The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum)

Brisk [and] forceful. Sight & Sound
Lucidly argued. Total Film

Margarethe von Trotta and Volker Schloendorff’s The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975) was a pivotal film for the New German Cinema movement. Julian Preece considers what makes Katharina Blum new and radical, in particular in respect of women’s cinema and its portrayal of the ordeal of its female lead in a world run by men. Drawing on archival material including drafts of the screenplay, brochures and props, reviews and interviews, Preece traces the conception of the film and its development from Heinrich Boell’s original novel.

Preece analyses how the film continues to resonate with our contemporary moment and has influenced film-makers from the German-Turkish director Fatih Akin to the British screenwriter Peter Morgan.