From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses

Rüdger Suchsland’s 2014 documentary on the social and cultural impact of German cinema during the Weimar Republic.

Siegfried Kracauer's seminal 1947 study From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film was one of the most influential film criticism books of its era, changing the way we perceive the intersection of culture and history. In this 2014 documentary, Rüdger Suchsland revisits the theory, examining the social and cultural impact of German Cinema during the Weimar Republic, illustrating Kracauer's ideas with dozens of newly restored film clips and contributions from filmmakers including Volker Schlöndorff and Fatih Akin.