A Critical History of German Film (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)
(T)ypical of Brockmann's work in its ambition, its eye for key details, and its nuanced appreciation of cultural texts. However, most impressive of all, given the amount of material he covers, is its readability. The volume has a wonderfully accessible style that explains while never patronizing the reader. Its tone will no doubt ensure its successwith its intended audience, as well as any other reader who wishes to obtain a clear sense of German film's unique contribution to world cinema. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN STUDIES (Paul Cooke)  (O)ccupies a unique position in contemporary film scholarship. . . . (W)ritten with remarkable clarity in a refreshingly jargon-free idiom . . . . (A)n indispensable volume for both students and teachers of film. . . . (T)here is no comparable study that offers such a comprehensive and even-handed overview of the landmarks of German cinema in their socio-political context, and Brockmann's volume will surely become a core text on both undergraduate and graduate film courses for many years to come. MODERN LANGUAGE REVIEW  (T)he first encompassing study (of German film) to construct its account largely through extended discussion of key film works. . . . (S)ubstantially successful in illustrating broad arguments about historical development through detailed attention to the narrative texture of canonical films. . . . (T)his is a volume that can certainly be recommended as a textbook for the study of German film. JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES (Andrew Webber)  Brockmann's approach is new and original. Students will find an excellent starting point in their understanding of German film history with this book. University libraries should offer (it) to their students, along with DVD copies of the classic movies discussed. GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW  Currently the only available history of German cinema written in English that both charts German film history from its beginnings during the Kaiserreich to its state in the third millennium and provides a series of sustained readings of individual films. . . . Brockmann's critical intervention . . . is without doubt an achievement that will become canonical in courses surveying German film history. GERMAN QUARTERLY