Wunder der Schöpfung is an extraordinary, fascinating Kulturfilm trying to explain the whole human knowledge of the 1920s about the world and the universe. 15 special effects experts and 9 cameramen were involved in the production of this film which combines documentary scenes, historical documents, fiction elements, animation scenes and educational impact. It its beautifully colored, using tinting and toning in a very elaborated way. Some visual ideas in the sequences with a space shuttle visiting different planets in the universe seem to have to be the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
In the context of Germany's Kulturfilm phenomenon, Wunder der Schöpfung was among the greatest achievements of the 1920s. The production was constructed, rehearsed, and shot over a period of two and a half years, under the supervision of Hanns Walter Kornblum. The idea to describe the universe and man's place in it well suited UFA's Grossfilm mentality, one year before the Metropolis catastrophe. Hundreds of skilled craftsmen participated in the project, building props and constructing scale models drawn by 15 special effects draughtsmen, while 9 cameramen in separate units worked on the historical, documentary, fiction, animation, and science-fiction sequences. Without star roles or even protagonists, the film's plot is crowded with meticulously structured and skillfully acted single scenes an artful mosaic of small vignettes. No less than four credited university professors ensured the factual background behind the scientific and historical events portrayed.
The film's symbol of progress and the new scientific era is a spacecraft, travelling through the Milky Way, making all the planets and their inspiring worlds familiar to us, with the extravaganza of their distinctive features. The film's educational intentions, however, become steadily more obscure, humorous, or even campy as this popularization project proceeds. With the excuse of presenting the end of the world a not-so-new concept as a new, undeniably scientific truth, the film veers happily along a new path, displaying detailed apocalyptic scenes of the end of mankind. For today's audiences, this amazing film demonstrates how the universe was comprehended in the 1920s, and how that view was sold to contemporary audiences.
亚当·德赖弗,吉安卡罗·埃斯波西托,娜塔莉·伊曼纽尔,奥布瑞·普拉扎,希亚·拉博夫,达斯汀·霍夫曼,乔恩·沃伊特,劳伦斯·菲什伯恩,塔莉娅·夏尔,詹姆斯·瑞马尔,詹森·舒瓦兹曼,D·B·斯威尼,凯瑟琳·亨特,克洛伊·菲内曼,巴萨扎·盖提,索尼娅·阿马尔,夏洛林·阿莫亚,格蕾丝·万德沃尔,查理·塔尔伯特,伊莎贝尔·库斯曼
麦迪逊·贝利,迈克尔·山克斯,格里芬·格鲁克,安东尼娅·金特里,莎莫·H·豪威尔,瑞秋·克劳福德,梅根·贝斯特,亚当·哈蒂格,塞缪尔·布劳恩,辛妮·比斯顿,Kataem O'Connor,格温多琳·柯林斯,乔丹·佩特尔,Dutchess Cayetano,Chess Tomlinson,Bj·韦罗,Elena Howard-Scott,泰瑞·威瑟斯庞,科琳·弗兰,Samantha Hutchings
何塞·马利亚·亚兹皮克,贝塔·巴斯克斯,伊里娅·德尔·里奥,Francisco Ortiz,Jesús Lloveras,Sergio Crespo,Ali Boulabiar,Mouad Ghazouan,Elena Seijo,Marta Poveda,Ana Garcia Molero,Paloma Otero,Beka Lemonjava,Alberto Ladrón de Guevara,Yuri Mykhaylychenko,Hicham Malayo,Arántzazu Ruiz,María
汤姆·哈迪,切瓦特·埃加福,朱诺·坦普尔,斯蒂芬·格拉汉姆,瑞斯·伊凡斯,佩吉·陆,安迪·瑟金斯,克拉克·巴茨科,阿兰娜·乌巴赫,克里斯托·费尔南德斯,哈拉·芬利,达什·麦克劳德,布鲁克·卡特,伊沃·南迪,奥蒂斯·温斯顿
卡莉·史派妮,戴维·荣松,阿奇·雷诺,伊莎贝拉·莫塞德,斯派克·费恩,吴爱玲,丹尼尔·贝茨,伊安·霍姆,特雷沃·纽林,罗伯特·博布罗茨基,安妮玛丽·格里格斯,罗茜·伊德,索玛·西蒙,本斯·欧科克,维克托·欧利祖
亚当·大卫·汤普森,莱莉·丹迪,Chloe Skoczen,贾斯汀·本森,莎拉·伯格,Jori Lynn Felker