Helmut Herbst b. 1934
Deutschland Dada, Part 1 (1969)
Go To Deutschland Dada, Part 2
The one-hour 35mm film DEUTSCHLAND DADA was made in 1968/69 in the form of a dada alphabet. He begins with the letter Z = Zurich and, according to this order, inspects the fragments and splinters of the Dadaist explosion scattered all over the world, without hanging them on one of the art historians' clotheslines. Outstanding: the statements and performances of the Dadaists Raoul Hausmann, Richard Huelsenbeck and Hans Richter who were still alive at the time.
It is the first of my "3 20th Century Art History Films" and owes its creation to Brant Sloan and American money. GERMANY DADA and the other two films in the trilogy, JOHN HEARTFIELD FOTOMONTEUR and HAPPENINGKUNSTPROTEST1968, deal with those rare and precious moments in German history in which radical social protest and radical art allied themselves for a short time.
This documentary concerns the contributions of German artists to the Dadaist movement. Created in 1916, the organizers rejected previous convention and delighted in nihilistic satire in painting, sculpture and literature. Comparisons are made between the movement and the political and social upheaval at the time of the release of this feature (1969).
Credit: Helmut Herbst - Director; Helmut Herbst - Cinematographer; Helmut Herbst - Screenwriter