Eugen Schuhmacher

Eugen Schuhmacher (actually Eugen Josef Robert Schuhmacher) (October 4, 1906 Stuttgart, Germany ? January 8, 1973 Munich, Germany) was a German zoologist and pioneer of animal documentaries. Besides Bernhard Grzimek and Heinz Sielmann he belongs to the German documentary filmmakers with an international reputation.

Pioneering for the World Nature Conservation

The filming of Schuhmacher's movie The Last Paradises - On the Track of Rare Animals (Die letzten Paradiese) began in spring 1959. The movie is one of the most ambitious movie projects about endangered species to date. Schuhmacher and his cinematographer Helmut Barth (who has later worked on the Academy Award-winning movie The Hellstrom Chronicle) have gone on a 7 year travel (from 1959 to 1966) to film the most endangered animals of the world. After an animated introduction about the history of extinct species (e.g. the Quagga, the Great Auk and the Dodo) it has gone to 60 countries (e.g. Turkey, Spain, Germany, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, India, Java, USA, and Peru) on all continents and to the most famous national parks. The footage of this movie is unique. Species like the Archey's frog (Leiopelma archeyi) or the Javan Rhinoceros were filmed for the very first time and the sequences of the Kakapo, the Takahe, the dancing of the Red-crowned cranes, the fishing Kodiak Bears, the Whooping Crane, the Asiatic Lion, the Komodo Dragon, the Tuatara, the Indri, and the Birds of Paradise are outstanding and of an intensity which was never seen before. The film received awards at the Documentary filmfestival at Trent and was a worldwide success. There is also a book reference which was translated into many languages and was a huge success too.

Related Topics:
Academy Award - The Hellstrom Chronicle - Quagga - Great Auk - Dodo - Turkey - Spain - Germany - Poland - Australia - New Zealand - Papua New Guinea - India - Java - USA - Peru - National parks - Archey's frog - Javan Rhinoceros - Kakapo - Takahe - Red-crowned cranes - Kodiak Bears - Whooping Crane - Asiatic Lion - Komodo Dragon - Tuatara - Indri - Birds of Paradise - Trent

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