Robert Wiene

Robert Wiene (* April 27, 1873 in Breslau, † July 17, 1938 in Paris) was a German film director.

Life

Neither Wiene's birthplace nor his date of birth have survived beyond doubt; presumably he was in the spring of 1873 in Breslau (now Wrocław) born (not as often stated in 1881 in Dresden). He was the son of Pauline Loevy and later to become the Royal Saxon court actor Carl Wiene. His younger brother Konrad is a theater actor and also film director.

After a mostly completed in Vienna studying law (from 1894) Robert Wiene took over in 1908 and 1909 consecutively, the line of two small platforms in order to then turn first as a screenwriter, the new medium of film. He was from the beginning a board member of the company founded in 1922 film Covenant, which represents the interests of the Austrian filmmakers.

Robert Wiene is best known as the expressionist classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari director (1919 ), with its specific portion of the film to date is controversial. He turned then with expressionistic decor Genuine (1920 ) and especially the remarkable adaptation of Dostoyevsky Crime and Punishment (1923). After Orlac 's Hands (1924 ) with Conrad Veidt, the last film of the Caligarismus, he created only second-rate movies. In addition to numerous light entertainment films his name is Der Rosenkavalier (1926 ) in collaboration with the composer and the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal also for a film adaptation of the Richard Strauss opera.

In 1934 Robert Wiene had to emigrate and landed after stopovers in Budapest and London, in Paris. Trying to put together with Jean Cocteau to produce the Caligari new material as sound film failed.

Robert Wiene died on 17 July 1938 in Paris.

Movies

Only about 20 films over 90, in which Robert Wiene has worked, still exist today: