Thomas Mann: His Life and Work (documentary)

The documentary examines the life and work of German literary icon Thomas Mann, beginning with Mann's nomination for the 1949 Goethe Prize. His symbolic representation of Germany in exile after the war, and his status as a representative of the liberal, humanist tradition, are juxtaposed against Mann's private life. The program discusses how his works, such as Death in Venice, explore the disparity between the life of bourgeois convention and desire, a disparity present in Mann's own life. From the suicide of his eldest son, to his own homosexuality, the program explores the dual identity of Mann as representative of post-war Germany and also as private citizen.
Type: Documentary Film
© 1992
Producer:
NDR International

[@clairmontlodgesurvivorsclu4521]

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Tolstoy got it right here.

[@2894031]

What makes you believe that?? I find it plainly wrong. I know several really happy families that are in fundamental ways different from each other and their happiness is based on completely different things. The quote cries wrong and seems totally uninformed 🤷🏿‍♀️

[@theesperanzacompromisebyja9044]

“A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” ~Thomas Mann.

[@marlborogorila]

From Tristan.

[@pranavazrenkar7981]

Have hung this quote on my window

[@marianmcoy2349]

Thank you

[@niccoloflorence]

So true!

[@0mega.mechan1c.]

I highly recommend Mann's novel, 'The Magic Mountain'. Any other fans of this book out there?

[@adelaidedupont9017]

*puts hand up* .

[@jamescampi50]

Yes. How did you manage the translation.

[@adelaidedupont9017]

@@jamescampi50 I read it #imenglisch or #inenglish .

[@alicehudson8079]

Yes. I have several of his books, liked the Buddenbrooks.

[@emjdeckwitz6949]

Ja!

[@dinydianenichols9192]

The terrible pain that Mann's life exemplifies, not just for him, but for his entire family, makes it clear how great has been this recent evolution of the perception of homosexuality. The conception of the homosexual as a monster was just that: a conception. The change from this condemning stance to acceptance and understanding is welcome.

[@wolfwind1]

Truly a great documentary of a very complicated man and family. Thank you for uploading this excellent film. Thank you to the creators of this film

[@walterbenjamin1386]

Many parallels to the Wittgenstein family, also complex, tormented, suicidal.

[@cartuchito1]

Thank you for uploading this film.

[@garyk.nedrow8302]

This video is a psychological study of the Mann family rather than a serious examination of his work. I don't find much of interest in Mann's homoerotic obsessions, and they are clear enough to attentive readers in stories, such as "Death in Venice." But Mann is exceptional as a writer in the 20th century for his intellect; he doesn't write mere entertainments, but complex examinations of competing virtues. In "Tonio Kroger" and "Death in Venice," both early stories, he achieved a remarkable purity and intricacy of style that he never recaptured. I recommend them to those interested in writing as an art form. They compare favorably with the best of Proust, Joyce, James, and Conrad. But one wonders if he could even get published today. Modern publishers love melodramas, simple stories they can sell to Hollywood, and they despise ideas. Mann was the very antithesis of a modern mass market writer. Yet, had it not been for winning the Nobel Prize and his homoerotic stories, he might very easily have been forgotten altogether, like Ford Maddox Ford or Arthur Koestler. Literary fame is as much a matter of blind luck as genius. Mann was one of the lucky ones, the right writer at the right time.

[@ryokan9120]

"In "Tonio Kroger" and "Death in Venice," both early stories, he achieved a remarkable purity and intricacy of style that he never recaptured" Curiously, can you elaborate on that? I thought The Magic Mountain and Doctor Faustus were equally artistic and profound.

[@annamariagrosso5857]

What a great documentary! Extremely well done! Thank you so much!!!!!!

[@eddiebeato5546]

Thanks for posting this documentary. Thomas Mann's life, perhaps due to the destruction of his beloved Germany, was full of ironies, contradictions, and tragedies, but he was a great writer! I am still studying his Doctor Faustus, which, is indeed a master piece, but he is prolix...like anything deep and inaccesible ever produced by the prolific mind of an inexhaustible genius.

[@danasheys9300]

Germany was destroyed by England the United States and France

[@marichristian1072]

@Eddie Beato:What a stunning novel! Of all of Mann's work , nothing surpasses "Doctor Faustus". Of course, the protagonist, Adrian Leverkuhn pursues a death which he expects to be the apotheosis of his art.Therein lies a terrible irony. Some knowledge of music and musical history seems to be expected of the reader.

[@EddieBsB]

My mind is just blown away with such a tremendous life. Concerns about his sexuality, family, just like most human beings... Each day I become more and more a huge fan of his work and the human he was... Just transparent. Brilliant and immortal Thomas Mann !

[@pietrusabalardus1881]

O

[@frankfeldman6657]

you need your artists to be great men? yikes. i pity you.

[@brainstrains3253]

Hello Eddie, I invite you to take my quiz, a nice challenge about Th. Mann. If you have a little time you will enjoy it. Genius Mann

[@sarahdubois2386]

I enjoyed every Thomas Mann book I read- all of them. my favorite is Dr. Faustus.

[@frogmouth]

Tonio Kröger I read when doing German 1A , my first year of studying German and Zauberberg when I did German III. Also Tod in Venedig.and it was the that novella that gave me the key to the other two. Fascinating, repellent yet compelling.

[@jerryg3524]

Leaving the unpleasant side of Thomas Mann's private life aside, has anyone who read the book and/or saw the movie noticed how related it is for us today in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic? I think it's fascinating & dramatic the way the main character of the novel, Gustav von Aschenbach, begins to notice a sickening smell as Venetian authorities fumigate the city to prevent the plague from spreading. I suppose great works of art are always relevant

[@michaweinst3774]

I happened to read Dearh in Venice just as the pandemic began spreading. When I heard (I don't live in America) the way that it took Trump forever to address the pandemic, I was like "this sounds suspiciously familiar..." By now I already know that it simply exactly the same in the Mann story

[@milenapetrakieva738]

This was such a nice documentary that really does shed light on a lot of the parallels between Manns personal life and his book about Felix Krull

[@barbarastepien-foad4519]

Not one of the family members attend the suicidal son's funeral ??? Good grief what a family encompassing such aversion to its members!

[@dianatutt400]

Barbara Stepien-foad -they strike me as a very SICK family. Sad.

[@stormy8427]

No wonder the son needed to seek refuge in something, what a sick family.

[@jerryg3524]

Thanks zecxixo, for this video. It is a horror story. I'd been wanting to know about T. Mann's mysterious life, because I admire his great novels, esp. Der Tod in Venedig, which the Italian film-maker Visconti brought to the screen in his masterpiece of the same name. Now that Venice is sinking beneath the waves due to climate change I was even more eager to know about Thomas Mann, but never found the time, so thanks. No matter how shocking and sad his private life his novels remain great masterpieces

[@guidadiehl9176]

@charles kacirek Venice is now 50ft underwater!!!! I blame Trump!!!!!!!!!

[@brainstrains3253]

I made a quiz of Th. Mann, I would love if you to take the challenge?

[@jerryg3524]

@@brainstrains3253 what?

[@stephenvanwoert2447]

Visconti didn't bring Mann's novella to the screen in its entirety. He generally drew from it, yes, but changed things and inserted other things, including references to "Doktor Faustus." The opening credits say "from" and that's all. Venice was not Mann's world; it was Visconti's, by inheritance. The film is Visconti looking back, to a world he knew before the War destroyed it. Tadzio is Visconti as a child. Visconti makes him flawless, not weak and with flawed teeth, as Mann made him. The elegant mother is Visconti's mother, even though they follow the novella as Polish aristocrats. The Polish child who later claimed to be the prototype for Mann's inspiration was not even 11 years old at the time of the Manns' vacation in Venice in 1911, yet Mann makes him 14. From the photograph, I would say the child is unremarkable; Bjorn Andresen is astonishingly beautiful, Visconti's self-image. The novella and the film should be treated and loved separately, with separate purposes.

[@georgealderson4424]

@@guidadiehl9176 I think he would say it was fake news!

[@RobNoonanic]

Thanks for uploading this documentary. Cheers!

[@brainstrains3253]

I invite you to take the quiz I made about Th. Mann, up for a challenge? Warm greetings

[@userxjk8994]

Nice documentary of T. Mann. I've read a lot of his books. In the background of his life story the books make clear that he has put a lot of this in them.

[@d.m.uu.8776]

amazing documentation, great job to all the people that worked in it

[@brainstrains3253]

I agree. Thomas Mann was one of the greatest writers!

[@feralbluee]

Fascinating biography. Mann was a beautiful writer. How he could turn a sentence to be full of meaning in a few words. How troubled and depressing was his family life both his birth family and his own family. Depression ran rampant through this family. 🥀 I’m glad the mother was finally able to express herself.

[@tamtaghvitidze4735]

Great documentary!

[@claudial.marroquinp9847]

I read “Der Zauberberg,” it was an amazing book. !

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

Det tviler jeg på. LOL!!!

[@Nibelungenherr1876]

What does he mean with "there are no suicides in Mann's novels"? Naphta shoots himself in the head intentionally, I'm pretty sure that counts as a suicide.

[@fiarandompenaltygeneratorm5044]

Damnit! Spoiler. I'm currently reading "The Magic Mountain" and haven't gotten there yet. My fault for reading comments.

[@barbarablue2571]

Thomas Mann no era un hombre muy amante ni apegado a la familia. Se casó y tuvo seis hijos, pero en realidad disfrutaba más de la compañía masculina que de la familia. Su mayor felicidad se las reportó su éxito como escritor, talento que le granjeó una fama inmortal y múltiples nominaciones y premios.

[@geoffreynhill2833]

A tragedy of "keeping up appearances".

[@bookofdust]

Anyone else here because they are reading Toibin’s The Magician?

[@giorgimerabishvili8194]

What is Toibin’s "The Magician" about?

[@bookofdust]

@@giorgimerabishvili8194 It’s a novel that explores the life of Thomas Mann, similar to his earlier novel The Master about Henry James. Because he explores quite a bit about his internal thoughts and desires, it can’t be classified as a biography, though for the most part it reads like one and doesn’t go into wild speculation or anything. He’s a very accessible literary writer and the book is long, but flows quickly.

[@giorgimerabishvili8194]

@@bookofdust Thank you. It seems interesting.

[@gorjanapetrovic5383]

Great work.

[@magdalenachadrys9437]

Thank You. Amazing. ❤️

[@kertresz]

Ahogyan olvastam klassz élete volt Thomos Mannak is, ahogyan megfosztották az állampolgárságától és az útlevelétől külön csoda. Hihetetlen, mintha a múlt visszatért volna a jelenbe. Jó ezt elolvasni, tiszta szolidaritás a múlttal. A regénybeli élményei számomra nem kell magyarzázni, simán össze tudom kapcsolni a saját meglévő élményeimmel. Klassz író volt. Érdemes Bulgakovval összehasonlítani egy összehasonlító mű és életrajz elemzéssel. Igen klassz képet ad az 1930-as évek valóságáról. Bulgakov és Mann megunhatatlan páros két élet két országban kétféle kimenettel a végén. Érdemes összevetni őket, igazi kór-társak voltak tökéletes páros vagy páratlan párost alkotnak, ahogyan az embertelenség szemfényvesztését leírják.

[@homework4206]

Lowkey this video is fire 🐐🐐🤧

[@aniccadance13]

The best book I read about his life and work is The Magician by Colm Toibi, a true masterpiece by a genius writer..

[@cbbrownclaire62]

Totally agree.

[@helentrenor4655]

Yes - that's why I'm here. Fascinated by Toibin's novel. I'm going to have to read some actual Thomas Mann now!

[@muschek]

nice docu, but so many wrong translations from the interviews. Also, Lübeck is located at the Baltic Sea, not at the North Sea, as stated.

[@hanzblicks6343]

Lübeck indeed resides on the Baltic Sea.

[@dewittreeve4345]

I will soon be reading it for a second time.

[@ruivog]

He's a major figure. A true rock. And a tragic one too.

[@guidadiehl9176]

And a paedophile lusting after his own son.

[@ruivog]

@@guidadiehl9176 I meant literature.

[@rolandsievers1610]

Erschreckend, dass es über den bedeutendsten deutschen Autor des 20. Jahrhunderts keine derartige Dokumentation in deutscher Sprache auf KZbin gibt.

[@aprilmoon7680]

In der Tat.

[@jacquelineyaffe6141]

i love the books of mann, a brilliant writer

[@marcoscastillojaen1888]

Un buen escritor. Con notables obras en su haber.

[@comanchedase]

I read a note on Dr Faust in which they speak of a personal misterious experience of Mann in Naples which envolved an alleged murders with sexual proclivities, it stated that this was Manns best kept secret, however it followed him for the rest of his life. If you have this in mind you will notice that blades and blood and death are a common occurrence in his novels, as well as italy being represented as a mystic and violent place. Such image is more easily observed in The magic mountain and Dr Faust

[@tetrahedron1000]

"an alleged murders"???

[@uploaderofmonkeybath.mp4761]

can you elaborate? lol

[@ms.kammann-soon3135]

The translations are so inaccurate, it's horrible.

[@frankfeldman6657]

Why the Gershwin prelude, pray tell?

[@marcoscastillojaen1888]

Aquel joven escritor que escribió exelentes novelas.

[@arequipacamanajinvestigaci5226]

I need the soundtrack used in this documentary

[@ryokan9120]

Thanks so much for uploading this video. Does anybody know which year this documentary was made?

[@margaridavelhinho1618]

Aparece indicado no fim do filme: 1998.

[@helloschoales]

Money doesn't buy happiness

[@ansgarm.cordie9659]

Good documentary. But the voice over translations from German are catastrophically incorrect.

[@RWxpZ2FyZA]

I notice many similarities between myself and Mann...a tendency to fall into a passionate and obsessive love of someone, but which is not returned with the same intensity or mode of feeling...a natural suicidal temperament exacerbated by these painful experiences of love

[@kennyglesga]

One of the great reads, Death in Venice; Ashenbach the aging writer's obsession with the young Pole, Tadzio. 'Where else could be better?' sums up Ashenbach on Venice, but the cholera epidemic is closing in on his Venetian reverie.

[@michauxborns]

"He went the way that go he must - a little idly, a little irregularly, whistling to himself... and if he went wrong, it was because for some people there is no such thing as a right way. Asked what in the world he meant to become, he gave various answers, for he was used to saying that he bore within himself the possibility of a thousand ways of life, together with the private conviction that they were all sheer impossibilities." {-T.Mann, from "Tonio K."}

[@abcxyz8787]

A very interesting documentary. I'm a fan of Thomas Mann and read a lot about his personal life but there were many details that were brought in this documentary that I didn't know about, and above all photographs and videos of his family members that I haven't seen before. But I have to say, that what is said in the documentary about Mann's infatuation and sexual attraction to his own son shook me and disgusted me to the point of thinking about getting rid of all the books that I have of his.

[@pedroskywalker6793]

At least,he shifted his political views, although that doesn't mean nothing!

[@ryokan9120]

You need to separate the art from the artist!

[@abcxyz8787]

@@ryokan9120 I can't do that. I was thinking - I love Bach's music. What if I learned about some sordid details about his personal life. Would I still be able to listen to and enjoy his music?

[@ryokan9120]

@@abcxyz8787 But doesn't the artistic achievement in and of itself transcend all moralities and value judgements. I suppose the point I'm making is when you look at all the artistic and cultural achievements of the past 2000 years, the reality is if you chose to cast away their art because of their morality, you probably wouldn't have much art left and all the galleries and museums would be left almost empty. By way of another analogy, suppose you found out that the house you're living in was built by a paedophile, would you burn your own house to the ground?

[@abcxyz8787]

@@ryokan9120 I don't think I would be able to enjoy art that was created by someone who is really morally deprived. I mean in the sense of hurting harmless and helpless people. And it's not coming from a place of judgement. People who are sexually attracted to their children or paedophiles are probably people who are ill. I don't know if they can help themselves from thinking or doing what they think or do. But it disgusts me to the point that I don't want anything to do with them. For me, if I really love a work of art, I'm always interested in the artist. I feel close to the artist, I like to meet him/her. I fall in love with the artist's soul as it is expressed in their art. It's a real put off for me to enjoy a work of art if I know the artist disgusts me on a personal level. It's how I feel.

[@paulvandijck6476]

Sehr interessant

[@marcoscastillojaen1888]

El de la Montaña Mágica.

[@dogukanaydn3957]

I have his 'Buddenbrooks' should i read it?

[@ggc4183]

I recommend it as Mann's first book to read if you want to have some essential understanding of his own background and an overview of what his philosophy and visions of life are.

[@waterkant999]

no dont...its full of his rich bourgeoise and gay ,000capitalistic life...though millions and millions suffered

[@francismotherway2090]

go 4 it - a bit dull - but believe me you could do a lot worse

[@rolandsievers1610]

Was ist das überhaupt für eine Frage?!

[@drpsionic]

Only if you suffer from insomnia.

[@arnokempowski6186]

Bitte mal weiterhelfen. Komme eben nicht auf den Titel der Eingangsmusik.

[@Franco_Cesarini]

Arno Kempowski Elsas Zug zum Münster aus Wagners Lohengrin, 2. Aufzug

[@vanessabecerra2589]

Sería genial que tradujeran el documental al español!!!. Gracias.

[@ruivog]

Learn English, chica. Español no es el único idioma.

[@brainstrains3253]

Vanessa acabo de publicar en mi canal un quiz sobre Th. Mann en español, por supuesto. Cuánto sabes sobre Thomas Mann, te invito a que tomes el reto. Saludos

[@marlborogorila]

Mas facil aprender ingles, muchacha.

[@icarustanovic3097]

Many mysteries around Thomas Mann, especially after Dr. Faustus. And many lies as well.

[@imleksutra933]

Hello

[@phoebusapollo4677]

Most writers and artists are not ideal people. They deal with pain, sorrow and their own demons, while social taboos and religious repressions destroy them from the inside.

Grande Escritor, de mãe brasileira que forjou sua formação. Documentário fraco, tinha que ser dos EUA: não se aprofunda na(s) obra(s), que é grandiosa. Nada mal, porém, mostrar sem pudores seus desejos homossexuais e o contexto histórico.

[@pedroskywalker6793]

Thomas Mann foi muito ambíguo por anos sobre seu conservadorismo e nacionalismo!

@@pedroskywalker6793 Não é verdade. Não há nacionalismo nenhum nele, mas cosmopolitivismo e a estranheza de ser mestiço (cf. "Tônio Kroeger"). Exilado, foi virulento contra o nazismo em todos os meios possíveis, até nas rádios, e simpático ao socialismo, conforme atestam escritos e aproximação a Lukács. Óbvio que era um homem criado aos moldes do século 19 e do pré-guerra de '14, o que nos parece antiquado e conservador, mas a importância do homoerotismo, a qual jamais escondeu sem medo de preconceito por conta de sua reputação e fama, aparece até em seus ensaios.

[@adelaidedupont9017]

Can hardly wait to see what #literarycritic Baumgart has to say.

[@bayfilly1]

What a sick puppy !! Gives me the willies!

[@kucftbueouy9902]

Are all Mann's related?

[@Mark-st7mp]

07:06 "not far from the shores of the Baltic Sea" would be correct

[@davidtrindle6473]

It’s not correct to assign blame for the suicide as “family conflicts.” This is absurd. Mental illness is an illness. It has strong genetic causes as well as environmental.

[@adagigliotti5125]

❤

[@jakehuang3545]

38:52 warren buffett's germany twin?

[@chopin65]

Some of the psychological interpretations are laughably dated.

[@georgealderson4424]

...his son's insanity..." when talking of TM's son taking his own life. Since when was insanity the defintion of suicide?

[@odinjamesthecat]

My friend name is Thomas mann they could be related

[@liamallan-dalgleish2021]

Slacker: well named.

[@tamtaghvitidze4735]

What do you mean? I can't get it...

[@pietrusabalardus1881]

Tamta Ghvitidze: A slacker is, in this case, someone who doesn't bother thinking, makes quick, summary judgments, based often, as I suspect in this case, on little of any reading and study. Thomas Mann is a profound thinker who does not lend himself to aforesaid treatment.

[@inkyguy]

Pietrus Abalardus, in America a slacker is someone who either is unemployed or underemployed and has no sense of direction or purpose in life. It is usually applied to those in their 20s and 30s.

[@emilywest1302]

Much more about his life than his work. I would have liked some analysis of the great novels Buddenbrooks (only some autobiographical elements mentioned) and The Magic Mountain (mentioned only by title), not all of this unearthing of homosexuality and family problems.

[@stephenhammell7204]

felix krull is number one for sure read it now

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

Å NEI det vil jeg ikke ha LOL!!!

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

Sier du det? LOL!!!

[@ericbro339]

Er war Opportunist. Erst sagt er einem er liebe es Amerikaner zu sein, um ein paar Tage später den Presseleuten von seinem Deutschtum zu berichten. Er war in den USA gut aufgehoben...

[@carolynrembert1056]

Ranziger Stuhlgang in

[@pietrusabalardus1881]

Ranziger Stuhlgang Besonders bei der Hauskomitee für unamerikanische Unternehmungen

[@ulfutstrand]

i thought Thomas was homosexual....was he not...

[@imleksutra933]

Not quite, not completely..

[@inkyguy]

Ulf Utstrand, it is stated outright several times that Thomas Mann was gay but took up a life of heterosexual respectability. That was the central crisis of his life.

[@inkyguy]

30:30: This is obviously rather dated., Karl Werner Böhm, one of the commenters, said that Thomas Mann was a self-hating homosexual (which he largely was), yet in literally the same breath Böhm says that, just like himself, as a homosexual, Mann had no business having children. He also says that Mann's son Klaus "developed into a homosexual." It is incredibly ironic that he sees Mann as self-hating but doesn't appreciate his own internalized homophobia which is so blatantly demonstrated by his beliefs that someone "turns into" a homosexual rather than understanding it as an innate trait, and that just because someone is gay means they can not and do not make fine parents, and in many cases, even better parents than their heterosexual counterparts.

[@georgealderson4424]

Should not parenting be a balance not least of genders?

[@inkyguy]

George Alderson, no.

[@georgealderson4424]

@@inkyguy Oh

[@blackbird5634]

The Magic Mountain is intolerable, Mann insists on using Hans Castorp's full name throughout. Hans Castorp thought this and Hans Castorp did that and then Hans Castorp had a thought and Hans Castorp sat down and then Hans Castorp stood up and so on and on and on....what kind of writer does that?

[@wildflower815]

What a screwed up family.

[@meio4744]

Ugh all this Freud-speak is too much.

[@drpsionic]

I've always considered Mann to be as overrated as he was boring.

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

your mom is boring

[@lynnsmithershubbard1896]

wow, you sound like a real literary genius

[@stephenvanwoert2447]

I would say, prolix.

[@marichristian1072]

@@stephenvanwoert2447 Are you saying that Mann was prolix- or making a joke about the above literary genius, Charles?

[@stephenvanwoert2447]

@@marichristian1072 Just prolix in some of his works that I have read, except for "Death In Venice." I don't have an opinion on overrated or boring.

[@wholesaleturkey]

Christina Aguilera has done more to humanity than Thomas Mann ever did. Just saying ✨

[@rolandsievers1610]

Wer ist das?

[@FermatWiles]

You low-brow philistine!

[@jamespenido404]

Really?

[@marleyjake]

And she seems to be quite unrepentant about it too.

[@richardwestwood8212]

He was in the fifties the undisputed master, but now not many readers care for him. His Joseph tetralogy is filled with outdated anthropological theories, digressions which make the reader feel that the author is simply showing off. His Dr Faustus did not really grip me (I understand the allegorical meaning of Germany selling it's soul to the Nazi devil, the parallels between the protagonist and Nietzsche, the allusions to Luther and germanic mythology, the variations in style and diction...), But it just sometimes feel that Thomas Mann is really dead. I read many of his books but liked just a very few of them; Death in Venice, the Confessions of Felix Krull, some short stories... Herman Hesse is very slender if we compare him to Thomas Mann, nevertheless every generation discovers a new approach to his vision of the world and art, and finds inspiration and new meaning in his books, unlike Thomas Mann who is really dead I'm afraid to say.

[@giorgimerabishvili8194]

What do you mean exactly when you say that Thomas Mann is dead? Can you explain?