How Would Lubitsch Do It?

S2E00 - Early Film Lighting with Luci Marzola

We’re back, as season two commences! As is now tradition, we start our season with a discussion intended to provide some context. In this episode, film and media historian Luci Marzola and I discuss early Hollywood lighting, the role of cinematographers throughout this era, the consequences of sound, and questions of realism! Our focus is on the development of lighting ideologies and techniques throughout the silent and early sound era in Hollywood, but, as usual, we cover all that and much more!
NEXT WEEK:
Critic Jaime Rebanal Lubitsch’s oldest surviving directorial work. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
HOLLYWOOD LIGHTING FROM THE SILENT ERA TO FILM NOIR by Patrick Keating
PAINTING WITH LIGHT by John Alton

S1E08 - The Oyster Princess [1919] with Bram Ruiter

Season One draws to a close in maximalist style as experimental filmmaker Bram Ruiter us for a particularly exuberant episode in which we discuss Lubitsch’s grand Ruritanian comic epic THE OYSTER PRINCESS. Our discussion is wide-ranging and a little giddy due to our excitement at discussing such a thrilling and hilarious mini-epic, so prepare for a slightly looser episode than usual! Lubitsch’s growth as an artist, Ossi Oswalda’s indomitability, and a long digression about Berlin’s film museum are all on the table.
Immense to everyone that made this season possible:
All of our guests: Lauren Faulker Rossi, Will Ross, Dara Jaffe, Matt Severson, Peter Labuza, Tim Brayton, Jose Arroyo, Fran Hoepfner, and Bram Ruiter.
Everyone who provided invaluable content, helped find guests, or otherwise graciously lent their valuable counsel and support: Anna Citak-Scott, Dave Kehr, David Cairns, Kristin Thompson, Paul Cuff, Luci Marzola, Stefan Drössler, the MOMA, all of our soon-to-be-announced future guests, and many others.
And, of course, to anyone who’s listened to our show and is reading this right now: thanks for surviving the most comically esoteric season of film podcasts imaginable.
NEXT SEASON:
We’re taking a month off! Join us in March as we enter our second season in which we’ll cover the final stretch of Lubitsch’s career in Berlin. If you’re curious as to which films we’ll be covering, check out our Season 2 Resources page. If you’d like to get a head start, check out Kristin Thompson’s essential book HERR LUBITSCH GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, available here.

S1E07 - Meyer From Berlin [1919] with Fran Hoepfner

Writer and critic Fran Hoepfner joins us to discuss MEYER FROM BERLIN, Ernst Lubitsch’s only certified Adam Sandler-style vacation comedy. This lightweight comedy of class is a jumping-off point for discussions about silent film form, comedic modes and traditions, the nature of hotels, and our ability to enjoy flawed works from a century ago.
NEXT WEEK:
Bram Ruiter joins us to discuss THE OYSTER PRINCESS. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
Fran's DESIGN FOR LIVING Retrospective on RogerEbert.com

S1E06 - Carmen [1918] with Jose Arroyo

Warwick University associate professor Jose Arroyo joins us to discuss Lubitsch’s 1918 adaptation of Prosper Mérimée’s CARMEN. A drastic scaling-up in production scale and ambition, the film serves as a jumping-off point for our discussions about the source material, Lubitsch’s growing stature in German cinema, the American rerelease of the film, Pola Negri’s movie star charisma, Lubitsch’s sense of morality, and much more!
NEXT WEEK:
Fran Hoepfner joins us to discuss MEYER FROM BERLIN. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
CARMEN - Blog entry on Jose Arroyo’s “Notes on Film” website.

S1E05 - The Eyes of the Mummy Ma [1918] with Tim Brayton

Film critic, podcaster, PHD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and former guest Tim Brayton joins us to discuss THE EYES OF THE MUMMY MA, Lubitsch’s oldest surviving drama. In this episode, we discuss the momentous arrival of Emil Jannings and Pola Negri to the stock company, the rather troubling orientalist aspects of the film, and the ethics and economics of film preservation.
NEXT WEEK:
Jose Arroyo joins us to discuss CARMEN. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
THE EYES OF THE MUMMY MA - Blog entry by Jose Arroyo’s website “Notes On Film”.

S1E04 - I Don’t Want to Be a Man [1918] with Peter Labuza

International Cinematographer’s Guild Researcher, academic, and former guest Peter Labuza joins us to discuss I DON’T WANT TO BE A MAN, Lubitsch’s 1918 gender-defying farce featuring the great Ossi Oswalda as a young woman who decides to spend a day as a man. Hijinks, transgressions, public drunkenness, and romance ensue!
NEXT WEEK:
Tim Brayton joins us to discuss THE EYES OF THE MUMMY MA. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
I DON'T WANT TO BE A MAN - Blog entry by Jose Arroyo’s website “Notes On Film”.

S1E03 - The Merry Jail [1917] with Matt Severson

Margaret Herrick Library Director Matt Severson joins us to discuss THE MERRY JAIL, Lubitsch’s first operetta adaptation. It’s a big step forward towards the recognizable comedy of manners that would become Lubitsch’s trademark, and a great jumping off point to discuss the beginnings of his stylistic tendencies.
NEXT WEEK:
Peter Labuza joins us to discuss I DON’T WANT TO BE A MAN. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
THE MERRY JAIL - Blog entry by Jose Arroyo’s website “Notes On Film”.

S1E02 - Shoe Palace Pinkus [1916] with Dara Jaffe

The journey through Lubitsch’s catalogue continues with SHOE PALACE PINKUS, a short comedy about Sally Pinkus (Lubitsch), a gregarious footwear entrepreneur. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Assistant Curator Dara Jaffe joins us to discuss the controversy that surrounds the character of Sally Pinkus and Jewish representation, margins of safety in comedy, the influence of Ernst’s father on his work, Ernst’s skills as an onscreen comic actor, and much more.
Dara’s work as a liquid light show artist can be found at Liquid Courage Light Show.
NEXT WEEK:
Margaret Herrick Library Director Matt Severson joins us to discuss THE MERRY JAIL. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
THE CINEMATIC SHOE by Jeanette R Malkin
SHOE SALON PINKUS & JEWISH CULTURE AS CONTEXT FOR LUBITSCH - Blog entries by Jose Arroyo’s for his website “Notes On Film”.

S1E01 - When I Was Dead (aka Where Is My Treasure) [1916] with Will Ross

We begin at a film that doesn’t actually represent much of a beginning: Lubitsch’s first shorts remain lost, which leaves us with WHEN I WAS DEAD, also known as WHERE IS MY TREASURE. Film Formally co-host Will Ross joins us as we discuss Lubitsch’s early life, the state of film comedy circa 1916, “door stuff”, tinting in silent films, 3-D, and more.
NEXT WEEK:
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Assistant Curator Dara Jaffe joins us to discuss SHOE PALACE PINKUS. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
WORKS CITED:
LAUGHTER IN PARADISE by Scott Eyman
REINHARDT AND LUBITSCH - Blog entry by Jose Arroyo’s website “Notes On Film”.

S1E00: A Brief History of Modern Germany with Lauren Faulkner Rossi

We begin our journey into the filmography of Ernst Lubitsch with a bit of scene-setting, as Simon Fraser University assistant professor Lauren Rossi joins us to discuss the history of Weimar Germany. Our discussion is wide-ranging, beginning with the Napoleonic era and ending with the downfall of the Weimar republic; in focusing on this period, we aim to provide context as to the political and social forces that shaped Ernst Lubitsch’s worldview and artistic practice.
Next Week:
FILM FORMALLY co-host Will Ross joins us on December 13th to discuss WHEN I WAS DEAD aka WHERE IS MY TREASURE, Lubitsch’s oldest surviving directorial work. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page.
 
WORKS CITED:
WEIMAR GERMANY : PROMISE AND TRAGEDY by Chris Weitz
THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH by Richard J. Evans
WHAT I SAW by Joseph Roth
I SHALL BEAR WITNESS: THE DIARIES OF VIKTOR KLEMPERER by Viktor Klemperer
MOMA’s Exhibition Catalog for German Expressionism: THE GRAPHIC IMPULSE