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Bertolt Brecht

Writer

Bertolt Brecht

Born February 10, 1898 in Augsburg, GermanyDied August 14, 195688 films

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a playwright in Munich and moved to Berlin in 1924, where he wrote The Threepenny Opera with Elisabeth Hauptmann and Kurt Weill and began a lifelong collaboration with the composer Hanns Eisler. Immersed in Marxist thought during this period, Brecht wrote didactic Lehrstücke and became a leading theoretician of epic theatre (which he later preferred to call "dialectical theatre") and the Verfremdungseffekt.

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When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Brecht fled his home country, initially to Scandinavia. During World War II he moved to Southern California, where he established himself as a screenwriter while being surveilled by the FBI. In 1947, he was part of the first group of Hollywood film artists to be subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee for alleged Communist Party affiliations. The day after testifying, he returned to Europe, eventually settling in East Berlin, where he co-founded the theatre company Berliner Ensemble with his wife and long-time collaborator, actress Helene Weigel.

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The best way into Bertolt Brecht's work
The 3 Penny Opera posterFirst watchThe 3 Penny Opera19317.1In London at the turn of the century, underworld kingpin Mack the Knife marries Polly Peachum without the knowledge of her father, the equally enterprising 'king of the beggars'.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Hangmen Also Die! poster6.9Hangmen Also Die!1943

Filmography

88 films
  1. TBAAn den kleinen RadioapparatOriginal Story
  2. 2025The Good Person of SzechwanWriter
  3. 2025Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar / Würgendes BleiTheatre Play
  4. 2024A Santa Joana dos MatadourosWriter
  5. 2024The Change of the WheelNovel
  6. 2021The Seven Deadly Sins / Mahagonny Song Play - Teatro Alla ScalaWriter
  7. 2020The Good Man from SzechuanWriter
  8. 2020Rules of the Assembly Line, at High SpeedStory
  9. 2019Rise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyWriter
  10. 2018Trommeln in der NachtTheatre Play
  11. 2016National Theatre Live: The Threepenny OperaMusical
  12. 2013MarianneWriter
  13. 2012Alter Bahnhof Video WalkWriter
  14. 2011The Rise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyLyricist
  15. 2009Corneille-Brecht ou Rome l'unique objet de mon ressentimentNovel
  16. 2007Rise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyBook
  17. 2007Canção de BaalTheatre Play
  18. 2004BaalNovel
  19. 2002Le cercle de craie caucasienAuthor
  20. 2000The Threepenny OperaBook
  21. 1998The Rise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyWriter
  22. 1997The Resistible Rise of Arturo UiTheatre Play
  23. 1996The Career of Arturo UiTheatre Play
  24. 1995The Threepenny OperaBook
  25. 1993The Seven Deadly SinsWriter
  26. 1992AntigoneTheatre Play
  27. 1992La vie de GaliléeAuthor
  28. 1989Mack the KnifeOriginal Story
  29. 1989Der Mantel des KetzersStory
  30. 1989Мещанская свадьбаStory
  31. 1988Die BestieStory
  32. 1985The Caucasian Chalk CircleWriter
  33. 1985Anna Firling's RoadsTheatre Play
  34. 1984Sade Vatandaş Şvayk Hitler'e KarşıScreenplay
  35. 1982BaalWriter
  36. 1981Fear and Misery of the Third ReichWriter
  37. 1981SvatbaTheatre Play
  38. 1980No. 18: MahagonnyWriter
  39. 1979Die Rache des Kapitäns MitchellStory
  40. 1979Herr Puntila And His Servant MattiTheatre Play
  41. 1979Rise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyWriter
  42. 1979Brecht and CoWriter
  43. 1978The Life Story of BaalTheatre Play
  44. 1978Låt er inte förförasWriter
  45. 1976O Gesto, a Festa, a Mensagem - Dois Mil Anos de TeatroTheatre Play
  46. 1976Der HofmeisterWriter
  47. 1975Death of the Flea Circus DirectorTheatre Play
  48. 1975Die Gewehre der Frau CarrarNovel
  49. 1975GalileoTheatre Play
  50. 1974MahagonnyWriter
  51. 1974Mr. Puntilla and His Man MattiAuthor
  52. 1974Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo UiWriter
  53. 1973The Good Person of SzechwanTheatre Play
  54. 1972The Gangster Show: The Resistible Rise of Arturo UiAdaptation
  55. 1972History LessonsNovel
  56. 1972Trummor i nattenTheatre Play
  57. 1971Arturo UiNovel
  58. 1970Bubny a trumpetyTheatre Play
  59. 1970BaalStory
  60. 1969Schweik in World War IIOriginal Story
  61. 1968Im Dickicht der StädteWriter
  62. 1968Regeln och undantagetWriter
  63. 1966Der gute Mensch von SezuanWriter
  64. 1965The Shameless Old LadyNovel
  65. 1965Life of GalileoTheatre Play
  66. 1964The Life of GalileoTheatre Play
  67. 1963Pušky paní CarrarovéTheatre Play
  68. 1963The Threepenny OperaLyricist
  69. 1962Kavkazský křídový kruhTheatre Play
  70. 1962Leben des GalileiStory
  71. 1961Mother Courage and Her ChildrenStory
  72. 1961Księżyc z AlabamyAuthor
  73. 1960Herr Puntila and His Servant MattiTheatre Play
  74. 1960Zadržitelný vzestup Artura UieTheatre Play
  75. 1958Der kaukasische KreidekreisAuthor
  76. 1957Mutter Courage und ihre KinderScreenplay
  77. 1955Pušky paní CarrarovéTheatre Play
  78. 1954Song of the RiversWriter
  79. 1952Wilhelm Pieck - Das Leben unseres PräsidentenLyricist
  80. 1947Leben des GalileiTheatre Play
  81. 1943Hangmen Also Die!Adaptation
  82. 1942The Murderers Are ComingShort Story
  83. 1942Schweik is Preparing For BattleLyricist
  84. 1932Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?Screenplay
  85. 1931A Man's a ManWriter
  86. 1931The Threepenny OperaLyricist
  87. 1931The 3 Penny OperaStory
  88. 1923The Mysteries of a Hairdresser's ShopWriter