New Objectivity (filmmaking) explained

New Objectivity (a translation of the German Neue Sachlichkeit,^[1] alternatively translated as "New Sobriety" or "New matter-of-factness") was an art movement that emerged in Germany in the early 1920s as a counter to expressionism.^[2] The term applies to a number of artistic forms, including film.

History

In film, New Objectivity reached its high point around 1929.^[3] It translated into realistic cinematic settings, straightforward camerawork and editing, a tendency to examine inanimate objects as a way to interpret characters and events, a lack of overt emotionalism, and social themes.

Notable directors

The director most associated with the movement is Georg Wilhelm Pabst.^[4] Pabst's films of the 1920s concentrate on subjects such as abortion, prostitution, labor disputes, homosexuality, and addiction. His cool and critical 1925 Joyless Street is a landmark of the objective style.^[5] Pabst's 1930 pacifist sound film Westfront 1918 views the World War I experience in a bleak, matter-of-fact way.^{[6] [7]} With its clear denunciation of war, it was soon banned as unsuitable for public viewing.

Other directors in the style included Ernő Metzner, Berthold Viertel,^[8] and Gerhard Lamprecht.

Decline

The movement ended essentially in 1933 with the fall of the Weimar Republic.^[9]

Films

Films with New Objectivity themes and visual style include:

• Joyless Street, 1925^[10]
• Secrets of a Soul, 1926
• Uneasy Money, 1926
• The Love of Jeanne Ney, 1927
• Police Report: Hold-Up, short subject, 1928
• Pandora's Box, 1929^[11]
• People on Sunday, 1930
• Westfront 1918, 1930 ^{[12] [13]}

Notes and References

1. https://www.moma.org/s/ge/curated_ge/styles/new_objectivity.html MoMA|German Expressionism Style: New Objectivity
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z9y64j6/revision/9 Cultural changes: developments in architecture, art and the cinema - The Weimar Republic 1918-1929 - Edexcel - GCSE History Revision - Edexcel - BBC Bitesize
3. Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films of ...by Bernadette Kester, page 123
4. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20688794?seq=1 Private Anxieties/Public Projections: "New Objectivity", Male Subjectivity, and Weimar Cinema on JSTOR
5. Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era, edited by Noah William Isenberg, page 140
6. Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films of ...by Bernadette Kester, page 123
7. https://www.criterion.com/films/28137-westfront-1918 Westfront 1918 (1930)|The Criterion Collection
8. The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945, by Klaus Kreimeier, page 113
9. https://www.lacma.org/sites/default/files/New%20Objectivity%20-%20Didactics_0.pdf New Objectivity - Didactics_0.pdf
10. Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era, edited by Noah William Isenberg, page 140
11. Book: Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era. Google Books. February 2, 2023. 236. Noah. Isenberg. 2009. 9780231503853. Columbia University Press.
12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46mxgw Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films from the Weimar Period (1919-1930) on JSTOR
13. https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2004/book-reviews/film_front_weimar/ An Endless Number of Great Deeds: Film Front Weimar: Representations of the First World War in German Films of the Weimar Period (1919-1933) by Bernadette Kester — Senses of Cinema