Frank Beyer
Encyclopedia
Frank Beyer was German film director
. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA
and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era
and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones
was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the ruling SED
. His 1974 film Jacob, the Liar was the only East German film ever nominated for an Academy Award. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 until his death he mostly directed television films.
in Thuringia
, Germany
to Paul Beyer, a clerk and Charlotte Beyer, a sales clerk. He had a brother, Hermann Beyer (born 30 May 1943) who should have become a successful actor. After the Machtergreifung
of the Nazi Party in 1933 his father, a social democrat
lost his job and his unemployed for several years. In 1942 he was drafted for military service and was killed one year later at the Eastern Front
.
In 1938 Frank Beyer started attending primary school in Nobitz, and later the Realgymnasium Ernestinum in Altenburg
. His education was interrupted for a few months in the aftermath of World War II
. In fall 1946 he continued his education in Altenburg and played in an amateur dramatic society. He also became a member of the Free German Youth
and later of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
. After finishing school with his Abitur
in 1950 he wanted to study history at the University of Leipzig
, but at the request of the socialist unity party he stayed in Altenburg and worked as district party secretary for the local cultural association. At the same time he trained to become a film projectionist, and being interested in theater wrote play reviews for the local newspaper. Later he worked at the theater of the towns of Crimmitschau
and Glauchau
as an assistant director and dramaturge.
In 1952 Frank Beyer began to study drama at Humboldt University
in Berlin
, but transferred to the Film School of the Academy of Performing Arts
(FAMU) in Prague
shortly afterwards. In Prague he studies film directing together with his future colleagues Konrad Petzold and Ralf Kirsten. In 1954 he works as an intern at the DEFA studios
during the production of the film Ernst Thälmann – Sohn seiner Klasse
directed by Kurt Maetzig
. He completed another internship as an assistant director for a film adapted from the opera Zar und Zimmermann
and directed by Hans Müller. In his fourth year of studies, in 1957, he worked as an assistant director for Kurt Maetzig's two part film Schlösser und Katen with a special permission of his university. In 1957 he graduated from FAMU with the anti-war film Zwei Mütter
. Based on a screenplay by Leonie Ossowski, his diploma film tells the story of a French and a German mother that fight for a child that has been mistakenly taken by the German after a bomb raid. The film had a theatrical release and became a success.
. His second feature film Eine alte Liebe based on a story by Werner Reinowski and released in 1958 did not follow the success of his directorial debut Zwei Mütter. His third feature film Five Cartridges
released in 1960 was a major critical and popular success and made him known in East Germany and abroad. The film was based on a screenplay by Walter Gorrish and tells the story of the members of an international brigade
during the Spanish Civil War
.
He continued to direct films that focused on anti-fascist themes
. The 1962 film Star-Crossed Lovers was again based on a screenplay by Walter Gorrish and told the story of the antifascist activist Michael who has to serve in a penal military unit
on the Eastern Front during World War II, and escapes with the help of his childhood friend Jürgen. Deserting to the Red army he hopes to meet his childhood friend and love Magdalena in Moscow, as she had fled from Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union. The experimental film made extensive use of flashbacks and extreme angles of view to express the emotions of the characters. His next project was the 1963 film Naked Among Wolves
based on the 1958 novel of the same name
by Bruno Apitz
. The film told the story of prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp
who risk their lives to hide a Jewish boy
. The film is now regarded as a classic anti-fascist DEFA studio films. His next film, the 1963 comedy Carbide and Sorrel
was a major popular success.
In 1966 Frank Beyer directed the film Traces 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 Traces of Stones] shown again publicly in East Germany.
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.
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.
His first theatrical film after almost ten years was Jacob, the Liar in 1974, adapted from a novel by Jurek Becker
and a co-production of the DEFA studios and East German television. The film is set in World War II in German-occupied Poland. It tells the story of the Jewish protagonist Jakob Heym in a Jewish ghetto who pretends to own a radio and being able to receive news from the outside world. The film, which was remade into the Hollywood film Jakob the Liar
in 1999, was Frank Beyer's biggest critical and popular success. At the 25th Berlin International Film Festival
in West Berlin
in 1975 the film won a Silver Bear and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 49th Academy Awards
in 1977. It was East Germany's first and only nomination for an Academy Award.
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.
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 Die zweite Haut in 1981. 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.
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 Der Bruch 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.
Frank Beyer had no problems continuing his work. In 1990 he directed the two part television film Ende der Unschuld about German physicists and the development of a German nuclear bomb
. In 1991 his last theatrical and DEFA film, Der Verdacht, was released. The film is about a love story in East Germany in the 1970s, but was not very successful at the box office.
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 Das letzte U-Boot
followed in 1993. In the same year he was the Head of the Jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival
. 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 Jahrestage 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. 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.
. 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.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA
Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft
Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft, better known as DEFA, was the public-owned film studio in East Germany throughout that country's history.-History:...
and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones
Traces of Stones
Traces of Stones is a 1966 East German film by Frank Beyer. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Erik Neutsch and starred Manfred Krug in the main role. After its premiere in Potsdam the film was shown only for three days, then the film was shelved due to conflicts with the Socialist...
was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the ruling SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
. His 1974 film Jacob, the Liar was the only East German film ever nominated for an Academy Award. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 until his death he mostly directed television films.
Early life and career
Frank Beyer was born as Frank Paul Beyer in NobitzNobitz
Nobitz is a municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany....
in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to Paul Beyer, a clerk and Charlotte Beyer, a sales clerk. He had a brother, Hermann Beyer (born 30 May 1943) who should have become a successful actor. After the Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
of the Nazi Party in 1933 his father, a social democrat
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
lost his job and his unemployed for several years. In 1942 he was drafted for military service and was killed one year later at the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
.
In 1938 Frank Beyer started attending primary school in Nobitz, and later the Realgymnasium Ernestinum in Altenburg
Altenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
. His education was interrupted for a few months in the aftermath of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In fall 1946 he continued his education in Altenburg and played in an amateur dramatic society. He also became a member of the Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
and later of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
. After finishing school with his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in 1950 he wanted to study history at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, but at the request of the socialist unity party he stayed in Altenburg and worked as district party secretary for the local cultural association. At the same time he trained to become a film projectionist, and being interested in theater wrote play reviews for the local newspaper. Later he worked at the theater of the towns of Crimmitschau
Crimmitschau
Crimmitschau is a town in the district of Zwickau in the Free State of Saxony.-Geography:Crimmitschau lies on the River Pleiße in the northern foothills of the Erzgebirge.-Neighboring municipalities:...
and Glauchau
Glauchau
Glauchau is a town in Germany, in Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail. It is part of the Zwickau district....
as an assistant director and dramaturge.
In 1952 Frank Beyer began to study drama at Humboldt University
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, but transferred to the Film School of the Academy of Performing Arts
Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague or FAMU is one of the oldest film schools in Europe. Located in Prague, Czech Republic, FAMU was founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
(FAMU) in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
shortly afterwards. In Prague he studies film directing together with his future colleagues Konrad Petzold and Ralf Kirsten. In 1954 he works as an intern at the DEFA studios
Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft
Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft, better known as DEFA, was the public-owned film studio in East Germany throughout that country's history.-History:...
during the production of the film Ernst Thälmann – Sohn seiner Klasse
Ernst Thälmann (film)
Ernst Thälmann is an East German film in two parts about the life of the German Communist leader Ernst Thälmann, directed by Kurt Maetzig and starring Günther Simon in the title role. The first picture, Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse , was released at 1954...
directed by Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig is an East German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in the GDR. He is one of the most respected filmmakers of East Germany. He currently lives in Wildkuhl, Mecklenburg, and has three children....
. He completed another internship as an assistant director for a film adapted from the opera Zar und Zimmermann
Zar und Zimmermann
Zar und Zimmermann is an opera in three acts, music by Albert Lortzing, libretto by the composer after Georg Christian Römer's Der Bürgermeister on Saarlem, oder Die zwei Peter, itself based on a French work entitled Le Bourgesmestre de Sardam, ou Les deux Pierres by Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier...
and directed by Hans Müller. In his fourth year of studies, in 1957, he worked as an assistant director for Kurt Maetzig's two part film Schlösser und Katen with a special permission of his university. In 1957 he graduated from FAMU with the anti-war film Zwei Mütter
Zwei Mütter
Zwei Mütter is a 1957 East German film directed by Frank Beyer after a screenplay by Leonie Ossowski. The film was Frank Beyer's graduation film at the Film School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. The film tells the story of a French and a German mother that fight for a child that has...
. Based on a screenplay by Leonie Ossowski, his diploma film tells the story of a French and a German mother that fight for a child that has been mistakenly taken by the German after a bomb raid. The film had a theatrical release and became a success.
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 Das StacheltierDas Stacheltier
Das Stacheltier was a satirical series of short films that was produced by the East German DEFA Film Studios from 1953 to 1964. The short films were meant to be shown in film theaters preceding the newsreel and the main feature...
. His second feature film Eine alte Liebe based on a story by Werner Reinowski and released in 1958 did not follow the success of his directorial debut Zwei Mütter. His third feature film Five Cartridges
Five Cartridges
Five Cartridges is a 1960 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Manfred Krug.-Plot:During the Spanish Civil War, a battalion of the International Brigades is cut off withouts water or ammunition...
released in 1960 was a major critical and popular success and made him known in East Germany and abroad. The film was based on a screenplay by Walter Gorrish and tells the story of the members of an international brigade
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
He continued to direct films that focused on anti-fascist themes
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
. The 1962 film Star-Crossed Lovers was again based on a screenplay by Walter Gorrish and told the story of the antifascist activist Michael who has to serve in a penal military unit
Penal military unit
Penal battalions, penal companies, etc., are military formations consisting of convicted persons for which military service in such units was either the assigned punishment or an alternative to imprisonment or the death penalty.-Nazi Germany:...
on the Eastern Front during World War II, and escapes with the help of his childhood friend Jürgen. Deserting to the Red army he hopes to meet his childhood friend and love Magdalena in Moscow, as she had fled from Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union. The experimental film made extensive use of flashbacks and extreme angles of view to express the emotions of the characters. His next project was the 1963 film Naked Among Wolves
Naked Among Wolves (film)
Naked Among Wolves is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on the 1958 novel, also titled Naked Among Wolves, by Bruno Apitz.-Plot:...
based on the 1958 novel of the same name
Naked Among Wolves (novel)
Naked Among Wolves is a novel by the East German author Bruno Apitz. The novel, first published in 1958, tells the story of prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp who risk their lives to hide a Jewish boy. It was translated into 25 languages and published in 28 countries...
by Bruno Apitz
Bruno Apitz
Bruno Apitz was a German writer.Apitz was born in Leipzig as the twelfth child of a washer woman. He attended school until he was fourteen, then started training as a printer. During World War I he was a passionate supporter of German Communist Party leader Karl Liebknecht...
. The film told the story of prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
who risk their lives to hide a Jewish boy
Stefan Jerzy Zweig
Stefan Jerzy Zweig is an author and cameraman and is known as the Buchenwald child from the novel by Bruno Apitz, Naked Among Wolves. He survived Buchenwald concentration camp at age four by being protected by his father and other prisoners.- Early years :Stefan Jerzy Zweig lived with his parents,...
. The film is now regarded as a classic anti-fascist DEFA studio films. His next film, the 1963 comedy Carbide and Sorrel
Carbide and Sorrel
Carbide and Sorrel is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck.-Plot:At 1945, in the devastated city of Dresden, Karl 'Kalle' Blücher - a former worker in the cigarettes factory - returns home, wishing to resume his job. The chief of the reconstruction team...
was a major popular success.
In 1966 Frank Beyer directed the film Traces of Stones
Traces of Stones
Traces of Stones is a 1966 East German film by Frank Beyer. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Erik Neutsch and starred Manfred Krug in the main role. After its premiere in Potsdam the film was shown only for three days, then the film was shelved due to conflicts with the Socialist...
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
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
on 15 June 1966 was a success, the film premiere two weeks later in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
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
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
and after three days the film was recalled from distribution and all press coverage ceased except for a harsh film review in Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
. Only in 1989 shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall was Traces 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 "rehabiliate" him the party sent him to DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
where he worked at the State Theater from 1967 to 1969. As a guest he also worked at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater in Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
and Zittau
Zittau
Zittau is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, close to the border tripoint of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. , there are 28,638 people in the city. It is part of the Görlitz district....
and at the Maxim-Gorki-Theater in East Berlin.
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
The Miser
L'Avare is a 1668 five-act satirical comedy by French playwright Molière. Its title is usually translated as The Miser when the play is performed in English....
by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
was realized with the cast of the State Theater in Dresden. In 1971 he directed the five part television film Rottenknechte
Rottenknechte
Rottenknechte is a 1971 East German five part television film directed by Frank Beyer. The first part premiered on 08.01.1971 on the East German public DFF1, with the other four parts being shown in the same month. The film concentrates on the last days of the German navy during World War II....
on the last days of the German navy
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
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.
His first theatrical film after almost ten years was Jacob, the Liar in 1974, adapted from a novel by Jurek Becker
Jurek Becker
Jurek Becker was a Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident. His most famous novel is Jacob the Liar, which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two years and survived the Holocaust.-Childhood:Jurek Becker was born in 1937 and lived in the...
and a co-production of the DEFA studios and East German television. The film is set in World War II in German-occupied Poland. It tells the story of the Jewish protagonist Jakob Heym in a Jewish ghetto who pretends to own a radio and being able to receive news from the outside world. The film, which was remade into the Hollywood film Jakob the Liar
Jakob the Liar
Jakob the Liar is a 1999 American tragicomedy film directed by Peter Kassovitz and starring Robin Williams, Alan Arkin, Liev Schreiber, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, and Bob Balaban. The movie is set in 1944 in a ghetto in German-occupied Poland in the times of the Holocaust and is based on the book by...
in 1999, was Frank Beyer's biggest critical and popular success. At the 25th Berlin International Film Festival
25th Berlin International Film Festival
The 25th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 27 to July 8, 1975.-Jury:* Sylvia Syms * Ottokar Runze* Henry Chapier* Else Goelz* Albert Johnson* Rostislav Yurenev* Carlo Martins* S...
in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
in 1975 the film won a Silver Bear and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 49th Academy Awards
49th Academy Awards
The 49th Academy Awards were presented March 28, 1977, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Richard Pryor, Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, and Warren Beatty....
in 1977. It was East Germany's first and only nomination for an Academy Award.
In 1977 he directed the romantic comedy Das Versteck again based on a screenplay by Jurek Becker and starring Jutta Hoffmann and Manfred Krug
Manfred Krug
Manfred Krug is a German actor and singer.-Life and work:After moving to East Germany at the age of 13, Manfred Krug worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage and, ultimately, in film...
. Shortly before the completion of the production the East German government stripped the singer and dissident Wolf Biermann
Wolf Biermann
Karl Wolf Biermann is a German singer-songwriter and former East German dissident.-Early life:Biermann's father, who worked on the Hamburg docks, was a German Jew and a member of the German Resistance....
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)
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
he directed the television films Der König und sein Narr and Die zweite Haut in 1981. In 1982 Frank Beyer was given permission to direct a film in East Germany at the DEFA studios. The Turning Point
The Turning Point (1983 film)
The Turning Point is a 1983 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Sylvester Groth, Fred Düren and Klaus Piontek. The film is based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Hermann Kant, which was based on Kant's own experience as a prisoner of war in Poland...
after a novel by Hermann Kant
Hermann Kant
Hermann Kant is a German writer born in Hamburg noted for his writings during the time of East Germany. He won the Heinrich Mann Prize in 1967.-References:...
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
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, where it was originally planned to be screened and was expected to successfully compete for the awards.
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 Der Bruch 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.
Career after 1989
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the German reunificationGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
Frank Beyer had no problems continuing his work. In 1990 he directed the two part television film Ende der Unschuld about German physicists and the development of a German nuclear bomb
German nuclear energy project
The German nuclear energy project, , was an attempted clandestine scientific effort led by Germany to develop and produce the atomic weapons during the events involving the World War II...
. In 1991 his last theatrical and DEFA film, Der Verdacht, was released. The film is about a love story in East Germany in the 1970s, but was not very successful at the box office.
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 Das letzte U-Boot
Das letzte U-Boot
Das letzte U-Boot is a 1992 German television film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Ulrich Mühe and Ulrich Tukur. The film is based on the true story of the German submarine U-234....
followed in 1993. In the same year he was the Head of the Jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival
43rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 43rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to 22, 1993.-Jury:* Frank Beyer * Juan Antonio Bardem* Michel Boujut* François Duplat* Katinka Faragó* Krystyna Janda* Naum Kleiman* Brock Peters...
. 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
Nikolaikirche (film)
Nikolaikirche is a 1995 German television film directed by Frank Beyer and based on the book by Erich Loest. The film concentrates on the last years of East Germany and tells the story of a family that is torn between the protest movement and the Stasi. The name of the film derives from the...
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
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
. Another success was the film Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
Der Hauptmann von Köpenick (1997 film)
Der Hauptmann von Köpenick is a 1997 German television film directed by Frank Beyer and based upon the play The Captain of Köpenick by Carl Zuckmayer. The play was based on the true story of Wilhelm Voigt, a German impostor who masqueraded as a Prussian military officer in 1906 and became famous as...
based on the play The Captain of Köpenick
The Captain of Köpenick (play)
The Captain of Köpenick is a satirical play by the German dramatist Carl Zuckmayer. First produced in 1931, the play tells the story, based on a true event that happened in 1906, of a down-on-his-luck ex-convict shoemaker who impersonates a Prussian Guards officer, holds the mayor of a small town...
by Carl Zuckmayer
Carl Zuckmayer
Carl Zuckmayer was a German writer and playwright.-Biography:Born in Nackenheim in Rheinhessen, he was four years old when his family moved to Mainz. With the outbreak of World War I, he finished school with a facilitated "emergency"-Abitur and volunteered for military service...
. In 1998 he directed Abgehauen
Abgehauen
Abgehauen is a 1998 German television documentary directed by Frank Beyer and based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Manfred Krug. Frank Beyer won an Adolf Grimme Award for his work on the film....
, 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 Jahrestage by Uwe Johnson
Uwe Johnson
Uwe Johnson was a German writer, editor, and scholar.- Life :Johnson was born in Kammin in Pomerania . His father was a Swedish-descent peasant from Mecklenburg and his mother was from Pommern...
. He had already developed the project and completed pre-production, but due to conflicts with the producers he was replaced with Margarethe von Trotta. 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.
Personal life
In 1956 Frank Beyer married a make-up artist he met at the theater in AltenburgAltenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
. 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
Dean Reed
Dean Cyril Reed was an American actor, singer and songwriter who lived a great part of his adult life in South America and then in communist East Germany.-Life and career:...
. 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
Karin Kiwus
Karin Kiwus is a German poet from Berlin. After studying journalism, German studies and politology she worked as an editor as well as a university teacher in Austin, Texas. She was the domestic partner of the German film director Frank Beyer until his death in 2006.-Works:*"Von beiden Seiten der...
in Berlin.
Filmography
All titles directed and written by Frank Beyer unless stated otherwise. Source: DEFA FoundationDeutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft
Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft, better known as DEFA, was the public-owned film studio in East Germany throughout that country's history.-History:...
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Wetterfrösche | Student film | |
| 1955 | Ernst Thälmann – Sohn seiner Klasse Ernst Thälmann (film) Ernst Thälmann is an East German film in two parts about the life of the German Communist leader Ernst Thälmann, directed by Kurt Maetzig and starring Günther Simon in the title role. The first picture, Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse , was released at 1954... |
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 Zwei Mütter Zwei Mütter is a 1957 East German film directed by Frank Beyer after a screenplay by Leonie Ossowski. The film was Frank Beyer's graduation film at the Film School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. The film tells the story of a French and a German mother that fight for a child that has... |
||
| 1957 | Das Stacheltier Das Stacheltier Das Stacheltier was a satirical series of short films that was produced by the East German DEFA Film Studios from 1953 to 1964. The short films were meant to be shown in film theaters preceding the newsreel and the main feature... : Fridericus Rex |
||
| 1957 | Polonia-Express | Assistant director, co-written with Kurt Jung-Alsen Kurt Jung-Alsen Kurt Jung-Alsen was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 24 films between 1954 and 1976.-External links:... |
|
| 1957 | Das Stacheltier Das Stacheltier Das Stacheltier was a satirical series of short films that was produced by the East German DEFA Film Studios from 1953 to 1964. The short films were meant to be shown in film theaters preceding the newsreel and the main feature... : Das Gesellschaftsspiel |
||
| 1959 | Eine alte Liebe | Co-written with Werner Reinowski | |
| 1960 | Five Cartridges Five Cartridges Five Cartridges is a 1960 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Manfred Krug.-Plot:During the Spanish Civil War, a battalion of the International Brigades is cut off withouts water or ammunition... |
Fünf Patronenhülsen | Screenplay by Walter Gorrish |
| 1962 | Star-Crossed Lovers | Königskinder | Screenplay by Edith Gorrish and Walter Gorrish |
| 1963 | Naked Among Wolves Naked Among Wolves (film) Naked Among Wolves is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on the 1958 novel, also titled Naked Among Wolves, by Bruno Apitz.-Plot:... |
Nackt unter Wölfen | |
| 1963 | Carbide and Sorrel Carbide and Sorrel Carbide and Sorrel is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck.-Plot:At 1945, in the devastated city of Dresden, Karl 'Kalle' Blücher - a former worker in the cigarettes factory - returns home, wishing to resume his job. The chief of the reconstruction team... |
Karbid und Sauerampfer | |
| 1966 | Traces of Stones Traces of Stones Traces of Stones is a 1966 East German film by Frank Beyer. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Erik Neutsch and starred Manfred Krug in the main role. After its premiere in Potsdam the film was shown only for three days, then the film was shelved due to conflicts with the Socialist... |
Spur der Steine | Screenplay by Karl Georg Egel |
| 1968 | Der Geizige | Television film | |
| 1971 | Rottenknechte Rottenknechte Rottenknechte is a 1971 East German five part television film directed by Frank Beyer. The first part premiered on 08.01.1971 on the East German public DFF1, with the other four parts being shown in the same month. The film concentrates on the last days of the German navy during World War II.... |
Television film, co-written by Klaus Poche | |
| 1972 | Januskopf | Actor | |
| 1973 | Die sieben Affären der Doña Juanita | Television film, co-written by Eberhard Panitz | |
| 1974 | Jacob, the Liar | Jakob der Lügner | |
| 1977 | Das Versteck | ||
| 1978 | Geschlossene Gesellschaft | Television film | |
| 1981 | Der König und sein Narr | Television film, screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf was a German author and dramatist.-Life:Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film... |
|
| 1981 | Die zweite Haut | Television film, screenplay by Klaus Poche | |
| 1983 | The Turning Point The Turning Point (1983 film) The Turning Point is a 1983 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Sylvester Groth, Fred Düren and Klaus Piontek. The film is based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Hermann Kant, which was based on Kant's own experience as a prisoner of war in Poland... |
Der Aufenthalt | Screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase |
| 1984 | Bockshorn | Screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf was a German author and dramatist.-Life:Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film... |
|
| 1989 | Der Bruch | Screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase | |
| 1991 | Ende der Unschuld | Television film, screenplay by Wolfgang Menge | |
| 1991 | Der Verdacht | Screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf was a German author and dramatist.-Life:Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film... |
|
| 1992 | Sie und Er | Television film, screenplay by Klaus Poche | |
| 1992 | Das große Fest | Television film, screenplay by Klaus Poche | |
| 1993 | Das letzte U-Boot Das letzte U-Boot Das letzte U-Boot is a 1992 German television film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Ulrich Mühe and Ulrich Tukur. The film is based on the true story of the German submarine U-234.... |
Television film, screenplay by Knut Boeser | |
| 1995 | Wenn alle Deutschen schlafen | Television film, screenplay by Jurek Becker Jurek Becker Jurek Becker was a Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident. His most famous novel is Jacob the Liar, which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two years and survived the Holocaust.-Childhood:Jurek Becker was born in 1937 and lived in the... |
|
| 1995 | Nikolaikirche Nikolaikirche (film) Nikolaikirche is a 1995 German television film directed by Frank Beyer and based on the book by Erich Loest. The film concentrates on the last years of East Germany and tells the story of a family that is torn between the protest movement and the Stasi. The name of the film derives from the... |
Television film, co-written with Eberhard Görner and Erich Loest Erich Loest Erich Loest German writer who was born in Mittweida, Saxony. He also writes under following pseudonyms Hans Walldorf, Bernd Diksen and Waldemar Naß.- Works :* Jungen, die übrig blieben, Leipzig 1950... |
|
| 1997 | Der Hauptmann von Köpenick Der Hauptmann von Köpenick (1997 film) Der Hauptmann von Köpenick is a 1997 German television film directed by Frank Beyer and based upon the play The Captain of Köpenick by Carl Zuckmayer. The play was based on the true story of Wilhelm Voigt, a German impostor who masqueraded as a Prussian military officer in 1906 and became famous as... |
Television film, screenplay by Wolfgang Kohlhaase | |
| 1998 | Abgehauen Abgehauen Abgehauen is a 1998 German television documentary directed by Frank Beyer and based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Manfred Krug. Frank Beyer won an Adolf Grimme Award for his work on the film.... |
Television film, screenplay by Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf was a German author and dramatist.-Life:Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film... |
|