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peterbirksWell, I finally watched the last episode of series three of Heimat, bringing to an end my viewing joy of the year. I guess that I shall just have to watch it again.
When the talkies were invented, it was said that it would destroy cinema, because actors could no longer speak a "global" language. Although this argument was a bit of an oversimplification, the concept certainly applies when it comes to Heimat, which, if it had been made in English and had featured a small American town, would have been hailed as one of the masterpieces of the last 50 years of television.
As it was, it was made in German, featured a small German town, and was parked away on BBC Four. Edgar Reitz made the first series in the early 1980s, the second series in 1994, and the last in 2004, although this hides the fact that each of them took several years to make. I think that if anyone wants to understand Germany in the 20th century, this should be compulsory viewing. It was certainly compulsive viewing.
And, obviously, I fell in love with Salome Kammer.
When the talkies were invented, it was said that it would destroy cinema, because actors could no longer speak a "global" language. Although this argument was a bit of an oversimplification, the concept certainly applies when it comes to Heimat, which, if it had been made in English and had featured a small American town, would have been hailed as one of the masterpieces of the last 50 years of television.
As it was, it was made in German, featured a small German town, and was parked away on BBC Four. Edgar Reitz made the first series in the early 1980s, the second series in 1994, and the last in 2004, although this hides the fact that each of them took several years to make. I think that if anyone wants to understand Germany in the 20th century, this should be compulsory viewing. It was certainly compulsive viewing.
And, obviously, I fell in love with Salome Kammer.
