Lembach, Joachim

About the author: Joachim Lembach is Assistant Professor of German at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He graduated from Berlin’s Freie Universität with an MA in Linguistics, Film Studies, and Linguistics, and received his PhD in German Studies from the University of Reading.

Standing of the German Cinema in Great Britain After 1945

2003 0-7734-6786-6
This is the first study available of the standing in Great Britain of the post-war German cinema, seen here as part of the wider issue of foreign-language film distribution and exhibition in the UK. An analysis of the relevant structural conditions of the industry as well as public attitudes toward non-English-language cinema is followed by a detailed reconstruction of the way films from both West and East Germany have been made available to British audiences, including an assessment of how they have been promoted both commercially and culturally. The final chapter aims at ascertaining to what extent the critical response to contemporary German features is a reflection of the general British perception of the films’ country of origin. An extensive appendix presents a list of some 800 feature films, with details of their screening on British television and in the cinema over five decades, as well a bibliography that includes the details of hundreds of film reviews, mainly from newspapers and specialist publications.