arts
March 26, 2026
Alexander Kluge, author and key film-maker in the New German Cinema movement, dies aged 94
A winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, Kluge was a committed pacifist and one of the last living torchbearers of the Frankfurt school of neo-Marxist cultural criticism
TL;DR
- Alexander Kluge, a German film-maker and author, died at 94.
- He was known for elevating cinematic collages and won the top prize at the Venice film festival in 1968.
- Kluge was a former assistant to Fritz Lang and a key figure in the New German Cinema movement.
- He was associated with the Frankfurt school of neo-Marxist cultural criticism.
- His film 'Abschied von Gestern' ('Yesterday Girl') won the Silver Lion at Venice, and 'Artists in the Big Top: Perplexed' won the Golden Lion.
- He founded the production company DCTP, creating arts, magazine, and interview programs for German television.
- Kluge was a committed pacifist whose views on capitulation in war drew controversy.
- He collaborated with author Ben Lerner on the book 'The Snows of Venice'.
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