Robert Wiene | |
|---|---|
 Robert Wiene in the early 1930s | |
| Born | (1873-04-27)27 April 1873 |
| Died | 17 July 1938(1938-07-17) (aged 65) |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1913–1938 |
| Relatives | Conrad Wiene (brother) |
Robert Wiene (German:[ˈviːnə]; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a Germanfilm director,screenwriter andproducer, active during thesilent era. He is widely-known for directing the landmark 1920 filmThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and a succession of otherexpressionist films. Wiene also directed a variety of other films of varying styles and genres. Following theNazi rise to power in Germany, Wiene, who was ofJewish descent,[1] fled into exile.
Robert Wiene was born in Breslau, in the GermanProvince of Silesia (now the city ofWrocław in Poland), as the elder son of the successfultheatre actor Karl Wiene. His younger brotherConrad also became an actor. Wiene spent his childhood in various cities throughout Central and Western Europe, includingVienna,Stuttgart,Dresden andPrague.
Prior to his directing career, Wiene at studied law at theUniversity of Berlin[citation needed] and, from 1895, at theUniversity of Vienna.[2] He practiced law inWeimar until 1908, when he moved back to Vienna to manage a theatre company. During this time, he also acted, in small parts on the stage.
His first involvement with film was in 1912, writing and (possibly) directingDie Waffen der Jugend.[citation needed] In 1919, he co-founded withHeinz Hanus the Filmbund (Film Union), a professional association of Austrian filmmakers and one of the first organizations of its kind in Europe.[3]
His most memorable feature films are thehorror filmThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) andRaskolnikow (1923), an adaptation ofDostoyevsky'sCrime and Punishment, both of which had a deep influence on the German cinema of that time.[citation needed]
Four months after the Nazis took power, Wiene's latest film,Taifun, was banned on 3 May 1933. A Hungarian film company had been inviting German directors to come toBudapest to make films in simultaneous German/Hungarian versions, and given his uncertain career prospects under the new German regime Wiene took up that offer in September to direct "One Night in Venice" (1934).[4] Wiene went later to London, and finally to Paris where together withJean Cocteau he tried to produce a sound remake ofThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.[5]
Wiene never returned to Germany, although the reason is unclear. Although one German obituary identified him as a Jew, he had identified himself as a Protestant in Viennese university and residence records from 1894 through 1925.[4] In addition, Wiene had adapted from a novel and directed the 1923 silent religious filmI.N.R.I., depicting in a conventional way the events preceding thecrucifixion of Christ.[citation needed]
Wiene died in Paris ten days before the end of production of a spy film,Ultimatum, after having suffered fromcancer. The film was finished by Wiene's friendRobert Siodmak.[citation needed]
Only about 20 of the more than 90 movies in which Robert Wiene collaborated still exist:[6]
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