Raphaela Film

Ekchart Schmidt examines the machinery behind the dream factory; the Hollywood myth is unmasked. How does the studio industry work? What role does marketing and the hype surrounding the stars play?

A parade of well-known actors and directors from Germany

TV review of a litany of Hollywood impropriety.

Daniel and Clara are on a vacation in Italy. In the form of the mysterious "Sandman" Coppola, a figure from Daniel's childhood, returns to haunt him, while he succumbs to an obsessive love with an enigmatic woman of strange beauty: Olympia, who might be far more than she first appears to be...

Second part of Eckhart Schmidt's TreCamerone-trilogy.

Documentary about Marilyn Monroe.

Documentary about Marilyn Monroe: 1962: America loses its blonde icon. Marilyn Monroe dies under mysterious circumstances. How did she die? The police report states: probable suicide. But there are many things that point to murder: a corpse draped too beautifully, an investigation that was cut short, evidence that disappeared. Plus Marilyn's affairs with the then US President John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby. What really happened on that fateful summer night? After her housekeeper discovers the body, six hours pass before the police are called. She finds a beautifully draped corpse, sleeping pills in the blood but no pill residue in the stomach, witnesses who seem uncertain. The first investigator thinks about murder - and is taken off the case. Today no police files can be found.

Documentary about the 2004 movie 'Der Untergang' aka. 'Downfall'

Budd Boetticher talks about the Ranown Cycle, a collection of low-budget westerns of the late 1950s.

Documentary by Eckhart Schmidt.

Documentary about Hollywood during the silent film era.

First part of Eckhart Schmidt's TreCamerone-trilogy.

Documentary about the director Budd Boetticher.

Documentary by Eckhart Schmidt.

A variation of 'Der Fan'.

Female fans are flocking to pop star Nik's feet. But when he announces that he is madly in love with Sarah and wants to marry her, there is an outcry from his fans. In view of Nik's popularity rating, the record company fears a slump in sales. So they stage a "meet your star" contest in which three ladies want to do everything they can to get the superstar away from Sarah. Can Nik remain faithful...?

Documentary about the American actor Rod Steiger.

Documentary about Italian cinema.

Film noir, which enjoyed particular success in the 1930s and 1940s, is probably the most profound genre of classic Hollywood cinema. Eckhart Schmidt tries to show the background and developments and speaks, among others, with directors such as Richard Fleischer and Robert Wise as well as with "femme fatale" actresses. Filmmakers of the following generations explain how the style and themes of noir continue to shape cinema today.

The German director Percy Adlon talks about his career.