Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer | |
---|---|
Born | Frank Paul Beyer 26 May 1932 |
Died | 1 October 2006 | (aged 74)
Occupation | Film director |
Years active | 1957–2000 |
Frank Paul Beyer (German:
Biography
Early life and career
Frank Beyer was born as Frank Paul Beyer in
In 1938 Frank Beyer started attending primary school in Nobitz, and later the
In 1952 Frank Beyer began to study drama at
Beyer at the DEFA studios (1957–1967)
After graduation Frank Beyer worked as a freelancer for the DEFA studios. He had declined an offer for a permanent position as an assistant director, as he would have been assigned to film projects and would not have had the freedom to choose. He started his directorial career with two short films in the satirical film series
He continued to direct films that focused on
In 1966 Frank Beyer directed the film Trace of Stones based on a novel by Erik Neutsch. The film is set in contemporary East Germany and is about the clash between conservative party functionaries, an unconventional and brazen foreman and a young and pragmatic party secretary and engineer on a construction site. Although the premiere at the Worker's Film Festival in Potsdam on 15 June 1966 was a success, the film premiere two weeks later in East Berlin caused a major scandal. After a few minutes the screening was interrupted by protests over the depiction of party functionaries in the film. Similar protests occurred during other film screening in East Berlin, Leipzig and Rostock and after three days the film was recalled from distribution and all press coverage ceased except for a harsh film review in Neues Deutschland. Only in 1989 shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall was Trace of Stones] shown again publicly in East Germany.
Work for television (1967–1980)
Frank Beyer faced severe personal consequences. He had to leave the DEFA studios and was for several years not allowed to direct theatrical films. To "rehabilitate" him the party sent him to Dresden where he worked at the State Theater from 1967 to 1969. As a guest he also worked at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater in Görlitz and Zittau and at the Maxim Gorki Theater in East Berlin.[2]
Despite being banned from directing theatrical films, Frank Beyer was allowed to direct a film for East German television in 1968. The television film Der Geizige after the play The Miser by Molière was realized with the cast of the State Theater in Dresden. In 1971 he directed the five part television film Rottenknechte on the last days of the German navy during World War II, and in 1973 the four part television film Die sieben Affären der Doña Juanita with his wife Renate Blume in the leading role. The film, which concentrates on the private and romantic life of a young woman, generated debates on marriage, relationships and socialist moral across the country.[1]
His first theatrical film after almost ten years was
In 1977 he directed the romantic comedy Das Versteck again based on a screenplay by Jurek Becker and starring Jutta Hoffmann and Manfred Krug. Shortly before the completion of the production the East German government stripped the singer and dissident Wolf Biermann of his citizenship while he was on a concert tour in West Germany. Frank Beyer, Jurek Becker and the lead actors signed a letter protesting the actions of the East German government. Frank Beyer was reprimanded by the party and prohibited to work for the DEFA studios. Because the lead actor Manfred Krug had applied for permission to leave East Germany, the film was shelved and not shown in theaters. Frank Beyer's situation worsened with the television film Geschlossene Gesellschaft in 1978. The film, which ostensibly depicts a marriage crisis, was heavily criticized by party functionaries due to a perceived criticism of the socialist society. Frank Beyer was now prohibited from working for television and in 1980 his party membership was suspended.
Work in East and West (1980–1989)
Although prohibited to work in East Germany in 1980 Frank Beyer was given permission to work in West Germany. For the West German public broadcaster ARD he directed the television films Der König und sein Narr and The Second Skin in 1981.[1] In 1982 Frank Beyer was given permission to direct a film in East Germany at the DEFA studios. The Turning Point after a novel by Hermann Kant tells the story of a German prisoner of war at the end of World War II who is wrongly accused of being a war criminal. The film was controversial upon release as Polish commentators and officials criticized that the film showed the Polish army wrongly accusing a German soldier of war crimes. The controversy also resulted in a withdrawal of the film from the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was originally planned to be screened and was expected to successfully compete for the awards.[4]
In 1983 he directed the road movie Bockshorn which was shot in the USA and in Cuba and was not very successful at the box office after the theatrical release in 1984. For several years, until 1989 Frank Beyer worked on several projects in East and West Germany, with none being realized. He also worked as a director at the political cabaret Pfeffermühle in Leipzig. Only in 1988 one of his projects was realized. Together with the screenwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase he wrote the script to the criminal-comedy film The Break based on a true event from post-war Berlin. The film was realized as a co-production between East and West Germany. A popular success in East Germany, the film was a box office disappointment in West Germany.[1]
Career after 1989
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
Since then Frank Beyer had only worked for television. He directed the romantic comedy Sie und Er and the comedy Das große Fest in 1992. The international co-production The Last U-Boat followed in 1993. In the same year he was the Head of the Jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.[5] He adapted a story by Jurek Becker in 1995 in Wenn alle Deutschen schlafen and had a major popular and critical success with the Nikolaikirche in 1995. The film concentrated on the last years of East Germany and tells the story of a family that is torn between the protest movement and the Stasi. Another success was the film Der Hauptmann von Köpenick based on the play The Captain of Köpenick by Carl Zuckmayer. In 1998 he directed Abgehauen, a film about the circumstances of the deprivation of Wolf Biermann's citizenship and the departure of Manfred Krug from East Germany. His last project was a film based on the novel Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson. He had already developed the project and completed pre-production, but due to conflicts with the producers he was replaced with Margarethe von Trotta.[1] Frank Beyer died after a long illness on 1 October 2006 at the age of 74 in Berlin. He was buried on the Dorotheenstädtischen Cemetery in Berlin.[6]
Personal life
In 1956 Frank Beyer married a make-up artist he met at the theater in Altenburg. Their daughter Elke was already born in March 1955. In 1965 they were divorced. In January 1969 he married the actress Renate Blume. Their son Alexander was born in June 1969. They were divorced in spring 1975. Their son Alexander was adopted by Renate Blume's second husband, the singer and actor Dean Reed. Under his name Alexander Reed he became an actor, and had minor roles in two of his father's films, Der Hauptmann von Köpenick in 1997 and Abgehauen in 1998. In 1985 Frank Beyer married for a third time. The marriage to the television announcer Monika Unferferth was ended several years later. Until his death he lived together with the poet Karin Kiwus in Berlin.[1]
Filmography
All titles directed and written by Frank Beyer unless stated otherwise. Source: DEFA Foundation.[1] All films are in German language, some were made available with English subtitles but never dubbed in English. Exceptions are noted in the list.
Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1954 | Wetterfrösche | Student film | |
1955 | Ernst Thälmann – Sohn seiner Klasse | Intern | |
1955 | Zar und Zimmermann | Assistant director | |
1955 | Die Irren sind unter uns | Student film, co-directed and co-written with Ralf Kirsten and Konrad Petzold | |
1956 | Schlösser und Katen | Assistant director | |
1957 | Zwei Mütter | ||
1957 | Das Stacheltier : Fridericus Rex
|
||
1957 | Polonia-Express | Assistant director, co-written with Kurt Jung-Alsen | |
1957 | Das Stacheltier : Das Gesellschaftsspiel
|
||
1959 | Eine alte Liebe | Co-written with Werner Reinowski | |
1960 | Five Cartridges | Fünf Patronenhülsen | Screenplay by Walter Gorrish |
1962 | Star-Crossed Lovers
|
Königskinder | Screenplay by Edith Gorrish and Walter Gorrish |
1963 | Naked Among Wolves | Nackt unter Wölfen | Won a Silver Prize at the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival[7] |
1963 | Carbide and Sorrel | Karbid und Sauerampfer | |
1966 | Trace of Stones | Spur der Steine | Screenplay by Karl Georg Egel |
1968 | Der Geizige | Television film | |
1971 | Rottenknechte | Television film, co-written by Klaus Poche | |
1972 | Januskopf | Actor | |
1973 | Die sieben Affären der Doña Juanita | Television film, co-written by Eberhard Panitz | |
1975 | Jacob the Liar | Jakob der Lügner | |
1977 | Das Versteck | ||
1978 | Geschlossene Gesellschaft | Television film | |
1981 | Der König und sein Narr | West German television film, screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf | |
1981 | The Second Skin | Die zweite Haut | West German television film, screenplay by Klaus Poche |
1983 | The Turning Point | Der Aufenthalt | East German film, screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase. Won the Findling Award |
1984 | Bockshorn | East German film, screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf | |
1989 | The Break | Der Bruch | Screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase |
1991 | Ende der Unschuld | Television film, screenplay by Wolfgang Menge | |
1991 | Suspicion | Der Verdacht | Screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf |
1992 | Sie und Er | Television film, screenplay by Klaus Poche | |
1992 | Das große Fest | Television film, screenplay by Klaus Poche | |
1993 | The Last U-Boat | Das letzte U-Boot | Television film, dubbed in/original in English, screenplay by Knut Boeser |
1995 | While All Germans Sleep | Wenn alle Deutschen schlafen | Television film, screenplay by Jurek Becker |
1996 | Nikolaikirche | Television film, co-written with Eberhard Görner and Erich Loest | |
1997 | Der Hauptmann von Köpenick | Television film, screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase | |
1998 | Abgehauen | Television film, screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf |
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Walk, Ines (June 2007). "Frank Beyer" (in German). DEFA Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
- ISBN 3-89468-156-X.
- ^ "Berlinale 1975: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Kein "Aufenthalt" zur Berlinale". Der Spiegel (in German). 6 (1983). Hamburg: 170. 7 February 1983. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1993 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
- ^ "Trauerfeier für Filmregisseur Frank Beyer". Die Welt (in German). 12 October 2006. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
- ^ "3rd Moscow International Film Festival (1963)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
Bibliography
- Beyer, Frank (2001). Wenn der Wind sich dreht (in German). Berlin: Econ Verlag. ISBN 3-430-11477-2.
- Schenk, Ralf (1996). Regie: Frank Beyer (in German). Berlin: Edition Hentrich. ISBN 3-89468-156-X.
- Schieber, Elke (2004). Das Archiv des Regisseurs Frank Beyer (in German). Berlin: Kulturstiftung der Länder.
External links
- Frank Beyer at IMDb
- Frank Beyer at Filmportal.de