Retrospective 2010: Ernst Lubitsch

For the 63rd Locarno Festival (4-14 August 2010), the work of German born American director Ernst Lubitsch will be the subject of an exhaustive retrospective, curated by Joseph Mc Bride, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque française.

Born in Berlin in 1892, emigrating to the USA in 1922, Lubitsch made over 70 films, of which around twenty are believed to be lost. His most famous films include Trouble in Paradise (1932), Ninotchka (1939) and To Be or Not to Be (1942).

Initially an actor, then scriptwriter, Lubitsch became a star through a series of hit comedies in Germany. Moving into direction, he made his first film of note in 1918, The Mummy’s Eyes, a drama featuring Pola Negri and Emil Jannings the two major stars of German cinema at the time. He soon acquired international renown via a string of highly successful historical dramas and comedies. He was invited to Hollywood where he went on perfect his brand of sophisticated comedy. He made a remarkably easy transition from silent movies to the talkies and went on to direct an unbroken series of masterpieces. In the 30s and 40s he worked with such major Hollywood stars as Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart and Greta Garbo. In 1947 Lubitsch received an Honorary Oscar, but shortly after died of a heart attack while shooting his last film, That Lady in Ermine, subsequently completed by Otto Preminger.

For Olivier Père, the Festival’s new Artistic Director who took up his post on September 1st, “With this retrospective we want to pay tribute to one of the greatest filmmakers and uncontested master of comedy. This full retrospective aims to offer the Locarno audience and historians alike an opportunity to (re)discover the many aspects of that celebrated “Lubitsch Touch”, a unique blend of elegance, satire, wit, understatement and pacing.”

The retrospective will subsequently be presented at the Cinémathèque suisse and at the Cinémathèque française.

See the 2010 selection of the Retrospettiva Ernst Lubitsch in the attachment PDF.

See the Ernst Lubitsch' news and more photos.