Walter Ruttmann

A farcical war between the forces of Commercial Cinema and Independent Cinema.

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

The plot concerns a comet hurling toward Earth on a collision course and the different reactions to people on the impending disaster.

An impression of the state of the world in 1929, contrasting similarities and differences in religion, customs, art and entertainment from all over the world. The film is constructed like a symphony.

Promotional film for "AEG".

An animated commercial for tire company Excelsior Reifen.

An abstract animation from Walter Ruttmann.

Against a dark background, several bright, curved or rounded shapes pulse towards the center of the screen, one at a time. They are followed by many other shapes, some irregular, some pointed, others rounded. The abstract shapes move into or across the screen in harmony with the musical score.

An advertisement for Kantorowicz-Liköre, wherein our protagonists suffer no ill effects whatsoever from consuming alcohol.

An abstract animation from Walter Ruttmann.

An abstract animation by Walter Ruttmann.

This live-action short subject commissioned for the 75th birthday of German romantic composer Robert Schumann juxtaposes flowing water imagery with the piano playing of artist Nina Hanson.

Wehrmacht propaganda documentary about the might of the German armament factories and their inexhaustible reserves of war material made ready for use.

Hans Schilling, who emigrated to Chile shortly before World War 1, comes from Valparaiso to visit his old hometown of Stuttgart after an absence of almost 22 years. His brother Georg Schilling, who stayed in Stuttgart, picks him up at the train station. He proudly shows the homecomer the prospering, Swabian metropolis, followed by impressions of the city's architecture, economy and culture.

Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden. They discover that flowers can bring both joy and solace.

In the huge steel factories in Terni (Umbria, Italy), two friends: Mario and Pietro, fight for the love of the same girl, Gina. Pietro dies because of a work accident at the factory. The other workers think Mario is responsible for the death of his friend. Mario, who is innocent, is forced to quit, but his love for Gina and his dedication to his job help him out of his crisis.

Commercial for the GESOLEI health and art exhibition in Düsseldorf.

Wochende (Weekend) is a film initially commissioned by the Berlin Radio Hour. Prior to Weekend, Ruttmann had made numerous celebrated avant-garde films, namely Opus I-IV, and the spectacular Berlin: Symphony of a City (1927). The advent of sound films dawned, and, interested in how spectators perceive sound, he premiered a film without pictures. On June 13th, 1930, the audience took their seats, the lights went down, and the sound of the film was heard. But the screen was completely blank.

Blood and Soil (German: Blut und Boden) refers to the ideology focussing on a concept of ethnicity based on descent (Blood) and homeland (Soil). It celebrates the relationship of a people to the land that they occupy and cultivate and places high esteem on the virtues of the bucolic (as opposed to urban) living. From this propaganda film, we learn, how hard it is to be a peasant when liberals rule the state. A family of peasants is forced to sell their property and run away to a big city, where they are forced to live in the poverty. Thankfully when the Nazis take power, they may finally come back and live a happy life. Besides the main plot, there is also educational elements here: Germans are informed how few of them will remain in 2050 year if they don't start a mass reproduction.

Documentary about the process of building tanks in Germany during the early days of World War II.

A short film by Walther Ruttmann.

Commercial for the GESOLEI health and art exhibition in Düsseldorf.

Nazi propaganda film about the embryo of metal falling from the sky, extracted by the German industry for various purposes.

A showcase of German chancellor and Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally.

Short version of the Mannesmann film that premiered the previous year.

Short version of the Mannesmann film that premiered the previous year.

An abstract animation from Walter Ruttmann.

An abstract animation from Walter Ruttmann.

An abstract animation from Walter Ruttmann.

In the huge steel factories in Terni (Umbria, Italy), two friends: Mario and Pietro, fight for the love of the same girl, Gina. Pietro dies because of a work accident at the factory. The other workers think Mario is responsible for the death of his friend. Mario, who is innocent, is forced to quit, but his love for Gina and his dedication to his job help him out of his crisis.

In the huge steel factories in Terni (Umbria, Italy), two friends: Mario and Pietro, fight for the love of the same girl, Gina. Pietro dies because of a work accident at the factory. The other workers think Mario is responsible for the death of his friend. Mario, who is innocent, is forced to quit, but his love for Gina and his dedication to his job help him out of his crisis.

A profile of the 1928 Olympic Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Jeff and Luck, seal hunters aboard The Viking, both love the same girl. She loves Luck but fears Jeff. Lost in the ice following a storm, Luck saves Jeff, who disappears so as not to be an obstacle to the love of the two young people.

A Nazi propaganda film meant to glorify German history and to persuade people that the Teutons weren't barbarians but had a notable culture of their own. The topic is embedded into a little story line of an academic giving a lecture.

Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, travels to Worms, capital of the Burgundian kingdom, to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Kriemhild.