The Caligari Halle of the Filmspark Babelsberg
It was the year 1912 when a abandoned and glazed plastic flower factory was chosen as the perfect location to set the film set for 'Der Totentanz' (Dance of the Dead). The advantage of natural light, the breadth of its size and how cheap it was to shoot there convinced the producers and directors, who decided to settle in the neighborhood of Babelsberg and make it the first Hollywood of all the world. Until then, this suburb survived in the shadow of luxury and the ornate plastic beauty of Prussian palaces. And so he was born world's first movie studio and everything he brought with him: riches, hotels and even a neighborhood of the stars.
Unlike Californian Hollywood, Potsdam It did not enjoy a privileged climate, but it did enjoy proximity to the pulsating Berlin, which benefited it, and a lot of land to reclassify. He knew how to overcome the First World War and, with the tit of the Weimar Republic overflowing with money, he had his particular August during the happy decade of the 20s. They were years of heyday and creativity, where Babelsberg It was on a par with the US and the USSR in terms of technological innovations. The studios grew to consolidate themselves as a city dedicated by and for cinema, the perfect greenhouse for one of the best generations of European filmmakers in all of history to grow.
under the brand UFA , the productions followed one another like churros, reaching its zenith with his two quintessential films: 'metropolis' (work in which Fritz Lang showed everyone how wonderful expressionism could be) and 'The blue angel' . The first, completed in 1927, was the Sistine Chapel of silent films, while the second gave viewers the first explicit display of female thighs in history: those of the erotic myth marlene dietrich . Then came the dark times of hesvásticas and divided Germanys in which the studios served by and for political reasons and interests.
Brad Pitt on the set of 'Inglourious Basterds' filmed at Babelsberg Studios
The fall of the wall brought back the best filmmakers like Polansky (partly logical because he can't set foot in the US), Paul Greengrass, Brian Singer, Fernando Meirelles either Quentin Tarantino , who shot his polyglot 'Inglourious Basterds' here. Despite the fact that today the streets breathe celluloid of the new , which does not burn easily, the already mythical Babelsberg studio lives on the old glories. That's why when you arrive at the Filmspark (the only part open to the public) the first thing you see is a huge Bauhaus building with the letters 'Metropolis' on the outside, let's be clear. It is a convention center currently in great demand to celebrate the end of filming, since there is nothing like it for miles around. The filmspark It is basically, the first theme park dedicated to the seventh art in Europe. It is not a pastiche like Disneyland Paris, but rather a tribute to a cinema that to some of us seems old.
Its attractions refer to the summer cinema of youth, to 'The Three Musketeers' , to the old 'King Kong' or to 'The endless story' , whose sets are scattered throughout the park. It gives the impression that it is not capable of digesting with the same speed the number of films that are shot in the studios, or that they simply recycle everything and what was used to shoot 'Valkyrie' was also used for 'Inglourious Basterds'. Throughout the visit to the site, what is most striking are the special effects and makeup workshops , where the youngest (and goths) enjoy painting scabs and fake wounds on their arms.
As if it were an infiltrator, the seventh art also sneaks across the lange bridge , in the heart of the city's palatial epicenter. There, in the cinema museum, the dichotomy of Potsdam , its exterior appearance recalls the splendid past of luxuries at the court while inside, its obsolete galleries are used to store the most valuable memories of the 100 years of Babelsberg. Let it be noted that the cinema also has a space in the most affluent environments ** (those who 80 years ago probably branded Dietrich as a cool one) **.
The streets of the Filmspark pay homage to their greatest hits
Like a good theme park, Fuchur from 'The Neverending Story' camps there
Babelsberg: The neighborhood of stars and politicians But we must not ignore a reality: Potsdam is very beautiful. It is located in a spectacular setting, at the confluence of 10 lakes with crystal clear waters and green slopes. It is because of that marlene dietrich and other contemporary actors fell in love with the place, staying to live there as if they were the new kings of Prussia. On the banks of Griebniztsee , in a street parallel to the lake that today paradoxically is called Karl-Marx-Strasse, a whole neighborhood of stars with great importance in contemporary history was built. Here, the great architect of the Bauhaus Mies van de Rohe and some of his contemporaries put on their boots designing the new mansions with a certain freedom, under an atmosphere of total freedom, sponsored by the money of their clients.
East beverly hills It grew up like its American namesake, but without the postmodern extravagance of excess, with the neatness of 15 years of understated hits.
When actors, directors and producers (many of them Jewish) fled Nazi persecution, they left these homes for the other beverly hills . Until 1945 they had no other luxury guests. It was during the potsdam conference in which they divided Germany into four parts. There, Truman, Stalin, Churchill reoccupied the mansions, giving them the name they currently retain. The Churchill Villa it is a pink house, surrounded by a cute white fence. Some slightly drooling locals say it resembles its noble occupant: fat, short, and rosy in complexion. The Stalin Villa is more sober while the Truman Villa It is a beautiful house with an ocher façade and a beautiful porch. Here, the then president of the USA received news on the morning of August 6, 1945. 'A baby was born healthy and strong ', coded message on the success of the bombing of Hiroshima and the dropping of the atomic bomb.
Today they remain almost intact. Most are privately owned, since in the last 20 years, with the arrival of western capitalism, Potsdam has become a place of posh for the Berlin fortunes. All, one by one, leave visitors speechless, who can sneak into some gardens to go around them until they reach the small private docks where boats are moored. Such a voyeur glee for the view, which usually provokes wails of filthy envy.
Hollywood-style entrance to Babelsberg Studios
Villa Truman, Potsdam