New Approaches to Ernst Lubitsch: A Light Touch

This collection of unpublished essays on Ernst Lubitsch explores his understudied early German films, his Hollywood historical epics, and his contributions to the film musical and romantic comedy genres. It highlights the role of material objects, sheds light on neglected films, and emphasizes the antifascist dimension of his oeuvre. Lubitsch's cinema is elusive and deserving of our close attention.

Format: Hardback
Length: 326 pages
Publication date: 01 March 2024
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press

Ernst Lubitsch's understudied early German films shed light on Jewish culture, the relation of comedy to gender, and the influence of theatre on his filmmaking. His popular historical epics brought him to Hollywood in 1922, where he helped develop the film musical and contributed to the genre of Hollywood romantic comedy. This exciting collection of unpublished essays on Lubitsch addresses multiple gaps in scholarly and critical engagement with the director. The well-known scholars—film historians, archivists, and theorists—whose essays appear in this volume expand our knowledge of the set designers, actors, directors, and members of the emigré community who contributed to Lubitsch's vibrant films. An emphasis on the role of material objects opens up a new dimension of critical engagement with the director. Light is shed on neglected films, and the antifascist dimension of his oeuvre brings his political stance clearly to light. As these essays make clear, Lubitsch's cinema is elusive and deserving of our close attention.

Weight: 688g
Dimension: 161 x 241 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789463729895