and the strongly fairytale-like (sometimes even dreamlike) atmosphere of the whole film. This short film tries its way without pretending to become a “revolutionary” film. Yet, with its elegant mise-en-scene and its simplicity, it seems to us, today, more precious than ever.
“Bloch-Ziehen” im Burgenland is a little gem of Austrian cinema, which not only shows us a tradition unknown to most today, but is also a perfect depiction of an unusual and alienating era.
In little more than three minutes, Ein Spaziergang durch Graz – with the most essential directorial approach possible – successfully brings the history of the Styrian capital to life for us, while maintaining an almost impersonal and quite didactic character.
An extraordinary calm and a welcome serenity pervade Vorfrühling am Attersee, conceived, like many other tourist documentaries made in the early 20th century, to appeal to as many tourists as possible in Austria and to give abroad an image of the nation where prosperity was commonplace.
Halfway between an actual advertising film and a documentary, Mariazell shows us in full, in just two minutes, the small town much loved by the Austrians, complete with a focus on the most characteristic sites of the place.
Steinklopfer-Marsch, made in 1908 and discovered and restored in 2019 by the Filmarchiv Austria, is, thanks to its completely innovative form for the time, an extremely rare document today. One of the earliest forms of music videos, in which the singer Mirzl Hofer performs one of her songs.
In Zwettl am Kamp – produced in 1934 by Österreich in Bild und Ton – is part of a long series of propaganda documentaries made in Austria mainly between the 1930s and 1940s.
In A Day in Vienna, editing plays a key role. A highly experimental editing, which through associations of images conveys a very precise message. What does this remind us of?