History Lessons
Alternate title(s):
Foreign Title: Geschichtsunterricht
Date: January 01, 1972 to December 31, 1972
Dates Note: 1972
Country of Origin:
Germany
,
Italy
Place of Origin: Italy, West Germany
Languages:
German
Color: Color
Silent: No
Based On: based on The Business Affairs of Mr. Julius Caesar by Bertolt Brecht
Additional Info:
Curator Notes
Film Series/Exhibition Title:
Not Reconciled: The Cinema of Straub & HuilletDescription:
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.
Description:
In the late sixties Straub-Huillet were becoming critical darlings of the international art-house scene, but one of cinema’s most notorious long takes announced that they were, in fact, a wave unto themselves. An adaptation of a Bertold 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, were the talking points. Many viewers walked out (“To understand the street, you must see the street!” Straub retorted), but those that stayed knew something distinct had begun.
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