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Hugo Niebeling

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Hugo Niebeling
Hugo Niebeling in December 2014.
Born(1931-02-02)2 February 1931
Düsseldorf, Germany
Died9 July 2016(2016-07-09) (aged 85)
Hilden, Germany
Occupation(s)Film director
Film producer
Years active1956 – 2016
AwardsSee list of awards in the article.

Hugo Niebeling (2 February 1931 – 9 July 2016)[1][2] was a German film director and producer. He had been particularly noted for his work on industrial and music films, and is considered one of the most important renewers of these genres in Germany.[citation needed] His style is credited to have influenced and helped create the modern music video.[3] His feature-film documentary Alvorada was nominated for an Academy Award in 1963.

Biography

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Early life

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Hugo Niebeling was born and raised in Düsseldorf. As a child, he was evacuated to the countryside during World War II. Once the war ended and he returned home, he found his parents' music store destroyed by bombs.[4] Niebeling developed an interest in modern art, classical music and theatre, but was unable to study acting for financial reasons, and therefore enrolled in a business degree at the Mannesmann-AG in Düsseldorf. Parallel to that, he studied acting privately with Otto Ströhlin, an actor at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus who had many pupils. Niebeling's role model was Gustaf Gründgens, a famous theatre actor.[5]

Industrial/Experimental films

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In 1957, Niebeling directed his first film Stählerne Adern, a documentary about steel-production at Mannesmann AG, inspired by the German experimental director Walter Ruttmann. This film won many accolades and led to Niebeling directing numerous much-acclaimed industrial and experimental films during the early 1960s. They combine stylized cinematography and editing with experimental scores, often in collaboration with Oskar Sala. His short film Stahl - Thema mit Variationen is a good example, being an audiovisual poem on steel-production, using only sound and image to explain its subject without any voice-over or other narration. In 1962, Niebeling created the Oscar-nominated documentary Alvorada - Brazil's Changing Face, which received numerous awards. His experimental industrial film Petrol was the only West German film screened at Cannes Film Festival 1965, and went on to become one of the most awarded industrial films worldwide.[6]

Hugo Niebeling created a radical Oscar-nominated editing style that predated, influenced, and informed the 1960s experimental, underground, and new psychedelic cinema, helping to create the modern music video.

— Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, program-guide to retrospective of Niebeling's industrial films in 2016.[7]

No technique, no angle, no method of camera transport has been left unexplored. What results is an exciting and beautiful kaleidoscope of images.

— Melbourne Film Festival, about "Alvorada".[8]

Ballet-Films

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Giselle, Niebeling's first ballet-film featuring Carla Fracci, Erik Bruhn and the American Ballet Theatre, premiered in 1969 at the Lincoln Centre in New York under patronage of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and was praised for its innovative visual style that complements the ballet-performance.[9]

In 1991, Niebeling directed a feature-film in Germany showing the passion of Christ based on Bach's Johannespassion, evoking antique tragedy with its combination of music, language and dance. Niebeling planned it for three decades prior to realizing it, and himself considers it one of his most important works.[10]

Niebeling's experiment is a coherent masterpiece.[11]

— Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden, in 1970 about "Giselle".[12]

2000s: Retrospectives and new projects

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Retrospectives

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2013, the German Historical Museum did a retrospective on Hugo Niebeling. He was present for the screenings, and films from all stages of his career were shown.[13] In 2015, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival awarded him with its "Award of Excellence" for artistic innovation. In a retrospective during the festival, many of Niebeling's 1960s works were shown, some of them as US-premieres.[14][15]

Restoring earlier films

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Since the early 2000s, Niebeling had many of his earlier works scanned in 2k or 4k from the original 35mm negatives, and they were color corrected and restored under his supervision. At the time of his death, he had already scanned and restored all his 1960s works plus some of his later works like Der Auftrag der uns bleibt (1984) and Johannespassion (1991).[16]

Chaconne

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Until his death, Hugo Niebeling continued to be active as a director, planning numerous new projects. Of particular interest for him was a proposed film on Bach's Chaconne, which he had already planned in detail and which would have interwoven nature and church architecture through montage and cinematography.[17][18]

Industrial Films: Filmography and Awards

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  • Stählerne Adern, Lebensadern unserer Zeit, 1956
  • Frohe Farben, Gute Laune (BASF, 1957)
Niebeling's second work as a director. Commissioned by Bavaria Film.
  • Stahl bändigt Atome, Vom Bau des Reaktor-Druckgefäßes Kahl, 1960
  • Steel - Variations on a Theme (Stahl - Thema mit Variationen), 1960
  • Bundesfilmpreis 1961, Filmband in Gold, Category: Bester Sonstiger Kurzfilm (Mannesmann AG).[20]
  • Alvorada – Brazil's changing face (Alvorada - Aufbruch in Brasilien), 1962
  • Category: Bester Director (Hugo Niebeling)[21]
  • Category: Best feature-length cultural- and documentary-film (Mannesmann AG)[22]
  • Petrol, Carburant, Kraftstoff (Aral AG, 1964/65)
  • Magic Light (Mit Licht schreiben - Photographein), (Agfa-Gaevert, 1967)
  • Allegro (Aral AG, 1969/70)
  • The Task Still Facing Us (Der Auftrag der uns bleibt), (Bayer AG, 1982/83)
  • So schließt sich der Kreis, 100 Jahre Berufsgenossenschaft (BG Chemie, 1986)

Music- and Ballett-films: Filmography and Awards

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  • Pastorale (1967)
  • Giselle (1969)
  • Percussion for six (1971)
  • Violin concerto (1974)
  • Duo Concertant
  • Serenade, eine spätromantische Erinnerung
  • Johannespassion „Es wäre gut, dass ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk“, (1991)
  • Klage der Ariadne (1993)
  • "Wertvoll“, Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden [31]
  • Eroica - Director's Cut (2009)
  • "Wertvoll“, Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden [32]
  • Apotheosis of Dance (2015)
  • "Besonders Wertvoll“, Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden [33]
  • "B 7" (Beethoven Seven) (2016)

References

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  1. ^ "Rheinische Post: death notice of Hugo Niebeling". Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. ^ Thommes, Joachim: "In jeden dieser Filme wollte ich Kunst reinbringen, soviel ich nur konnte." Hugo Niebeling, die Mannesmann-Filmproduktion und der bundesdeutsche Wirtschaftsfilm 1947-1987, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9, p. 102
  3. ^ "Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival: Overview of Hugo Niebeling retrospecive, with description of his style". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  4. ^ Thommes 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9, p. 102
  5. ^ Thommes 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9, pp. 102–104
  6. ^ Thommes 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9, pp. 188-189
  7. ^ "Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival: Overview of Hugo Niebeling retrospecive 2016, with description of his style". Retrieved February 15, 2015..
  8. ^ "Melbourne Film Festival Official Website: Entry for "Alvorada"". Retrieved December 31, 2014..
  9. ^ "German Historic Museum Official Website: Information Sheet about "Giselle". (PDF)" (PDF). Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  10. ^ Thommes 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9, pp. 184-187
  11. ^ Quote originally in German, translated into English for this article. Original quote: Niebelings Experiment ist ein in sich geschlossenes Meisterwerk"
  12. ^ "German Historic Museum - Information sheet about Giselle" (PDF). Retrieved December 31, 2014..
  13. ^ "German Historical Museum - Retrospective 2013". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival: List of Awards 2015". Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival: Announcement of the retrospective on the main site of the festival's homepage". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  16. ^ "Website to 2013 retrospective with many documents about Niebeling's films and their projection formats". Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  17. ^ "Article on Niebeling's new projects and on his film St. John's Passion". Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 7 April 2014..
  18. ^ Thommes 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9, p. 106
  19. ^ "Deutscher Filmpreis: List of Winners". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  20. ^ "Deutscher Filmpreis: List of Winners". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  21. ^ "Deutscher Filmpreis: List of Winners". Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  22. ^ "Deutscher Filmpreis: List of Winners". Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  23. ^ "35th Academy Awards: List of Nominees and Winners". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  24. ^ "Cannes Film Festival 1963: List of Films in Competition". Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  25. ^ "Melbourne Film Festival: Entry for Alvorada". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  26. ^ "Cannes Film Festival 1965: List of Official Selections". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  27. ^ "Melbourne Film Festival: List of Hugo Niebeling's films shown there". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  28. ^ "Melbourne Film Festival: List of international awards for the film". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  29. ^ "Melbourne Film Festival: Page for "Magic Light"". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  30. ^ "Melbourne Film Festival: Page for "Allegro"". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  31. ^ "Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden, Page for "Klage der Ariadne"". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  32. ^ "Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden, Page for "Eroica"". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  33. ^ "FBW: rating for film "Apotheose des Tanzes"". Retrieved 11 January 2016.
[edit]
  • German Historical Museum - Retrospective 2013
  • Hediger, Vinzenz; Vonderau, Patrick (Hg.): Filmische Mittel, industrielle Zwecke. Das Werk des Industriefilms. (= Dokumentarfilminitiative im Filmbüro NRW (Hg.): Texte zum Dokumentarfilm. Bd. 11), Berlin 2007.
  • Hofmann, Paul (Bearb.): Nordrhein-Westfälisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Hg.): Filmschätzen auf der Spur. Verzeichnis historischer Filmbestände in Nordrhein-Westfalen. 2. erw. Auflage. Düsseldorf 1997. (=Veröffentlichungen der Staatlichen Archive des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Reihe C: Quellen und Forschungen. Band 33)
  • Rasch, Manfred u.a. (Hg.): Industriefilm 1948–1959. Filme aus den Wirtschaftsarchiven im Ruhrgebiet. Essen 2003.
  • Thommes, Joachim: „In jeden dieser Filme wollte ich Kunst reinbringen, soviel ich nur konnte.“ Hugo Niebeling, die Mannesmann-Filmproduktion und der bundesdeutsche Wirtschaftsfilm 1947–1987, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-8257-9.
  • Thommes, Joachim: "Erregend wie ein Abenteuerfilm." Hugo Niebelings brasilianisches Epos ALVORADA (1962). In: Filmblatt, 16. Jg., Nr. 45 Sommer 2011, ISSN 1433-2051, S. 51–60.
  • Journalistenbüro Zeitzeuge
  • Mannesmann-Archiv
  • Hugo Niebeling at IMDb
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