The steel animal
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The steel animal |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1934 |
| length | 70 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Willy Zielke |
| production | German Reichsbahn |
| music | Peter Kreuder |
| occupation | |
| |
The Steel Animal is an industrial film from 1934. It was shot on behalf of the Reichsbahn on the 100th anniversary ( 1935 ) of the first German railway.
action
The student trainee Claaßen is doing an internship among track workers. As an intellectual, it was initially difficult for him to make contact with the workers. But since he is not afraid to do dirty work, knows a lot about the history of the railways and does not hide his enthusiasm for the railroad, he and the workers become increasingly familiar. During the breaks he tells the story of Nicholas Cugnot's steam car, various other inventors, and the first German railway in 1835.
At the end of the story, he still has to take a driving test on a class 18.5 steam locomotive . This part is the climax in terms of film: Claaßen explains to a worker how he sees the locomotive; he says, for example, "heart", while the worker says "feed pump". Further pictorial descriptions for elementary assemblies of the steam locomotive together result in the term "steel animal". When Claaßen said goodbye to the workers after a successful test drive in order to return to the office, he was clearly taken away.
Prohibition of the film
Apart from the fact that Claaßen greeted the workers with “Heil Hitler!” At the beginning, the film does not show any Nazi symbols. Otherwise, the film doesn't seem like a propaganda machine. For example, it pays tribute to the achievements of foreign inventors such as the French Nicholas Cugnot or the British George Stephenson . The workers involved do not correspond to the ideal of the “Aryan master race ”, but act like normal people. Last but not least, Claaßen is more of a daydreamer than a sober engineer in some scenes. According to Zielke himself, this led to the film being banned immediately after its completion.
However, the film did not meet the expectations of the Reichsbahn leadership around General Director Julius Dorpmüller , who wanted a conventional advertising film rather than an artistic, experimental film. Hans Ertl , who praised the film as “cinematic art of the highest perfection”, described how Dorpmüller “got up in silence ... and - together with various Reichsbahn councilors - shook his head and left the room.” The Reichsbahn classified him as not Suitable for a performance. Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels saw the film at the request of Leni Riefenstahl , who had sponsored Zielke at the beginning of his career. But he didn't change the ban because he didn't like the film.
Another story
After the premiere in 1935 as part of a closed event, the film was then used to train cameramen of the PK ( Propagandakompanie ) in closed events. After the war it was initially lost, but a copy in Leni Riefenstahl's possession survived the war. In 1954, on behalf of the Deutsche Bundesbahn , Zielke created a shortened version with which the film premiered in public for the first time. Since then, it has been available in a 45-minute, ie further abridged, rental version in 16 mm format. The original version was also included in the Federal Railroad's film archive. It was not until 1985, as part of the 150th anniversary of the German railways, that the original version was shown to a larger audience in the third programs on television. It has been available on DVD since 2007.
Movie style
The Steel Animal is an expressionist-style industrial film. With a tilted camera, sometimes breathtaking cuts, a film music composed by Peter Kreuder for this picture-perfect, the film with its feature film-like framework represents a milestone in documentary film .
Functional replicas of the historic steam vehicles were used for the film. The replica of the Puffing Billy was built in 1906 for the German Museum in Munich, for example . Amateur actors were used as railroad workers.
Reviews
“The then renowned cameraman and director W. Zielke focuses on the early days of steam engine technology up to Stephenson's 'Rocket' and 'Adler'; the 20th century is largely excluded. In addition to the historical parts, the experimental camera and assembly ideas that go far beyond the usual cultural film aesthetics are of particular interest. Not approved for screening by the Propaganda Ministry, the film only premiered after the war. "
literature
- Stefan Vockrodt: Movement! The steam locomotive film par excellence? Willy Zielke's “Das Stahltier” was and is controversial - but without a doubt a high point of the avant-garde. in: EisenbahnGeschichte October 42 / November 2010, pp. 70–76, ISSN 1611-6283 .
- Eberhard Urban: The railway as a film star . Transpress Verlag Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-613-71511-0 , page 24f.
See also
supporting documents
- ↑ Stefan Vockrodt: Movement! , P. 74
- ↑ The steel animal. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 1, 2017 .
Web links
- The steel animal at filmportal.de
- The Steel Animal in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Martin Loiperdinger: Willy Zielke and the Reichsbahn. on farocki.akbild.ac.at (PDF; 1.9 MB)
- THE STEEL ANIMAL, Leni Riefenstahl, and a director in the madhouse - Part 1: The film ; Part 2: The case , detailed articles by Manfred [email protected]