Between Two Worlds

<p> Jews have been well represented in the cinema industry from the beginning of the film era: behind the screen as producers distributors directors script-writers composers set designers; and on the screen as Jewish actors and as named Jewish characters in the film's plot. Some of these characters are fictional; others ranging from Rabbi Loew of Prague to Ferdinand Lassalle and Alfred Dreyfus have a historic original. This book examines how a variety of German and Austrian films treat aspects of Jewish life at home and in the synagogue and Jewish interaction with fellow Jews in different cultural environments; conflicts and accommodations between Jews and non-Jews at various times ranging from the medieval to the contemporary. The author one of the best known scholars in film history theory and criticism offers the reader a rich panorama of the many Jews involved in all spheres of the cinema and who as the author reminds us repeatedly together with their non-Jewish contemporaries created a great industry and new forms of art.</p>