Operetta film

The operetta film is a sub-genre of the music film . Cheerful stage works from musical theater serve as a template . This includes not only operettas , but also related forms such as singspiele , revue operettas or musical comedies that also contain spoken dialogues.

Even the silent film relied on the popular music of the originals. The background music during the performance was provided by an orchestra or a gramophone. The introduction of the sound film then brought the breakthrough. While the number of film productions in America and the rest of Europe fell rapidly again after a sudden increase, this development did not materialize in the German-speaking countries. Within three decades, there were numerous remakes despite changing political conditions. Technical innovations such as color and wide screen as well as elements of the hit film were introduced.

The Austrian operetta film in the Soviet occupation zone was a specialty. In contrast to the productions in the western zones, the Vienna film on the Rosenhügel could be worked directly in color and with practically unlimited resources in the studios under Soviet control. First, One Night in Venice (1953) was created. However, this era ended with Gasparone (1956), which was only released in cinemas after the state treaty was signed. DEFA already took up the tradition of elaborate film adaptations with incorporated criticism of the Western model of society with Rauschende Melodien (1955). Technical innovations always met with open ears. The French widescreen process Totalvision was used for the first time in Mazurka der Liebe (1957) . The same process was used in Die Schöne Lurette (1960), which became the most successful operetta film in the GDR . For Orpheus in the Underworld (1974), expensive 70 mm film was also used.

literature

• Michael Wedel: The German Music Film: Archeology of a Genre 1914-1945. Edition Text + Criticism, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-88377-835-8 .