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The 100 Most Important German Films

I initially found this list as The 100 Most Significant German Films at a site called German Films, which is 'the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films worldwide'. What seemed strange was for a top 100 list to incude less than 100 films, and even to change over time. When I found it there were 92 films, now (3 Sep 2008) there are 97.

Thanks to reader Jan Baart, I now have far better information about the whole thing. The list was compiled by the Kinemathekverbund (the Association of German Cinematheques) through a survey to collate the hundred most important German films, all as a celebration of a hundred years of German cinema. The outcome was announced in 1994, and yes, it comprises a whole hundred films.

The whole list is available for download at the E-Publications page of the International Federation of Film Archives. It can be found in the PDF for issue 54 of the Journal of Film Preservation, dated Apr 1997. The list begins on page 41.

The three films that are still missing from the Significant list are telling. They are Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen, made in two parts (#19), Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (#37) and Veit Harlan's Jud Süß (#58). The latter two are infamous Nazi propaganda films and the former, while made before the Nazi era, was used by them for propaganda purposes.

The law in Germany currently prohibits public broadcast or sale of Nazi era films, which has always seemed to be a counterproductive policy to me given that 'those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' Then again it's a step up from burning such material as the Nazis did. It also leads to the strange paradox that saw the German Federal Ministry of the Interior funding the preservation of films (all those that appear on this list, for instance) that can only be seen for educational purposes or by special appointment.

Reviews | AL - Apocalypse Later | IP - The IMDb Project | CR - Capsule Reviews


#	Title	Year	H	D	Director	IMDb	Review	English Title
1	M	1931	7	7	Fritz Lang	IMDb	IP	M
2	Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari	1920	7		Robert Wiene	IMDb		The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
3	Berlin: Die Symphonie der Großstadt	1927			Walter Ruttmann	IMDb		Berlin, Symphony of a City
4	Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens	1921	6	6	F W Murnau	IMDb		Nosferatu
5	Menschen am Sonntag	1930			Robert Siodmak	IMDb		People on Sunday
6	Die Mörder sind unter uns	1946			Wolfgang Staudte	IMDb		The Murderers are Among Us
7	Der Blaue Engel	1930			Josef von Sternberg	IMDb		The Blue Angel
8	Metropolis	1927	7	7	Fritz Lang	IMDb		Metropolis
9	Die Freudlose Gasse	1925			G W Pabst	IMDb		The Joyless Street
10	Der Untertan	1951			Wolfgang Staudte	IMDb		The Kaiser's Lackey
11	Kuhle Wampe oder: Wem gehört die Welt?	1932			Slatan Dudow	IMDb		To Whom Does the World Belong?
12	Der Student von Prag	1913			Stellan Rye & Paul Wegener	IMDb		The Student of Prague
13	Die Brücke	1959			Bernhard Wicki	IMDb		The Bridge
14	Abschied von gestern - (Anita G.)	1966			Alexander Kluge	IMDb		Yesterday Girl
15	Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück	1929			Phil Jutzi	IMDb		Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness
16	Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam	1920	7		Carl Boese & Paul Wegener	IMDb		The Golem
17	Dr Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit	1922			Fritz Lang	IMDb		Dr Mabuse, the Gambler
18	Unter den Brücken	1945			Helmut Käutner	IMDb		Under the Bridges
19	Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache Die Nibelungen: Siegfried	1924 1924			Fritz Lang Fritz Lang	IMDb IMDb		Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge Die Nibelungen: Siegfried
20	Der Letzte Mann	1924			F W Murnau	IMDb		The Last Laugh
21	Der Müde Tod	1921			Fritz Lang	IMDb		Destiny
22	Liebelei	1933			Max Ophüls	IMDb		Flirtation
23	Spur der Steine	1966			Frank Beyer	IMDb		Traces of Stones
24	Wintergartenprogramm	1895			Max Skladanowsky
25	Lola Montès	1955			Max Ophüls	IMDb		Lola Montes
26	Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage	1926			F W Murnau	IMDb		Faust
27	Heimat - Eine deutsche Chronik	1984			Edgar Reitz	IMDb		Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany
28	Deutschland im Herbst	1978			Alexander Kluge et al	IMDb		Germany in Autumn
29	Madame DuBarry	1919			Ernst Lubitsch	IMDb		Passion/Madame DuBarry
30	Berlin - Alexanderplatz	1931			Phil Jutzi	IMDb		Berlin - Alexanderplatz
31	Die Ehe der Maria Braun	1979			Rainer Werner Fassbinder	IMDb		The Marriage of Maria Braun
32	Münchhausen	1943	7	7	Josef Von Baky	IMDb	AL	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
33	Die Büchse der Pandora	1929	7		G W Pabst	IMDb	AL	Pandora's Box
34	Die Blechtrommel	1979			Volker Schlöndorff	IMDb		The Tin Drum
35	Das Testament des Dr Mabuse	1933	7		Fritz Lang	IMDb		The Testament of Dr Mabuse
36	Im Lauf der Zeit	1976			Wim Wenders	IMDb		Kings of the Road
37	Triumph des Willens	1935			Leni Riefenstahl	IMDb		Triumph of the Will
38	Der Junge Törless	1966			Volker Schlöndorff	IMDb		Young Torless
39	Katzelmacher	1969			Rainer Werner Fassbinder	IMDb		Katzelmacher
40	Große Freiheit Nr 7	1944			Helmut Käutner	IMDb		Great Freedom No 7
41	Rotation	1949			Wolfgang Staudte	IMDb		Rotation
42	Wir Wunderkinder	1958			Kurt Hoffmann	IMDb		Aren't We Wonderful?
43	Das Wachsfigurenkabinett	1924			Leo Birinsky & Paul Leni	IMDb		Waxworks
44	Mädchen in Uniform	1931			Leontine Sagan	IMDb		Girls in Uniform
45	Varieté	1925			E A Dupont	IMDb		Variety
46	Rosen für den Staatsanwalt	1959			Wolfgang Staudte	IMDb		Roses for the Prosecutor
47	Alice in den Städten	1974			Wim Wenders	IMDb		Alice in the Cities
48	Die Halbstarken	1956			Georg Tressler	IMDb		The Hooligans
49	Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum	1975			Volker Schlöndorff & Margarethe von Trotta	IMDb		The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
50	Westfront 1918	1930	7		G W Pabst	IMDb		Comrades of 1918
51	Die 3 Groschen-Oper	1931			G W Pabst	IMDb		The Threepenny Opera
52	Solo Sunny	1980			Konrad Wolf	IMDb		Solo Sunny
53	Angst essen Seele auf	1974			Rainer Werner Fassbinder	IMDb		Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
54	Der Verlorene	1951			Peter Lorre	IMDb		The Lost One
55	Die Drei von der Tankstelle	1930			Wilhelm Thiele	IMDb		Three from the Filling Station
56	In jenen Tagen	1947			Helmut Käutner	IMDb		Seven Journeys
57	Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit	1938 1938			Leni Riefenstahl Leni Riefenstahl	IMDb IMDb		Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty
58	Jud Süß	1940			Veit Harlan	IMDb		Jud Suss
59	Der Geteilte Himmel	1964			Konrad Wolf	IMDb		The Divided Heaven
60	Der Himmel über Berlin	1987	7	7	Wim Wenders	IMDb		Wings of Desire
61	Nicht versöhnt	1965			Jean-Marie Straub	IMDb		Not Reconciled
62	Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey	1932	4	4	Carl Theodor Dreyer	IMDb		The Vampire
63	Tagebuch einer Verlorenen	1929			G W Pabst	IMDb		Diary of a Lost Girl
64	Der Prozess	1984			Eberhard Fechner	IMDb		Der Prozess
65	Händler der vier Jahreszeiten	1972			Rainer Werner Fassbinder	IMDb		The Merchant of Four Seasons
66	Romanze in Moll	1943			Helmut Käutner	IMDb		Romance in a Minor Key
67	Ehe im Schatten	1947			Kurt Maetzig	IMDb		Marriage in the Shadows
68	Die Legende von Paul und Paula	1973			Heiner Carow	IMDb		The Legend of Paul and Paula
69	Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach	1968			Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub	IMDb		The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach
70	Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes	1972	7	7	Werner Herzog	IMDb	CR	Aguirre, the Wrath of God
71	Ich war neunzehn	1968			Konrad Wolf	IMDb		I Was Nineteen
72	Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed	1926	6	6	Lotte Reiniger	IMDb		The Adventures of Prince Achmed
73	Sterne	1959			Konrad Wolf	IMDb		Stars
74	Die Bleierne Zeit	1981			Margarethe von Trotta	IMDb		Marianne and Juliane
75	Die Straße	1923			Karl Grune	IMDb		The Street
76	Germania anno zero	1948	6		Roberto Rossellini	IMDb	CR	Germany Year Zero
77	Kameradschaft	1931	6		G W Pabst	IMDb		Comradeship
78	Emil und die Detektive	1931			Gerhard Lamprecht	IMDb		Emil and the Detectives
79	Berlin - Ecke Schönhauser	1957			Gerhard Klein	IMDb		Berlin - Schoenhauser Corner
80	Berlin Alexanderplatz	1980			Rainer Werner Fassbinder	IMDb		Berlin Alexanderplatz
81	Der Kongreß tanzt	1931			Eric Charell	IMDb		Congress Dances
82	Das Kaninchen bin ich	1965			Kurt Maetzig	IMDb		I am the Rabbit
83	Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos	1968			Alexander Kluge	IMDb		Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed
84	Fontane - Effi Briest	1974			Rainer Werner Fassbinder	IMDb		Effi Briest
85	Der Amerikanische Freund	1977			Wim Wenders	IMDb		The American Friend
86	Asphalt	1929			Joe May	IMDb		Asphalt
87	Jakob, der Lügner	1975			Frank Beyer	IMDb		Jakob the Liar
88	Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle	1974			Werner Herzog	IMDb		The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
89	Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam	1957			Robert Siodmak	IMDb		The Devil Strikes at Night
90	Mysterien eines Frisiersalons	1923			Bertold Brecht & Erich Engel	IMDb		The Mysteries of a Hairdresser's Shop
91	Die Weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü	1929			G W Pabst & Arnold Fanck	IMDb		The White Hell of Pitz Palu
92	Das Mädchen Rosemarie	1958			Rolf Thiele	IMDb		The Girl Rosemarie
93	Aus einem deutschen Leben	1977			Theodor Kotulla	IMDb		Death is My Trade
94	Viktor und Viktoria	1933			Reinhold Schünzel	IMDb		Victor and Victoria
95	Das Boot	1981	7	7	Wolfgang Petersen	IMDb		The Boat
96	Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern	1969			Peter Fleischmann	IMDb		Hunting Scenes from Bavaria
97	Lebensläufe	1981			Winfried Junge	IMDb		Biographies - The Story of the Children of Golzow
98	Berliner Ballade	1948			Robert A Stemmle	IMDb		The Ballad of Berlin
99	Mephisto	1981	6		István Szabó	IMDb	AL	Mephisto
100	Zweite Heimat: Die Chronik einer Jugend	1992			Edgar Reitz & Robert Busch	IMDb		Heimat II: A Chronicle of a Generation

Totals

Hal - Seen (17), Rated (17), Average (6.53)
Dee - Seen (9), Rated (9), Average (6.44)

Last updated: 3 Sep 2008

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