Berlin-Schönauer Corner (1957/First Run Features DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: B
Even
before The Beatles delivered the final artistic blows to The Iron Curtain,
driving Rock Music to new highs and the first permanent cracks to that wall,
Rock in the later 1950s had its early peak and its energy was already making
the first inroads to that part of the world.
As restrictive as East Germany was, they could not stop the beat and
Gerhard Klein’s drama Berlin-Schönauer
Corner (1957) shows the lost youth even in that country in this enduring,
impressive film.
The title
refers to the locale where the teens met, for better and worse, as they try to
have a life away from their parents and the restrictive Communist state that
decries individuality or the total opposite of what Rock Music, the U.S. and
its lively pop culture stand for. Sure,
there is juvenile delinquency, but that just shows how some countries are going
to be the same no matter the government.
Wolfgang Kohlhaase’s screenplay takes life and teens seriously in a way
too few films from Hollywood does now, which is a sad irony considering what
country this came from.
The
acting is fine all around, extending to the teens, which was unusual for the
time. The James Dean and Marlon Brando
influence did not hurt, while actor Ekkehard Schall turns out to be the
son-in-law of no less than Bertolt Brecht.
Klein (The Gleiwitz Case)
handles everything so well that this becomes more than a mere time
capsule. All in all, this is a pleasant
surprise.
The 1.33
X 1 image black and white image is softer than I would have liked, especially
because the cinematography by Wolf Göthe looks so good and captures a period of
the closed Germany in a way few films ever did or will. Would love to see this in 35mm or on
Blu-ray. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is better,
but a little rough here and there, though not awful for its age and the Gunter
Kluck score is not bad either. Extras
include text bio/filmographies, introductory essay and short film Kohlhaase
On Klein covering the history of the man and his importance to East
German Cinema.
- Nicholas Sheffo
