In der Nacht

Running time: 7'

In der Nacht / In the night
Production: GER 1931

 “Eine musikalische Bildphantasie“ – a piano and picture impression made on the 75th anniversary of Robert Schumann's death. The film is a kind of cinematic polemics with the composer's “Night Pieces.” The central motif is water. Water – one of the four elements, the symbol of new life and infinity, in Ruttmann's work shines in a raging whirlpool, a torrent, a steaming geyser. However, the director also shows the gentle face of water – the peaceful water surface or the innocent, playful waves. The film is a predecessor of a music video.

 

 

 

Authors:

  • Walter Ruttmann

    Graduate painter and architect of the Universities of Zurich and Munich. Along with Hans Richter and Viking Eggeling he experimented with abstract filmmaking for some time. After 1925 Ruttmann decided to end his activities in this area, and directed his passion towards the exploration of film editing techniques. He is most famous for “Berlin: Symphony of a Big City” from 1927. Ruttmann later became part of the Nazi propaganda apparatus. He worked with Leni Riefenstahl, with whom he wrote the script to “Triumph of the Will.” He is also one of the cinematographers for “Metropolis” and “The Nibelungs” by Fritz Lang. Died in the battlefield during World War II, making a film chronicle about the western front. 

    Filmography:

    Lichtspiel Opus I-IV (1921-1925)     
    Der Sieger (1922)
    Das Wunder (1922)     
    Der Aufstieg (1926)
    Spiel der Wellen (1926)
    Berlin, die Sinfonie der Großstadt (1927)
    Dort, wo der Rhein… (1927)
    Deutscher Rundfunk (1928)
    Melodie der Welt (1929)
    Weekend (1930)
    In der Nacht(1931)
    Acciaio (1933)
    Triumph des Willens (1934)
    Im Dienste der Menschheit (1937)
    Deutsche Panzer (1940)
     

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Screenings: