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1960s – 1980s

New German Cinema

Post-war German filmmakers confront history and identity in radical, personal ways.

In 1962 young German filmmakers signed the Oberhausen Manifesto, declaring that 'the old cinema is dead' and asking for a new kind that dealt honestly with their country's past. State funding and television co-productions made the work possible. Fassbinder, Herzog, Wenders, Schlöndorff, Kluge, von Trotta and Syberberg all made very different films, from Herzog's obsessive explorers to Fassbinder's cold melodramas and Wenders' road movies, but together they faced the legacy of Nazism and the postwar economic miracle. The movement ended around 1982 with Fassbinder's death, yet it restored Germany's place in world cinema.

Where
West Germany
When
1962 to about 1982
Key figures
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Volker Schlöndorff, Alexander Kluge, Margarethe von Trotta, Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
Landmark films
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), Alice in the Cities (1974), The Tin Drum (1979)
Legacy
Put German cinema back on the world map and made film a way to examine national history

What to look for

  • Confronting the Nazi past and postwar society
  • Strong personal visions and a mix of styles
  • Low budgets and support from state and television funding

Famous Directors

Rainer Werner FassbinderGermanyWerner HerzogGermanyWim WendersGermanyVolker SchlöndorffGermanyMargarethe von TrottaGermanyAlexander KlugeGermanyWerner SchroeterGermanyHans-Jürgen SyberbergGermanyEdgar ReitzGermanyReinhard HauffGermanyPeter LilienthalGermanyJean-Marie StraubFrance

Top 100 rated films

  1. Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany 1984 · Edgar Reitz · IMDb 8.5
  2. The Salt of the Earth 2014 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 8.4
  3. Paris, Texas 1984 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 8.1
  4. Little Dieter Needs to Fly 1997 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 8.0
  5. Land of Silence and Darkness 1971 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
  6. Fitzcarraldo 1982 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
  7. Lessons of Darkness 1992 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
  8. Wings of Desire 1987 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.9
  9. Perfect Days 2023 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.9
  10. Aguirre, the Wrath of God 1972 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.8
  11. My Best Fiend 1999 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.8
  12. Alice in the Cities 1974 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.8
  13. The Marriage of Maria Braun 1979 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.7
  14. Stroszek 1977 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.7
  15. Grizzly Man 2005 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.7
  16. Encounters at the End of the World 2007 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.7
  17. The Promise 1995 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 7.7
  18. Veronika Voss 1982 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.6
  19. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser 1974 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.6
  20. Kings of the Road 1976 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  21. Buena Vista Social Club 1999 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  22. Pina 2011 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.6
  23. Parsifal 1982 · Hans-Jürgen Syberberg · IMDb 7.6
  24. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant 1972 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.5
  25. Fox and His Friends 1975 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.5
  26. Fear of Fear 1975 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.4
  27. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2010 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.4
  28. The American Friend 1977 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.4
  29. The Tin Drum 1979 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 7.4
  30. Hitler: A Film from Germany 1977 · Hans-Jürgen Syberberg · IMDb 7.4
  31. The Merchant of Four Seasons 1971 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.3
  32. Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.3
  33. Into the Abyss 2011 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.3
  34. Marianne and Juliane 1981 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 7.3
  35. Chinese Roulette 1976 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 7.2
  36. Rescue Dawn 2006 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.2
  37. Faraway, So Close! 1993 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.2
  38. Young Törless 1966 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 7.2
  39. Death of a Salesman 1985 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 7.2
  40. Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King 1972 · Hans-Jürgen Syberberg · IMDb 7.2
  41. Circle of Deceit 1981 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 7.1
  42. Diplomacy 2014 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 7.1
  43. Hannah Arendt 2012 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 7.1
  44. Signs of Life 1968 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.0
  45. Coup de Grâce 1976 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 7.0
  46. Zero Hour 1977 · Edgar Reitz · IMDb 7.0
  47. Knife in the Head 1978 · Reinhard Hauff · IMDb 7.0
  48. Effi Briest 1974 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 6.9
  49. Despair 1978 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 6.9
  50. Woyzeck 1979 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.9
  51. Cobra Verde 1987 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.9
  52. The State of Things 1982 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 6.9
  53. Rosa Luxemburg 1986 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.9
  54. Yesterday Girl 1966 · Alexander Kluge · IMDb 6.9
  55. Karl May 1974 · Hans-Jürgen Syberberg · IMDb 6.9
  56. Katzelmacher 1969 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 6.8
  57. Heart of Glass 1976 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.8
  58. Wrong Move 1975 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 6.8
  59. Until the End of the World 1991 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 6.8
  60. The Ogre 1996 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 6.8
  61. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach 1968 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.8
  62. Class Relations 1984 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.8
  63. Even Dwarfs Started Small 1970 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.7
  64. Family Romance, LLC 2019 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.7
  65. Homo Faber 1991 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 6.7
  66. The Second Awakening of Christa Klages 1978 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.7
  67. Three Sisters (1988) 1988 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.7
  68. Rosenstrasse 2003 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.7
  69. Searching for Ingmar Bergman 2018 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.7
  70. The Power of Emotion 1983 · Alexander Kluge · IMDb 6.7
  71. Sicilia! 1999 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.7
  72. Querelle 1982 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 6.6
  73. Fata Morgana 1971 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.6
  74. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans 2009 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 6.6
  75. Sheer Madness 1983 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.6
  76. Palermo or Wolfsburg 1980 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.6
  77. History Lessons 1973 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.6
  78. These Encounters of Theirs 2006 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.6
  79. Swann in Love 1984 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 6.5
  80. Vision 2009 · Margarethe von Trotta · IMDb 6.5
  81. Eika Katappa 1969 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.5
  82. Machorka-Muff 1963 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.5
  83. Love Is Colder Than Death 1969 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder · IMDb 6.4
  84. Hammett 1982 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 6.4
  85. The Death of Maria Malibran 1972 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.4
  86. David 1979 · Peter Lilienthal · IMDb 6.4
  87. Willow Springs 1973 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.3
  88. The Kingdom of Naples 1978 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.3
  89. Malina 1991 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.3
  90. Not Reconciled 1965 · Jean-Marie Straub · IMDb 6.3
  91. The Handmaid's Tale 1990 · Volker Schlöndorff · IMDb 6.0
  92. Day of the Idiots 1981 · Werner Schroeter · IMDb 6.0
  93. The Second Heimat 1992 · Edgar Reitz
  94. The Patriot 1979 · Alexander Kluge
  95. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul 1974 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  96. Berlin Alexanderplatz 1980 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  97. Home from Home 2013 · Edgar Reitz
  98. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum 1975 · Volker Schlöndorff
  99. Heimat 3 2004 · Edgar Reitz
  100. Stammheim 1986 · Reinhard Hauff