Cui bono, Fred Gehler?

The Book

This book is a collection of texts and film reviews by the highly-regarded film journalist and critic, Fred Gehler. Gehler began writing for periodicals such as “Sonntag”, “Deutsche Filmkunst” and “Film und Fernsehen”, as well as appearing on Berlin radio in the early 1960s. The collection spans over five decades of film history, both in the GDR and abroad. Gehler’s passion for cinema is shown in his interest, not only in renowned directors, but also younger, lesser-known talents. The book reflects on over 50 years of cinema, the development of the East German film studios DEFA, foreign production companiesas well as on the relationship between political and aesthetic development and film.

Samples:

•  Table of Contents (62 KB)
•  Foreword (25 KB)

The Author

Fred Gehler (born on March 1st, 1937) is regarded as one of the most competent film critics in the history of the GDR. He has been writing about cinema and film history since the 1950s. With his film reviews, which appeared in the weekly newspaper "Sonntag", in the professional journals "Deutsche Filmkunst" and "Film und Fernsehen", or on Berlin radio, he became a highly esteemed guide for a cinephile audience.
After the German reunification, Gehler became the director of the Leipzig Documentary and Animation Film Festival and chairman of the DEFA Foundation's board.