- Arnold Fanck
Arnold Fanck (
6 March 1889 inFrankenthal ,Germany –28 September 1974 in Freiburg im Breisgau,Germany ) was a pioneer of the Germanmountain film .Together with
Odo Deodatus Tauern ,Bernhard Villinger andRolf Bauer , Fanck established the company "Berg- und Sportfilm GmbH Freiburg" in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1920. Fanck, who held aPhD ingeology , directed mountain films,sports film s andski film s. He was assisted bySepp Allgeier – acameraman who later belonged toLeni Riefenstahl 's team – and worked mostly in theAlps in locations such as theEngadine ,Zermatt and theArlberg and on mountains such asMont Blanc andPiz Palü .His most popular and successful films of the period between the wars include:
* "Das Wunder des Schneeschuhs" (1919/20)
* "The Holy Mountain" (1926)
* "The White Hell of Pitz Palu " (1929 Silent/1935 Sound)
* "Stürme über dem Montblanc" (1930)
* "Der weiße Rausch – neue Wunder des Schneeschuhs " (1931)
* "S.O.S. Eisberg " (1933), filmed inEngadin ,Switzerland and inGreenland During the National Socialist period, Fanck got in trouble with propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels , since he refused to cooperate — apparently because of the necessity of joining the party. In 1934, he also began working on his film "Der ewige Traum/Der König vom Mont-Blanc", which not only starred a Frenchhero in French mountains, but also had aJewish producer,Gregor Rabinowitsch . This conflict brought Fanck into economic difficulties, from which he was only able to escape by accepting a contract from theJapan ese ministry of culture in 1936.With "Die Tochter des Samurai" and other "culture films", Fanck decided to cooperate with the Nazi regime. Soon afterwards, he produced "Ein Robinson" (1938/39) a
propaganda film forBavaria Filmkunst . In 1944 he made adocumentary about the sculptorArno Breker called "Arno Breker – Harte Zeit, starke Kunst". AfterWorld War II , Fanck's main films of the National Socialist period were proscribed by the Allied military governments. Fanck received no further job offers and had to work as alumberjack .After the screening of his film "Der ewige Traum" at the mountain film festival in
Trento in 1957, Fanck was once again recognized for his artistic achievements. In order to survive his economic difficulties, however, he was forced to sell the rights to his films to a friend, until TV broadcasts improved his situation.External links
* [http://www.nevasport.com/nevablogs/d/arnold-fanck--maestro-de-peliculas-de-montana---arnold-fanck--the-master-of-mountain-films/2625 Arnold Fanck, the master of mountain films]
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