ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140022
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS HENSON STAFF WRITER
Are movies a mirror of society? Are they depictions and expressions of the events that go on around us?
Or do we fashion ourselves in their image? Do we become as violent, as amoral as the films we watch? If our society fails, do we blame the films we've seen, or do they merely document the downfall?These are questions we might ask after seeing films like ``Leaving Las Vegas,'' or ``Pulp Fiction'' (even ``Forrest Gump''). But the questions have been around a long time. They're as old as the cinema itself.
The ninth Hollins Colloquium on German Film, beginning tonight in the Babcock Auditorium at Hollins College, will pose these questions about the films of a particular era in Germany's history. From 1918 and 1933 Germany attempted, and ultimately failed at, an experiment in democracy commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic. This period led to the rise of National Socialism and Adolf Hitler.
Over the next four days, the colloquium will be screening several important films of the Weimar Republic. They represent Germany's "Golden Age" of cinema. Film and cultural studies scholars from the United States and Germany will discuss how the films reflect and shaped the mentality of the Germans at that time.
Anton Kaes, an internationally regarded Weimar scholar from the University of California at Berkeley, will deliver tonight's keynote address, "Weimar Cinema and the Memory of the Great War."
This will be followed by a viewing of perhaps the granddaddy of all vampire movies, ``Nosferatu.'' With its shadowy images of creepy long fingernails, and Max Shreck's pointed ears and skeletal frame, the film is instantly recognizable as the classic horror film.
On Friday night, independent filmmaker Lisa Lewenz will discuss and screen a work in progress involving home movie footage her mother shot during the 1920s.
A recent restoration of Fritz Lang's ``M,'' an early sound film, also will be shown Friday. ``M'' is the film that made Peter Lorre a star for his portrayal of a compulsive killer of children.
The Hollins Colloquium attracts international attention. ``The German press refers to it as the only event in the world devoted to yearly scholarship of German film,'' says organizer and Hollins film professor Klaus Phillips. ``It's a fascinating exchange of ideas.''
Other films include ``Cafe Elektric'' from 1922, starring a young unknown named Marlene Dietrich, and the ground-breaking 1922 documentary ``Berlin, Symphony of the Great City.''
The Hollins Colloquium on German Film is open and free of charge to area residents. Tonight's lecture begins at 8 in Babcock Auditorium. For more information contact Klaus Phillips at 362-6308.
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