Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin - Von der Schönhauser Allee nach Hollywood

This documentary about Ernst Lubitsch's life and films while in Germany is rather bland and dry, as fellow IMDb reviewer planktonrules remarked. The feature, however, does provide a decent introduction to the details of Lubitsch's life in Berlin. It relies on interviews, mostly his daughter, who admits she isn't an expert on her father's life or films in Germany. Much of the program is spent on her discoveries of this time and her, apparently, recent and singular screening of his German silents at a film festival that is frequently mentioned in the documentary and was probably the impetus for it. Consequently, much of this material is family-tree type findings (at one point, they even spend time looking for Lubitsch's gravesite). Additionally, the talking heads, so to speak, can become boring.

The outline of Lubitsch's work as a theatrical actor for the famous Max Reinhardt through his beginnings as a filmmaker do provide some interesting information, though. The parts about his early films where he acted in comedies based around a stereotypical Jewish character were interesting, especially because these films aren't widely available now. Otherwise, the documentary isn't enlightening in regards to Lubitsch's films and film-making. There are clips from about a couple dozen of his films, but, overall, I would've preferred more filmography in this documentary. Yet, film often ends up not being the best medium to discuss itself.

I wanted to love this documentary. After all, the films that Ernst Lubitsch made in America in the 1930s and 40s were works of art--as well as great romantic fun. And, sadly, few think about his extensive acting and directing career BEFORE he came to Hollywood. So the notion that a film delves into his life and work in Berlin is something that excited me.

Sadly, however, this documentary turned out to be drier than dirt. In other words, they managed to make this exciting concept totally dull and a chore to watch. I think the biggest problem was the "we've got footage--let's use it" thinking of the film makers. In other words, there was a lot of footage of interviews with Lubitsch's elderly niece and daughter and the film makers let it be the bulk of the film. The problem was that this material wasn't that interesting in how it was presented. The use of this footage should have been used much more sparingly. Instead of almost exclusively using these interviews and some old photos, having a narrator or telling it like a traditional retrospective documentary would have worked better. I just felt, after a while, that listening to the people reminisce was like listening to one of my boring old aunts talk on and on and on about "the good 'ol days". This should have been better.