History Lessons

(Geschichtsunterricht)

featuring

Johann Unterpertinger, Henri Ludwig, Gottfried Bold, Benedikt Zulauf,

An adaptation of a Bertolt Brecht novel, History Lessons tracks a young contemporary Roman interviewing Julius Caesar’s former acquaintances, to illustrate how history is often written (and controlled) by the victors. Three ten-minute single takes of the man driving around Rome, however, became notorious. Many viewers walked out (“To understand the street, you must see the street!” Straub retorted), but those who stayed knew something distinct had begun.

Jason Sanders
FILM DETAILS 
Screenwriter
  • Jean-Marie Straub
  • Danièle Huillet
Based On
  • based on The Business Affairs of Mr. Julius Caesar by Bertolt Brecht

Cinematographer
  • Renato Berta
Language
  • German
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 85 mins
Preceded By

Concerning Venice (History Lessons)
(À propos de Venise [Geschichtsunterricht])

Jean-Marie Straub, Switzerland, France, 2013

Draws on Maurice Barrès’s essay The Death of Venice.

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • French
  • German
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 23 mins