Montage Aesthetics: Narrative, Adaptation and Urban Modernity in Alfred Döblin's Berlin ...

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A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick

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Montage Aesthetics:
Narrative, Adaptation and Urban
Modernity in Alfred Döblin’s
Berlin Alexanderplatz

by

Mario Slugan

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Film & Television Studies and
German Studies

University of Warwick,
Departments of Film and Television Studies, and
German Studies

October 2014
Contents

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ........................................................................ IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... VI
DECLARATION ...................................................................................................... VII
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ VIII
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1
LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 13
SCHOLARSHIP ON MONTAGE ...................................................................................................... 14
MONTAGE IN FILM ........................................................................................................................ 14
MONTAGE ACROSS ARTS ............................................................................................................. 18
SCHOLARSHIP ON MONTAGE IN ALFRED DÖBLIN’S BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ ....... 33
BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND COMPANIONS ...................................................................................... 33
PRE-WAR DISCUSSION OF MONTAGE ....................................................................................... 35
POST-WAR DISCUSSION OF MONTAGE ..................................................................................... 38
SCHOLARSHIP ON FILM ADAPTATIONS OF BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ ........................ 47
ADAPTATION IN GENERAL .......................................................................................................... 47
RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER’S ADAPTATION ..................................................................... 52
PIEL JUTZI’S ADAPTATION .......................................................................................................... 58
CHAPTER 1
TOWARDS A HISTORICAL PHENOMENOLOGY OF MONTAGE
PRACTICES: DISCOURSES ON FILM MONTAGE AND PHOTOMONTAGE
IN 1920S GERMANY ................................................................................................ 61
FILM MONTAGE ................................................................................................................................ 66
PHOTOMONTAGE ............................................................................................................................. 80
THE EXPERIENCE OF MODERNITY OR “HYPER-STIMULATION” .................................... 86
“HYPER-STIMULATION”, ATTRACTION AND FRAGMENTATION ........................................ 92
THE “HYPER-STIMULATION” SUBSETS: CONTINUITY, DISRUPTION AND CONFUSION
......................................................................................................................................................... 100
HISTORICAL RECEPTION STUDIES AND THEIR CURIOUS LACUNAE ............................. 107
CONTEMPORARY WEIMAR FILM RECEPTION ..................................................................... 111
THE “RUSSIAN FILM” AND THE EXPERIENCE OF DISRUPTION ........................................ 115
THE DISTINCTION FROM OTHER NON-DISRUPTIVE EDITING PRACTICES ................... 123
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THE CROSS-SECTION FILM AND THE EXPERIENCE OF CONFUSION .............................. 126
THE STREET FILM AND POSSIBLE PROBLEMS ..................................................................... 133
CHAPTER 2
LITERARY MONTAGE IN ALFRED DÖBLIN’S BERLIN
ALEXANDERPLATZ: STYLISTIC, PHENOMENOLOGICAL AND
NARRATOLOGICAL PROPERTIES ................................................................... 138
THE READY-MADE AND THE STYLISTIC DISTINCTIVENESS ........................................... 138
LITERARY MONTAGE AS A DISRUPTIVE USE OF READY-MADES ................................... 147
CONTEMPORARY RECEPTION OF BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ ........................................... 147
CONTEMPORARY RECEPTION OF ULYSSES AND MANHATTAN TRANSFER ...................... 154
A NARRATOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF MONTAGE ............................................................... 162
THE TROUBLES WITH THE EXTRADIEGETIC NARRATOR ................................................. 162
THE NEAR-UBIQUITY OF THE CONTROLLING FICTIONAL NARRATORS ....................... 169
MONTAGE AND THE CONTROLLING FICTIONAL NARRATOR .......................................... 175
AN ANALYSIS OF ALFRED DÖBLIN’S BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ ................................... 178
INTRADIEGETIC MOTIVATION AND VOICE MODULATION ................................................ 180
MONTAGE AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CITY .................................................................. 185
DIEGESIS AND MONTAGE .......................................................................................................... 190
VOICELESS MONTAGE ............................................................................................................... 197
CHAPTER 3
A FORMALIST ADAPTATION STUDY: VISUAL AND SOUND MONTAGE
IN PIEL JUTZI’S BERLIN-ALEXANDERPLATZ ............................................... 201
INTRODUCTION TO AN ADAPTATION STUDY........................................................................ 201
INTERPRETATION AS ADAPTATION ......................................................................................... 201
THE REQUIREMENT OF ORIGINALITY AND THE PERILS OF INTERPRETATION ........... 211
PIEL JUTZI’S BERLIN-ALEXANDERPLATZ ............................................................................... 220
AN ANALYSIS OF THE TRAM-RIDE SEQUENCE .................................................................... 224
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ALEXANDERPLATZ HAWKING SEQUENCE .................................. 243
CHAPTER 4
MONTAGE AND THE CONTROLLING FICTIONAL NARRATION IN
RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER’S BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ .............. 261
THE NEAR-ABSENCE OF CONTROLLING NARRATORS IN FICTION FILM ................... 261
THE GREAT IMAGE MAKER....................................................................................................... 261
THE ENUNCIATOR ....................................................................................................................... 264
THE ANALYTIC VERSION OF THE GREAT IMAGE MAKER ................................................. 270
“A FILM IN 13 PARTS AND AN EPILOGUE” .............................................................................. 278
ATYPICAL EDITING PATTERNS ................................................................................................. 279
ASYMMETRIC SHOT/COUNTER-SHOT STRUCTURES ..................................................... 279
THE EPILOGUE’S “DREAM LOGIC” ..................................................................................... 288
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THE APPROPRIATION OF LITERARY MONTAGE ................................................................... 295
FILM ALTERNATIVES TO LITERARY MONTAGE ................................................................... 301
FLASHBACKS ........................................................................................................................... 302
ASSOCIATIVE MONTAGE ....................................................................................................... 306
INTERTITLES ............................................................................................................................ 310
VOICE-OVER MONTAGE ........................................................................................................ 312
FILM MONTAGE AS UNCONVENTIONAL SPATIO-TEMPORAL DISLOCATION ................ 314
VISUAL IN-SHOT MONTAGE ................................................................................................. 320
THE CONTROLLING FICTIONAL NARRATOR IN FASSBINDER’S ADAPTATION ............. 324
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 331
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 335
FILMOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 388
WORD COUNT ....................................................................................................... 393
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List of Figures and Tables

Figure 0.1 Head (1914), Pablo Picasso ................................................................................................. 21
Figure 0.2 Fruit Dish and Glass (1912), Georges Braque ..................................................................... 21
Figure 0.3 The Street Enters the House (1913), Umberto Boccioni ...................................................... 24
Figure 0.4 Explosion (1917), Georg Grosz ............................................................................................ 24
Figure 0.5 The Meaning of Hitler’s Salute (1932), John Heartfield ...................................................... 25
Figure 0.6 Fathers and Sons (1924), John Heartfield ............................................................................ 25
Figure 0.7 Typography (1917), Ardengo Soffici .................................................................................... 32
Figure 0.8 fmsbw (1918), Raoul Hausmann .......................................................................................... 32
Figure 2.1 Metropolis (1923), Paul Citroën ......................................................................................... 144
Figure 2.2 ABCD (1923/24), Raoul Hausmann ................................................................................... 144
Figure 3.1.1 A close-up of the driver’s hands ...................................................................................... 225
Figure 3.1.2 A medium shot of Franz looking weary .......................................................................... 225
Figure 3.1.3 A shot from the front of the tram ..................................................................................... 226
Figure 3.1.4 A medium shot of Franz .................................................................................................. 226
Figure 3.1.5 Franz’s point of view shot ............................................................................................... 227
Figure 3.1.6 A medium shot of Franz .................................................................................................. 227
Figure 3.1.7 A shot from the front of the tram ..................................................................................... 228
Figure 3.1.8 (Probably) Franz’s point of view shot ............................................................................. 228
Figure 3.1.9 A deep-focus “American shot” of Franz ......................................................................... 229
Figure 3.1.10 A shot of a tram passing by ........................................................................................... 229
Figure 3.1.11 A medium shot of Franz ................................................................................................ 230
Figure 3.1.12 A shot from the front of the tram ................................................................................... 230
Figure 3.1.13 A shot from the front of the tram ................................................................................... 231
Figure 3.1.14 A shot from the front of the tram (backwards) .............................................................. 231
Figure 3.1.15 A medium shot of Franz ................................................................................................ 232
Figure 3.1.16 A shot from the front of the tram (backwards) .............................................................. 232
Figure 3.1.17 A tilted shot of a tram passing by .................................................................................. 233
Figure 3.1.18 A tilted “American shot” of Franz ................................................................................. 233
Figure 3.1.19 A shot of traffic ............................................................................................................. 233
Figure 3.1.20 A tilted “American shot” of Franz ................................................................................. 233
Figure 3.1.21 A shot of a cart (abstract shapes) ................................................................................... 234
Figure 3.1.22 A shot of traffic ............................................................................................................. 234
Figure 3.1.23 A shot of traffic ............................................................................................................. 235
Figure 3.1.24 A shot of Franz jumping off the tram ............................................................................ 235
Figure 3.1.25 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 236
Figure 3.1.26 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 236
Figure 3.1.27 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 236
Figure 3.1.28 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 236
Figure 3.1.29 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 237
Figure 3.1.30 Overwhelming traffic (abstract shapes) ......................................................................... 237
Figure 3.1.31 Overwhelming traffic (abstract shapes) ......................................................................... 237
Figure 3.1.32 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 237
Figure 3.1.33 Overwhelming traffic .................................................................................................... 238
Figure 3.1.34 Franz escapes the traffic ................................................................................................ 238
Figure 3.2.1 “I use…” ......................................................................................................................... 247
Figure 3.2.2 “my kisser!” .................................................................................................................... 247
Figure 3.2.3 A very long shot of Franz hawking wares ....................................................................... 248
Figure 3.2.4 A “documentary” long shot of a church .......................................................................... 248
Figure 3.2.5 An extremely long shot of Franz selling wares ............................................................... 250
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Figure 3.2.6 A “documentary” shot of Dirckenstrasse ........................................................................ 250
Figure 3.2.7 A “documentary” shot of Alexanderplatz underground station ....................................... 251
Figure 3.2.8 A “documentary” shot of people entering and exiting Alexanderplatz underground station
..................................................................................................................................................... 251
Figure 3.2.9 A “documentary” shot of railroad work .......................................................................... 251
Figure 3.2.10 A “documentary” shot of a queue .................................................................................. 251
Figure 3.2.11 “Come out of the street, young man!” ........................................................................... 252
Figure 3.2.12 “If you get run over, who’ll clean up the mess?” ......................................................... 252
Figure 3.2.13 A “documentary” shot of Alexanderplatz ...................................................................... 253
Figure 3.2.14 A very long shot of a train station ................................................................................. 253
Figure 3.2.15 A very long shot of a train ............................................................................................. 254
Figure 3.2.16 A “documentary” shot of a shoe cleaner ....................................................................... 254
Figure 3.2.17 Laughter over a “documentary” shot of a disabled man................................................ 255
Figure 3.2.18 A “documentary” shot of balloon purchase ................................................................... 255
Figure 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 Unmotivated low-angle shot/counter-shot exchange between Baumann and
Franz ............................................................................................................................................ 280
Figure 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 Unmotivated low-angle shot/counter-shot exchanges between Mieze and Franz
(boat ride) .................................................................................................................................... 281
Figures 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 Unmotivated low-angle shot/counter-shot exchanges between Mieze and Franz
(café) ............................................................................................................................................ 281
Figures 4.4.1 – 4.4.8 The conversation between Franz and Nachum .................................................. 283
Figures 4.4.9 – 4.4.16 The conversation between Franz and Nachum ................................................ 284
Figure 4.4.17 and 4.4.18 The conversation between Franz and Nachum ............................................ 285
Figure 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 An asymmetric shot/counter shot procedure (shot-size asymmetry) ............... 286
Figure 4.6.1 and 4.6.2 Shot/counter-shot procedure thwarted ............................................................. 287
Figure 4.7.1 and 4.7.2 An asymmetric shot/counter-shot procedure (focus asymmetry) .................... 287
Figure 4.8.1 and 4.8.2 An asymmetric shot/counter-shot procedure (shot-size and character placement
asymmetry) .................................................................................................................................. 288
Figure 4.9.1 and 4.9.2 An asymmetric shot/counter-shot procedure (shot-size and camera placement
asymmetry) .................................................................................................................................. 288
Figures 4.10.1 – 4.10.4 “Dream logic” and the discontinuity of character placement ........................ 291
Figure 4.11.1 and 4.11.2 “Dream logic” and the discontinuity of place accompanied by character
movement .................................................................................................................................... 292
Figure 4.12.1 and 4.12.2 “Dream logic” and the discontinuity of place accompanied by eye-line
matches ........................................................................................................................................ 293
Figures 4.13.1 – 4.13.4 Reinhold throws Franz out of the car ............................................................. 303
Figures 4.13.5 – 4.13.11 Reinhold throws Franz out of the car (alternating structure) ....................... 304
Figures 4.13.13 – 4.13.18 Franz falls to the ground and his hand is run over ..................................... 306
Figure 4.14.1 and 4.14.2 The first and the last shot of the meat industry production process sequence
..................................................................................................................................................... 308
Figure 4.15.1 and 4.15.2 The animated spider sequence ..................................................................... 309
Figure 4.16.1 and 4.16.2 Intertitles ...................................................................................................... 311
Figure 4.17.1 and 4.17.2 Towards visual in-shot montage .................................................................. 323

Table 2.1 A typology of narrators ........................................................................................................ 165

v
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the scholars who have supervised my research over the last three
years – Professor Rob Burns, Dr. Alastair Phillips, and Dr. Seán Allan. Your
invaluable detailed comments, honest criticism, and advice have made all the
difference for the development of my academic work. I could hardly have hoped for
more supportive and engaging supervisors.
Thank you to Dr. Christine Achinger for enabling me to embark on this project in the
first place by coordinating a joint supervision between the Departments of Film and
Television Studies, and German Studies.
To Dr. Karl Schoonover I extend my gratitude for teaching me how to teach.
I would also like to thank Dr. Max Whyte for reading the final draft of the thesis and
offering an in-depth commentary.
Finally, a special thank you to my loved ones. Thank you Narcisa, Ivan, Lovre, and
Uuree for all your support.

vi
Declaration

The thesis contains no material submitted for examination at another institution. The
thesis is the candidate’s own work.
A minor part of Chapter Two is a revision of an article: Slugan, Mario. 2010. “An
Asymmetry of Implicit Fictional Narrators in Literature and Film.” Postgraduate
Journal of Aesthetics 7:2, pp. 26-37.
A minor part of Chapter Four is a revision of an article: Slugan, Mario. 2011. “The
Problem of the General Narrator in Fiction Film.” Hrvatski filmski ljetopis 67, pp. 33-
41.
Another minor part of Chapter Four is a revision of an article: Slugan, Mario. 2014.
“Some Thoughts on Controlling Fictional Narrators in Fiction Film.” American
Society for Aesthetics Graduate E-Journal 6:2, pp. 1-7.

vii
Abstract

Alfred Döblin’s famous 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz has often been discussed in
terms of the appropriation of film poetics by the medium of literature and is said to
abound with examples of literary montage. In most post-war discussions of literary
montage in Berlin Alexanderplatz, however, the device is regularly understood as an
umbrella term for anything of stylistic interest. Deploying 1920s and 1930s literary
and film criticism I demonstrate that this regularly leads to anachronisms and
terminological over-inflation. I thus offer a historically informed definition of literary
montage in precise narratological, stylistic and experiential categories. Montage rests
on the identification of intradiegetically unmotivated ready-mades and the perceived
experiential similarities between the novel, Soviet montage films, and Dadaist
photomontage. The lack of motivation affords the experience of disruption which, I
demonstrate, has within the Benjaminian “modernity thesis” too often been
extrapolated to characterize all film editing. My analysis shows that contemporary
critics regularly discriminated between different types of editing on at least three
experiential axes – tempo and dynamism, confusion, and disruption. My proposed
definition of literary montage thus also allows me to analyse the novel in terms of the
key narratological novelties that literary montage introduces: the global proliferation
of heterodiegetic zero-level narrators accompanied with the local elimination of zero-
level narrators altogether. In other words, Döblin accomplishes in literary fiction what
holds for film fiction in general – the absence of a narrator held to be fictionally in
control of the whole of the text. Conversely, through the use of intertitles and the
particular type of voice-over interjections, Fassbinder’s adaptation endeavours to
emulate the reciprocal commonplace of literary fiction – the narrator’s continuous
presence. Paired with Fassbinder’s film, Jutzi’s adaptation demonstrates how visual
and sound film montage both differ from literary montage. Whereas literary montage
hinges on disruptive stylistic shifts, film montage rests on disruptive spatio-temporal
dislocation.
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