Frank Beyer

26.05.1932, Nobitz, Germany - 01.10.2006, Berlin, Germany

 

Director
Beyer was a German director and screenwriter. He worked as an assistant director and dramaturge in two local theatres. In 1952, he began studying drama in Berlin and soon transferred to directing at the FAMU in Prague. During his studies he worked as an assistant director on films produced by the Easter German film studio DEFA. He graduated in 1957 with the acclaimed Zwei Mütter and began working for DEFA as an independent associate, which allowed him to choose his own projects. His next film An Old Love (Eine alte Liebe, 1959) was not as successful as the first one, but Five Cartridges (Fünf Patronenhülsen, 1960) was well accepted by both audiences and critics. He continued to deal with anti-fascist topics in Invincible Love (Königskinder, 1962) and Naked Among Wolves (Nackt unter Wölfen, 1963). He made a comedy Carbide and Sorrel (Karbid und Sauerampfer, 1963), and his next film The Trace of Stones (Spur der Steine, 1966) was banned from distribution only three days after its premiere and was not available for viewing until 1989. After that, he was forbidden to make any more films and continued his career on television and in theatre. He returned to films in 1974 with the war drama Jacob the Liar (Jakob, der Lügner, 1974), which was the only East German film nominated for an Oscar. Shortly before finishing his film The Hiding Place (Das Versteck, 1978) Beyer and the leading actors wrote a protest letter because the government repealed citizenship to the singer and dissident Wolf Biermann. Thus, Beyer is once again forbidden to work for the DEFA Studio and the film is banned from distribution. Shortly after his next TV film Geschlossene Gesellschaft (1978) Beyer was forbidden from working on the East German Television and in 1980 continues his career in West Germany making TV films. In 1982, he once again directed films for DEFA; the controversial The Turning Point (Der Aufenthalt, 1983) and Bockshorn (1984) made in the USA and on Cuba. After Der Bruch (1989) he directed The Suspicion (Der Verdacht, 1991), his last DEFA film for cinema distribution. From then until 1998, he worked exclusively as a TV director.

Filmography


Films by this director

Naked Among Wolves

(Nackt unter Wölfen, 1962)

Directed by: Frank Beyer
PHOTOGRAPHY: Günter Marczinkowsky
Synopsis:

Several men are moved from the concentration camp in Auschwitz to Buchenwald. With them arrives a suitcase in which a four-year-old boy hides. Knowing that the allied forces are nearing the camp and will free them soon, the captives decide to hide the boy who will be murdered if he is found. While the Nazis search the camp, the hidden boy becomes their symbol of hope. The film is based on Bruno Apitz’s autobiographical novel.

16 mm, b/w, 124 min

The Trace of Stones

(Spur der Steine, 1966)

Directed by: Frank Beyer
PHOTOGRAPHY: Günter Marczinkowsky
Synopsis:

Foreman Hannes Balla leads a group of twenty workers in a state-owned construction site. Even though they work hard, they know how to have a good time and sometimes can be even vulgar about it. Therefore, the Party sends the secretary Werner Horrath to keep an eye on them and try to discipline them. Besides him, the other newcomer on the building site is the young and ambitious technician Kati. Soon, a love triangle forms. Three days after the premiere, the film was banned and unavailable for vi...

digital, b/w, 129 min

Jacob the Liar

(Jakob, der Lügner, 1974)

Directed by: Frank Beyer
PHOTOGRAPHY: Günter Marczinkowsky
Synopsis:

This is the only film from DEFA Film Studio to have been nominated for an Oscar. This war drama tells the story of Jakob Heym from the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw during the war. One evening, he is taken to the police station where he overhears news about the advances of the Soviet army towards central Europe. Upon his return to the ghetto he tells the news to his friend Mischa claiming that he himself has a radio. Since lying is not allowed in the ghetto, Jakob has to continue coming up with fresh...

35mm, color, 100 min

Der König und sein Narr

(1980)

Directed by: Frank Beyer
PHOTOGRAPHY: Guenter Marczinkowsky
Synopsis:

This is a historical drama about the relationship between professor Jakob Paul von Gundling and the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I who ruled in the first half of 18th century. A professor of literature, law and history as well as the court historian, the professor is aware that his position depends greatly upon his opinions and ideals, which are often put to the test.

16 mm, color, 108 min
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