The Einstein of Sex - Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld

Description

Long before the Stonewall Riots, Masters and Johnson or even the Kinsey Report, there was Dr. Magnus Herschfeld. A gay German Jew living in 19th-century Berlin, Hirschfeld didn't just champion gay rights - he discovered them. Now Rosa von Praunheim, the firebrand of German cinema, tells Herschfeld's story in this lush historical drama. Spicing an enthralling story of discovering and romance with a barbed penchant for politics, von Praunheim presents a compelling account of the doctor who founded the first gay political group in 1897 and established the first medical practice for gays, the renowned Institute on Sexual Science, which thrived until Nazi oppression.

Customer Reviews:

A Topical Film.......2006-06-24

The iconoclastic German gay director Rosa von Praunheim's film THE EINSTEIN OF SEX - LIFE AND WORK OF DR. M. HIRSCHFELD is all too topical. The director records the events of the life of Magnus Hirschfeld, a German Jew famous for his outspoken quest for sexual tolerance, his fight to get Paragraph 175 that made homosexual acts a crime in Germany repealed, and his establishing of the Institute of Sexual Science in Berlin in 1920. The movie is important for shedding light on a real pioneer that not enough people know about and for reminding us that progress is never certain nor guaranteed and can be destroyed in an instant. The Nazis, while Hirschfeld was out of the country, closed his institute and destroyed many of his records.

The film is well photographed and the director manages to make a quasi-documentary interesting, not always an easy task. There is more male nudity than any contemporary U. S. film would even attempt with the possible exception of the recent KINSEY. Included in the DVD is a documentary, parts of which cannot be heard, although the director comes through as quite a character. He has taken the name "Rosa" because of the pink triangles that homosexuals were forced to wear in the Nazi camps.

This film is well worth watching, both for its historical significance and its artistic achievement.

A Worthy Depiction of the World of a Brave Researcher.......2004-04-30

"The Einstein of Sex" shows the life of Magnus Hirschfeld, a German Jew who helped pioneer the scientific study of sex. Hirschfeld became so famous for his work that he could joke that Einstein might be better known as the Hirschfeld of Physics. After achieving his greatest successes in the 1920s, Hirschfeld's Institute in Berlin was shut down by the Nazis in 1933, with Hirschfeld dying in exile in France a couple of years later.

Three actors portray Hirschfeld - one for the ten-year old sex sketcher, one for the student and young doctor, and one for the middle-aged doctor and institution head. The latter two are immersed in a world of male sexuality.

The audience gets to see a parade of attractive, freqently unclothed men, who appear as patients, nudists, hyper-masculine patriots, transvestites, or as other examples of early twentieth century marginal groups. Some scenes look like recreations of photographs from the period. Seemingly modern activities like "outing" or fighting sodomy laws were being done a long time ago.

Hirschfeld himself is shown trying for years to stay celebate and focus on his work, despite various temptations. He develops a relationship with a cute assistant, Karl Giese (played by Olaf Drauschke), that lasts for many years (though the film telescopes this). Toward the end Hirschfeld takes a long trip and cheats on Giese, although this is not explored in depth. So there is some personal journey mixed in with the wide social survey.

The camera work and sets give the movie an inexpensive feel, although the acting is servicable. I especially liked Drauschke (Giese), Gerd Lukas Storzer as Baron von Tauschenberg (a young, early assistant to Hirschfeld), and Gerry Wolf (as Hirschfeld's conservative uncle).

A big plus is that there is a 30+ minute documentary on Magnus Hirschfeld and director Rosa von Prauheim. This gives more background on the history and on the director's views. There is also some documentary footage in the main film.

The photo gallery has some hot photos not in the film. Some of these appear on the back of the DVD case (with suitable alteration).

I upgraded the film a bit for the idea that Hirschfeld managed to do sex research on a scale unequalled before or since. (Kinsey was an honorable second.) Nowadays, the US Federal government resists funding any sort of sexuality study; having a finding that gay or bi sexuality is normal would outrage too many. Since the Nazis destroyed the Institute's records (forcing future researchers to start from scratch), this unique movie and accompanying documentary is a reminder of what is useful and possible. "The Einstein of Sex" is a worthwhile DVD to watch or own.

cute movie on gay rights hero.......2003-07-03

This movie depicted the life of Magnus Hirschfield, a gay Jewish sexologist who helped advance the cause a gay rights decades before Stonewall. His research and institute were tragically destroyed by the Nazis. This film is a little low-budget. If it weren't for all the nudity, I'd almost think it was a TV movie. Maybe it was a play that finally got set to film. It does an excellent job of illustrating the gay, feminist, and nudist movements happening during the Weimar Republic. It also briefly touched on the debates, raging at the time, that gay men were either androgynous or hypermasculine. As a gay Jewish man during the Nazi terror, this figure and movie showed how Hirschfield was mistreated as a Jew and that more than just Jews were brutalized during that tragic time. Historians and interested people of all backgrounds should be interested in hearing of Dr. Hirschfield. This movie had a transsexual character and a hermaphrodite, so other sexual minorities may really like seeing it. It is so important for people to know that even before 1969, there were ppl challenging homophobia in their societies and standing up for themselves. I am glad that a German company decided to highlight a gay hero.

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