造物 的奇迹

Wunder d er Schöp
fu ng  is an ex
traordi
nary, fascina
ting Kulturfilm trying to

exp lai  n the whole hum a n k no wl edge of the 1920s about the wo
rld and the universe.  15 specia  l eff ects experts and 9 cam eramen  were involv ed in the p roduction of this film which 
combi n es documentary sce
nes, historical documents, fi

ction elements,
animation scenes and educational impac
t. It its beautifully colored,
using tinting and  toning in a ve ry ela
bo
rated way  . S
ome visual ideas in t  he  sequences with a spa ce shuttle vi siting different planets in t
he universe seem t o have to be the inspirati on for Stanley Ku  b
rick 's 200
1 A Spa ce Odyssey.　　In the context of Germany's
Kulturfilm ph e nom enon,  Wunder 
der  Schöpfung  was among the g r eatest a
ch
iev ements of the 1920s. The production was construc ted, rehearsed, and sh ot over a p
erio
d of two and  a ha lf year
s, under the
supervisio n of Hanns Walter  Korn blum. The  ide a  to d esc
ribe the  u
niv erse and
 man' s p
l
ace in it well 
suited UF A'
s Grossfilm mentality, one year b efore the Metropolis catastrop he. Hundreds of skilled craftsm en p artic ip

ated
 in the proje ct, building p
rops and constructing scale m
odels 
drawn by 15 specia l effects draug 
htsmen, while 
9 cameramen in separate units worked on t he historical, docu
m
ent ary,  fic  tio
 n, an imation, and scie
nce-f i ction sequences. Wit hout star ro
les or even protagonist s, the  f il
m's pl
ot is crowded with meticulously s tructured and skill
fully acted s
i
ngle
 scenes an artful mosaic of
 small vignettes. No less than four credited university professo  rs ensured the f

actu
al background  b ehind  t he scientific

and historical even ts portrayed
. 　　T
h
e film's  symbol of progress and 
t he new scientific e ra  is a spacecraf
 t, travelling throu gh the Milk y Way, making all t he
planets and t h ei r inspiring worlds familiar to us, with the extravaganza 
of  their distinctive features. T he film's educational intentio 
ns, ho
we v
er, become

 ste
adily m
ore obscure, humorous , or

 even camp
y as thi s popularizatio n projec t proceeds. With the 
excuse of pr
 esen ting
 the end of the worl d a
 not-so-new c
oncept as a new, undeniably scie ntific t rut h,

the
film veers  happily along a n ew path, displaying detailed apocalyptic scen es of the end of mankind.
For today's a udi
ences, this amazing film dem onstrates how the universe was comprehended in th e 1920s, a nd how that view was sold to contemporar y au
diences.