In Reichtum der Wälder Albert Quendler shows us every single process from the felling of the trees to the transport of the wood on board a locomotive. His camera focuses on every detail, while emphasising the value of the materials handled and making the documentary stand out first and foremost for its welcome lyricism and its own, marked personality.
Vienna is more alive than ever in Symphonie Wien. Albert Quendler, for his part, has opted for an extremely innovative directorial approach, creating a successful mix of film, dance, theatre and, of course, documentary film, without being afraid to ‘play’ with the seventh art, exploiting every possibility it offers us.
In the ensemble film Viennese Girls, director, painter and photographer Kurt Steinwendner – so fascinated by Italian Neorealism that he was inspired by it in every way – draws a fresco of a hardly recovering Vienna after World War II, in which what seems most difficult is to make ends meet, due to the job insecurity that sadly combines with the inhuman conditions of the workers.
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.
Today, Austrian avant-garde cinema is extremely prolific and full of interesting ideas. Yet few people know that it was officially born after the end of World War II and, specifically, in 1951, the year in which artist, painter and photographer Kurt Steinwendner made his Der Rabe, a highly experimental film transposition of the famous poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.