BOX OFFICE HITS – 4 DEFA MUSIC FILMS

From film revues to operettas and musicals to popular Schlager films – music films enjoyed great popularity in the GDR. In a society marked by state control and censorship, music films offered a way to subtly address socially critical issues while entertaining the audience.  

Many of the early DEFA music films were oriented towards classical operas or ballets and integrated elements of these art forms into the films’ plots. In this way, the music film became a medium that blurred the demarcation from so-called high culture. THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (Joachim Herz, 1964), the first consistently cinematic opera adaptation, demonstrates this in a particularly effective way. In the 1960s, when revue, show and music film formats had established themselves in the international entertainment industry, the genre of revue and Schlager films in particular flourished in the GDR. MIDNIGHT REVUE (Gottfried Kolditz, 1962), which consists of a series of elaborate music and dance scenes interwoven with the film plot, is considered the only revue film in the narrower sense produced by DEFA. Schlager films, on the other hand, made greater use of pre-produced pieces of music that were integrated into the stories as independent sequences. From the 1970s onwards, more and more music films were oriented towards youth pop culture. Soon they formed an integral part of East German youth culture. At a time when pop and rock music were already popular in West Germany, there were hardly any opportunities in the GDR to engage with this music. The music film therefore offered a platform to reach young people with modern music and a youthful attitude. The DEFA blockbusters THE LEGEND OF PAUL AND PAULA (Heiner Carow, 1973) and SOLO SUNNY (Konrad Wolf, 1980) left a lasting mark on East German pop culture with their catchy soundtracks. They met the zeitgeist with both their sounds and lyrics.  

Not least, the music film of the GDR was an important economic factor, which was reflected in the production strategy of DEFA, the Deutsche Film AG. Many films were extremely successful at the box office and also helped DEFA achieve international recognition. In addition, the films also contributed to the development of the music industry in the GDR by boosting the sale of records and cassettes.