Journal of Film Preservation N° 56 - FIAF
Journal of Film Preservation N° 56 - FIAF
Journal of Film Preservation N° 56 - FIAF
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the prevailing image <strong>of</strong> Pabst as the “Neue Sachlichkeit director”. It is as<br />
if these films had never been made, and nothing will change until they<br />
are rediscovered one day. Perhaps we will then have to reject them as<br />
failures, but for the moment we can still look forward to them.<br />
The camera negatives <strong>of</strong> all Pabst’s films <strong>of</strong> the German period considered<br />
to be “classics”, Der Schatz, Die freudlose Gasse, Geheimnisse einer<br />
Seele, Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney, Die Büchse der Pandora, Die weiße Hölle<br />
vom Piz Palü (co-directed with Arnold Fanck), Tagebuch einer Verlorenen,<br />
Westfront 1918, Kameradschaft, and Herrin von Atlantis have been lost.<br />
That is to say we still do not know where they are and have good reason<br />
to fear that under some circumstances or other they have been<br />
destroyed. The camera negative <strong>of</strong> Die 3-Groschen-Oper has survived, but<br />
only the German version; also large parts <strong>of</strong> the camera negative <strong>of</strong><br />
Abwege, a film which led a shadowy existence until rediscovered and<br />
completed by Enno Patalas and which is not even mentioned in most <strong>of</strong><br />
the literature on Pabst. It has simply not been seen by anyone, although<br />
at least the cinematheques in Berlin (East), Brussels, Prague, and<br />
Moscow possessed acceptable copy material <strong>of</strong> the existing negative fragments.<br />
There are contemporary nitrate copies: Der Schatz (tinted, with Czech<br />
titles, but so far only duplicated in black and white); <strong>of</strong> Die freudlose<br />
Gasse (however, none corresponding in the slightest to the original version);<br />
<strong>of</strong> Kameradschaft (various incomplete versions, or versions<br />
designed for the foreign market, <strong>of</strong> which some provided the basis for a<br />
reconstruction by the Bundesarchiv-<strong>Film</strong>archiv in 1989); <strong>of</strong> Herrin von<br />
Atlantis (two copies held by the Reichsfilmarchiv in differing states <strong>of</strong><br />
completeness were recently combined and reprinted by the<br />
Bundesarchiv-<strong>Film</strong>archiv); <strong>of</strong> Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü (the cutting<br />
order, insert title texts, and origin <strong>of</strong> the Reichsfilmarchiv copy are dubious.<br />
An attempt at reconstruction by the Bundesarchiv has been undertaken<br />
in collaboration with the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek). Very<br />
strange fragments (to some extent probably out-takes) <strong>of</strong> Tagebuch einer<br />
Verlorenen were found in the Pereda Collection at the Montevideo<br />
Cinematheque and have now been integrated into the nitrate material<br />
found in Paris and Brussels in preparation <strong>of</strong> the already mentioned<br />
reconstruction. But that is all - in other words, there are really no “originals”<br />
at all any more.<br />
As we know, copies <strong>of</strong> all the titles mentioned are nevertheless available<br />
on safety film and are in circulation. Where do they come from? They<br />
are the fruit <strong>of</strong> exchanges, sales, and inheritances among archives, collectors<br />
and changing holders <strong>of</strong> rights, and repeated printings, <strong>of</strong>ten involving<br />
changes in the films that can no longer be reconstructed and which<br />
cannot therefore be rectified. In many cases, however, the origins <strong>of</strong> the<br />
material can be established by uniting data from various archives; comparing<br />
perforation markings or other traces inscribed in the material<br />
itself permit the copying history to be reconstructed. This allows the best<br />
exhibition material to be selected and other footage <strong>of</strong> the same content<br />
to be rejected. However, what cannot for the moment be remedied is<br />
25 <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Preservation</strong> / <strong>56</strong> / 1998<br />
Conclusions au sujet de la<br />
Rétrospective G.W. Pabst, Berlin 1997.<br />
Une rétrospective, telle que nous la<br />
concevons, devrait <strong>of</strong>frir ce que une autre<br />
salle de cinéma ou la télévision n’<strong>of</strong>frent pas.<br />
Une telle rétrospective, lorsqu’elle est<br />
organisée par les cinémathèques, <strong>of</strong>fre, de<br />
surcroît, de nombreuses surprises pour les<br />
historiens et les restaurateurs de films.<br />
La rétrospective Pabst dont il est question ici<br />
a été rendue possible grâce à la participation<br />
de nombreux partenaires d’autres archives,<br />
à l’effort commun de recherche, de<br />
préservation et de restauration des<br />
originaux. L’une des surprises - et non des<br />
moindres - fut cependant de découvrir que<br />
l’œuvre d’un cinéaste classique comme<br />
Pabst, que tout le monde croit connaître, ne<br />
peut être considéré comme ayant survécu<br />
dans sa forme originelle et complète. Plus de<br />
la moitié des titres projetés ont été annoncé<br />
comme des « restaurations » ou des<br />
« reconstructions ». Deux films, Grafin<br />
Donelli et Man spielt nicht mit der Liebe<br />
doivent être considérés définitivement ( ?)<br />
comme perdus. Les négatifs de caméra<br />
originaux de la période allemande semblent<br />
être perdus. En revanche, les œuvres de la<br />
période américaine 1933-36 sont<br />
extrêmement bien préservées. Les périodes<br />
françaises 1932-33 et 1936-39 semblent<br />
également avoir mieux survécu. Il reste<br />
beaucoup de travail pour les chercheurs et<br />
les historiens