Abstract

In December 1992, production of DEFA films ended for good when the French real estate firm Compagnie Immobilière Phénix (CIP) bought the DEFA feature film studio for 130 million German marks; renamed it Studio Babelsberg; hired Volker Schlöndorff, a renowned (West) German filmmaker as CEO; and began dividing the studio premises.’ The trademark DEFA was dropped from the German trade register in 1994 when nobody claimed it. Further, without any organization actively promoting DEFA films, a complicated legal situation preventing large-scale commercial film distribution in the area of the old West Germany,2 and no new films coming on the market with the DEFA logo, DEFA cinema appeared to die a quick death. Meanwhile, all East German movie theaters had been privatized and catered to the desires of a general public who were ignorant and indifferent about East German cinema or who preferred Hollywood productions to films they associated with their East German past. DEFA cinema disappeared from the public realm in post-unification Germany with the exception of the occasional late-night television broadcast or as a film retrospective. Hardly anyone seemed to miss DEFA films.KeywordsMovie TheaterTheme ParkHome VideoGerman MarkHome EntertainmentThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.