Trailer Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World?

Synopsis:
This docudrama is a detailed reconstruction of the censorship case against the landmark Weimar-era film, Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932). Directed by Slatan Dudow, the crew and cast included leftwing luminaries such as dramatist Bertolt Brecht, composer Hanns Eisler and balladeer Ernst Busch. The subject of vehement disputes, the case was argued over the course of three sessions. The film was banned twice for revolutionary and communist tendencies, and was perceived to threaten the state. About 230 meters of the original film fell victim to the censor’s shears. Based on original minutes and documents, as well as personal records of the case, Censored: Kuhle Wampe shows the censorship hearings and re-enactments of the scenes that were cut. In addition to footage from the original film, this docudrama includes original clips of Berlin in the 1920s and 30s and short testimonies filmed in the 1970s, with some of the actors involved in the Kuhle Wampe production.

Press Comments:
In this film we wanted to show how a proletarian film became the “content” for a political debate about art. - Christa Mühl & Werner Hecht, Film und Fernsehen, 5/1975

You may also be interested in:
Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World