Das Stahltier

The photographer and filmmaker Willy Zielke received carte blanche for an anniversary film to mark the 100th birthday of the Reichsbahn. For Das Stahltier, he did not have a conventional advertising film in mind, but a futuristic ‘travelling symphony’ that was to combine the ‘absolute film’ of Walter Ruttmann and other experimental influences with the montage fury of the Russians, in particular Dziga Vertov. The avant-garde frenzy was embedded in a frame story about a work student taking the steam locomotive driving test, accompanied by decisive episodes from railway history. However, the result was not released for performance and only appeared in 1954 - heavily abridged. We are showing our copy of the original version. (Christoph Huber)

Photo: Austrian Film Museum