title: German Empire

text: During World War I, the Kaiser increasingly devolved his powers to the leaders of the German High Command, particularly future President of Germany, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and "Generalquartiermeister" Erich Ludendorff. Hindenburg took over the role of commander–in–chief from the Kaiser, while Ludendorff became de facto general chief of staff. By 1916, Germany was effectively a military dictatorship run by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, with the Kaiser reduced to a mere figurehead.


title: German Empire

text: Wilhelm II wanted Germany to have her "place in the sun", like Britain, which he constantly wished to emulate or rival. With German traders and merchants already active worldwide, he encouraged colonial efforts in Africa and the Pacific ("new imperialism"), causing the German Empire to vie with other European powers for remaining "unclaimed" territories. With the encouragement or at least the acquiescence of Britain, which at this stage saw Germany as a counterweight to her old rival France, Germany acquired German Southwest Africa (modern Namibia), German Kamerun (modern Cameroon), Togoland (modern Togo) and German East Africa (modern Rwanda, Burundi, and the mainland part of current Tanzania). Islands were gained in the Pacific through purchase and treaties and also a 99-year lease for the territory of Kiautschou in northeast China. But of these German colonies only Togoland and German Samoa (after 1908) became self-sufficient and profitable; all the others required subsidies from the Berlin treasury for building infrastructure, school systems, hospitals and other institutions.


title: German Empire

text: Bismarck had originally dismissed the agitation for colonies with contempt; he favoured a Eurocentric foreign policy, as the treaty arrangements made during his tenure in office show. As a latecomer to colonization, Germany repeatedly came into conflict with the established colonial powers and also with the United States, which opposed German attempts at colonial expansion in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. Native insurrections in German territories received prominent coverage in other countries, especially in Britain; the established powers had dealt with such uprisings decades earlier, often brutally, and had secured firm control of their colonies by then. The Boxer Rising in China, which the Chinese government eventually sponsored, began in the Shandong province, in part because Germany, as colonizer at Kiautschou, was an untested power and had only been active there for two years. Eight western nations, including the United States, mounted a joint relief force to rescue westerners caught up in the rebellion. During the departure ceremonies for the German contingent, Wilhelm II urged them to behave like the Hun invaders of continental Europe – an unfortunate remark that would later be resurrected by British propagandists to paint Germans as barbarians during World War I and World War II. On two occasions, a French-German conflict over the fate of Morocco seemed inevitable.


title: German Empire

text: Upon acquiring Southwest Africa, German settlers were encouraged to cultivate land held by the Herero and Nama. Herero and Nama tribal lands were used for a variety of exploitative goals (much as the British did before in Rhodesia), including farming, ranching, and mining for minerals and diamonds. In 1904, the Herero and the Nama revolted against the colonists in Southwest Africa, killing farm families, their laborers and servants. In response to the attacks, troops were dispatched to quell the uprising which then resulted in the Herero and Namaqua Genocide. In total, some 65,000 Herero (80% of the total Herero population), and 10,000 Nama (50% of the total Nama population) perished. The commander of the punitive expedition, General Lothar von Trotha, was eventually relieved and reprimanded for his usurpation of orders and the cruelties he inflicted. These occurrences were sometimes referred to as "the first genocide of the 20th century" and officially condemned by the United Nations in 1985. In 2004 a formal apology by a government minister of the Federal Republic of Germany followed.


title: German Empire

text: Bismarck and Wilhelm II after him sought closer economic ties with the Ottoman Empire. Under Wilhelm II, with the financial backing of the Deutsche Bank, the Baghdad Railway was begun in 1900, although by 1914 it was still short of its destination in Baghdad. In an interview with Wilhelm in 1899, Cecil Rhodes had tried "to convince the Kaiser that the future of the German empire abroad lay in the Middle East" and not in Africa; with a grand Middle-Eastern empire, Germany could afford to allow Britain the unhindered completion of the Cape-to-Cairo railway that Rhodes favoured. Britain initially supported the Baghdad Railway; but by 1911 British statesmen came to fear it might be extended to Basra on the Persian Gulf, threatening Britain's naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean. Accordingly, they asked to have construction halted, to which Germany and the Ottoman Empire acquiesced.


title: German Empire

text: In South America, Germany's primary interest was in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay and viewed the countries of northern South America – Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela – as a buffer to protect its interest from the growing influence of the United States. Policymakers in Germany analysed the possibility of establishing bases in Margarita Island and showed interest in the Galápagos Islands but soon abandoned any such designs given that far-flung bases in northern South America would be very vulnerable. Germany attempted to promote Chile, a country that was heavily influenced by Germany, into a regional counterweight to the United States. Germany and Britain managed through Chile to have Ecuador deny the United States a naval base in the Galápagos Islands.


title: German Empire

text: Claims that German communities in South America acted as extensions of the German Empire were ubiquituous by 1900 but it has never been proved that these communities acted in such way to any significant degree. German political, cultural and scientific influence was particularly intense in Chile in the decades before World War I, and the prestige of Germany and German things in Chile remained high after the war but did not recover to its pre-war levels.


title: German Empire

text: Berlin was deeply suspicious of a supposed conspiracy of its enemies: that year-by-year in the early 20th century it was systematically encircled by enemies. There was a growing fear that the supposed enemy coalition of Russia, France and Britain was getting stronger militarily every year, especially Russia. The longer Berlin waited the less likely it would prevail in a war. According to American historian Gordon A. Craig, it was after the set-back in Morocco in 1905 that the fear of encirclement began to be a potent factor in German politics." Few outside observers agreed with the notion of Germany as a victim of deliberate encirclement. English historian G. M. Trevelyan expressed the British viewpoint:The encirclement, such as it was, was of Germany's own making. She had encircled herself by alienating France over Alsace-Lorraine, Russia by her support of Austria-Hungary's anti--Slav policy in the Balkans, England by building her rival fleet. She had created with Austria-Hungary a military bloc in the heart of Europe so powerful and yet so restless that her neighbors on each side had no choice but either to become her vassals or to stand together for protection...They used their central position to create fear in all sides, in order to gain their diplomatic ends. And then they complained that on all sides they had been encircled.


title: German Empire

text: Wilhelm II, under pressure from his new advisors after Bismarck left, committed a fatal error when he decided to allow the "Reinsurance Treaty" that Bismarck had negotiated with Tsarist Russia to lapse. It allowed Russia to make a new alliance with France. Germany was left with no firm ally but Austria-Hungary, and her support for action in annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 further soured relations with Russia. Berlin missed the opportunity to secure an alliance with Britain in the 1890s when it was involved in colonial rivalries with France, and he alienated British statesmen further by openly supporting the Boers in the South African War and building a navy to rival Britain's. By 1911, Wilhelm had completely picked apart the careful power balance established by Bismarck and Britain turned to France in the Entente Cordiale. Germany's only other ally besides Austria was the Kingdom of Italy, but it remained an ally only "pro forma". When war came, Italy saw more benefit in an alliance with Britain, France, and Russia, which, in the secret Treaty of London in 1915 promised it the frontier districts of Austria and also colonial concessions. Germany did acquire a second ally in 1914 when the Ottoman Empire entered the war on its side, but in the long run, supporting the Ottoman war effort only drained away German resources from the main fronts.


title: German Empire

text: Following the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip, the Kaiser offered Emperor Franz Joseph full support for Austro-Hungarian plans to invade the Kingdom of Serbia, which Austria-Hungary blamed for the assassination. This unconditional support for Austria-Hungary was called a "blank cheque" by historians, including German Fritz Fischer. Subsequent interpretation – for example at the Versailles Peace Conference – was that this "blank cheque" licensed Austro-Hungarian aggression regardless of the diplomatic consequences, and thus Germany bore responsibility for starting the war, or at least provoking a wider conflict.


title: German Empire

text: Germany began the war by targeting its chief rival, France. Germany saw the French Republic as its principal danger on the European continent as it could mobilize much faster than Russia and bordered Germany's industrial core in the Rhineland. Unlike Britain and Russia, the French entered the war mainly for revenge against Germany, in particular for France's loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany in 1871. The German high command knew that France would muster its forces to go into Alsace-Lorraine. Aside from the very unofficial Septemberprogramm, the Germans never stated a clear list of goals that they wanted out of the war.


title: German Empire

text: Germany did not want to risk lengthy battles along the Franco-German border and instead adopted the Schlieffen Plan, a military strategy designed to cripple France by invading Belgium and Luxembourg, sweeping down to encircle and crush both Paris and the French forces along the Franco-German border in a quick victory. After defeating France, Germany would turn to attack Russia. The plan required violating the official neutrality of Belgium and Luxembourg, which Britain had guaranteed by treaty. However, the Germans had calculated that Britain would enter the war regardless of whether they had formal justification to do so. At first the attack was successful: the German Army swept down from Belgium and Luxembourg and advanced on Paris, at the nearby river Marne. However, the evolution of weapons over the last century heavily favored defense over offense, especially thanks to the machine gun, so that it took proportionally more offensive force to overcome a defensive position. This resulted in the German lines on the offense contracting to keep up the offensive timetable while correspondingly the French lines were extending. In addition, some German units that were originally slotted for the German far-right were transferred to the Eastern Front in reaction to Russia mobilizing far faster than anticipated. The combined effect had the German right flank sweeping down in front of Paris instead of behind it exposing the German Right flank to the extending French lines and attack from strategic French reserves stationed in Paris. Attacking the exposed German right flank, the French Army and the British Army put up a strong resistance to the defense of Paris at the First Battle of the Marne, resulting in the German Army retreating to defensive positions along the river Aisne. A subsequent Race to the Sea resulted in a long-held stalemate between the German Army and the Allies in dug-in trench warfare positions from Alsace to Flanders.


title: German Empire

text: German attempts to break through failed at the two battles of Ypres (1st/2nd) with huge casualties. A series of allied offensives in 1915 against German positions in Artois and Champagne resulted in huge allied casualties and little territorial change. German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn decided to exploit the defensive advantages that had shown themselves in the 1915 Allied offensives by attempting to goad France into attacking strong defensive positions near the ancient city of Verdun. Verdun had been one of the last cities to hold out against the German Army in 1870, and Falkenhayn predicted that as a matter of national pride the French would do anything to ensure that it was not taken. He expected that he could take strong defensive positions in the hills overlooking Verdun on the east bank of the River Meuse to threaten the city and the French would launch desperate attacks against these positions. He predicted that French losses would be greater than those of the Germans and that continued French commitment of troops to Verdun would "bleed the French Army white." In February 1916, the Battle of Verdun began, with the French positions under constant shelling and poison gas attack and taking large casualties under the assault of overwhelmingly large German forces. However, Falkenhayn's prediction of a greater ratio of French killed proved to be wrong as both sides took heavy casualties. Falkenhayn was replaced by Erich Ludendorff, and with no success in sight, the German Army pulled out of Verdun in December 1916 and the battle ended.


title: German Empire

text: While the Western Front was a stalemate for the German Army, the Eastern Front eventually proved to be a great success. Despite initial setbacks due to the unexpectedly rapid mobilisation of the Russian army, which resulted in a Russian invasion of East Prussia and Austrian Galicia, the badly organised and supplied Russian Army faltered and the German and Austro-Hungarian armies thereafter steadily advanced eastward. The Germans benefited from political instability in Russia and its population's desire to end the war. In 1917 the German government allowed Russia's communist Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin to travel through Germany from Switzerland into Russia. Germany believed that if Lenin could create further political unrest, Russia would no longer be able to continue its war with Germany, allowing the German Army to focus on the Western Front.


title: German Empire

text: In March 1917, the Tsar was ousted from the Russian throne, and in November a Bolshevik government came to power under the leadership of Lenin. Facing political opposition from the Bolsheviks, he decided to end Russia's campaign against Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria to redirect Bolshevik energy to eliminating internal dissent. In March 1918, by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Bolshevik government gave Germany and the Ottoman Empire enormous territorial and economic concessions in exchange for an end to war on the Eastern Front. All of present-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was given over to the German occupation authority "Ober Ost", along with Belarus and Ukraine. Thus Germany had at last achieved its long-wanted dominance of "Mitteleuropa" (Central Europe) and could now focus fully on defeating the Allies on the Western Front. In practice, however, the forces that were needed to garrison and secure the new territories were a drain on the German war effort.


title: German Empire

text: Germany quickly lost almost all its colonies. However, in German East Africa, an impressive guerrilla campaign was waged by the colonial army leader there, General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck. Using Germans and native Askaris, Lettow-Vorbeck launched multiple guerrilla raids against British forces in Kenya and Rhodesia. He also invaded Portuguese Mozambique to gain his forces supplies and to pick up more Askari recruits. His force was still active at war's end.


title: German Empire

text: The defeat of Russia in 1917 enabled Germany to transfer hundreds of thousands of troops from the Eastern to the Western Front, giving it a numerical advantage over the Allies. By retraining the soldiers in new infiltration tactics, the Germans expected to unfreeze the battlefield and win a decisive victory before the army of the United States, which had now entered the war on the side of the Allies, arrived in strength. In what was known as the "kaiserschlacht", Germany converged their troops and delivered multiple blows that pushed back the allies. However, the repeated German offensives in the spring of 1918 all failed, as the Allies fell back and regrouped and the Germans lacked the reserves needed to consolidate their gains. Meanwhile, soldiers had become radicalised by the Russian Revolution and were less willing to continue fighting. The war effort sparked civil unrest in Germany, while the troops, who had been constantly in the field without relief, grew exhausted and lost all hope of victory. In the summer of 1918, the British Army was at its peak strength with as many as 4.5 million men on the western front and 4,000 tanks for the Hundred Days Offensive, the Americans arriving at the rate of 10,000 a day, Germany's allies facing collapse and the German Empire's manpower exhausted, it was only a matter of time before multiple Allied offensives destroyed the German army.


title: German Empire

text: The concept of "total war" meant that supplies had to be redirected towards the armed forces and, with German commerce being stopped by the Allied naval blockade, German civilians were forced to live in increasingly meagre conditions. First food prices were controlled, then rationing was introduced. During the war about 750,000 German civilians died from malnutrition.


title: German Empire

text: Towards the end of the war, conditions deteriorated rapidly on the home front, with severe food shortages reported in all urban areas. The causes included the transfer of many farmers and food workers into the military, combined with the overburdened railway system, shortages of coal, and the British blockade. The winter of 1916–1917 was known as the "turnip winter", because the people had to survive on a vegetable more commonly reserved for livestock, as a substitute for potatoes and meat, which were increasingly scarce. Thousands of soup kitchens were opened to feed the hungry, who grumbled that the farmers were keeping the food for themselves. Even the army had to cut the soldiers' rations. The morale of both civilians and soldiers continued to sink.


title: German Empire

text: The population of Germany was already suffering from outbreaks of disease due to malnutrition due to Allied blockade preventing food imports. Spanish flu arrived in Germany with returning troops. Around 287,000 people died of Spanish flu in Germany between 1918 and 1920.


title: German Empire

text: Many Germans wanted an end to the war and increasing numbers began to associate with the political left, such as the Social Democratic Party and the more radical Independent Social Democratic Party, which demanded an end to the war. The entry of the U.S. into the war in April 1917 tipped the long-run balance of power even more in favour of the Allies.


title: German Empire

text: The end of October 1918, in Kiel, in northern Germany, saw the beginning of the German Revolution of 1918–1919. Units of the German Navy refused to set sail for a last, large-scale operation in a war which they saw as good as lost, initiating the uprising. On 3 November, the revolt spread to other cities and states of the country, in many of which workers' and soldiers' councils were established. Meanwhile, Hindenburg and the senior generals lost confidence in the Kaiser and his government.


title: German Empire

text: Bulgaria signed the Armistice of Salonica on 29 September 1918. The Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918. Between 24 October and 3 November 1918, Italy defeated Austria-Hungary in the battle of Vittorio Veneto, which forced Austria-Hungary to sign the Armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918. So, in November 1918, with internal revolution, the Allies advancing toward Germany on the Western Front, Austria-Hungary falling apart from multiple ethnic tensions, its other allies out of the war and pressure from the German high command, the Kaiser and all German ruling kings, dukes, and princes abdicated, and German nobility was abolished. On 9 November, the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a republic. The new government led by the German Social Democrats called for and received an armistice on 11 November. It was succeeded by the Weimar Republic. Those opposed, including disaffected veterans, joined a diverse set of paramilitary and underground political groups such as the Freikorps, the Organisation Consul, and the Communists.


title: German Empire

text: The Empire was a constitutional monarchy, with the Emperor – commonly referred as the "Kaiser" – as its Head of State and ultimate authority. The government exercised executive power, and was led by a Chancellor, who was appointed by the Emperor and directly reported to him; he was not responsible to the legislature as in other parliamentary systems. The longest ruling Chancellor was Otto Von Bismarck, who ruled from 1871 to 1890, and led to the unification of Germany and to its consolidation as Europe's most powerful country.


title: German Empire

text: The Empire's legislative power was vested in two bodies, the upper house was the Bundesrat and the lower one the Reichstag or parliament; legislation had to pass both houses. There was universal male suffrage for the election of members to the Reichstag. The Bundesrat contained the appointed representatives of the governments of each individual state of the Empire, with an unequal distribution of votes as specified in the Constitution – Prussia, for instance, the largest state in size and population, had 17 votes, while no other state had more than 6 votes; thus, Prussia dominated the house, which was presided over by the Chancellor.


title: German Empire

text: Before unification, German territory (excluding Austria and Switzerland) was made up of 27 constituent states. These states consisted of kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, free Hanseatic cities and one imperial territory. The free cities had a republican form of government on the state level, even though the Empire at large was constituted as a monarchy, and so were most of the states. Prussia was the largest of the constituent states, covering two-thirds of the empire's territory.


title: German Empire

text: Several of these states had gained sovereignty following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, and had been "de facto" sovereign from the mid-1600s onward. Others were created as sovereign states after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Territories were not necessarily contiguous—many existed in several parts, as a result of historical acquisitions, or, in several cases, divisions of the ruling families. Some of the initially existing states, in particular Hanover, were abolished and annexed by Prussia as a result of the war of 1866.


title: German Empire

text: Each component of the German Empire sent representatives to the Federal Council ("Bundesrat") and, via single-member districts, the Imperial Diet ("Reichstag"). Relations between the Imperial centre and the Empire's components were somewhat fluid and were developed on an ongoing basis. The extent to which the German Emperor could, for example, intervene on occasions of disputed or unclear succession was much debated on occasion—for example in the inheritance crisis of the Lippe-Detmold.


title: German Empire

text: Unusually for a federation and/or a nation-state, the German states maintained limited autonomy over foreign affairs and continued to exchange ambassadors and other diplomats (both with each other and directly with foreign nations) for the Empire's entire existence. Shortly after the Empire was proclaimed, Bismarck implemented a convention in which his sovereign would only send and receive envoys to and from other German states as the King of Prussia, while envoys from Berlin sent to foreign nations always received credentials from the monarch in his capacity as German Emperor. In this way, the Prussian foreign ministry was largely tasked with managing relations with the other German states while the Imperial foreign ministry managed Germany's external relations.


title: German Empire

text: About 92% of the population spoke German as their first language. The only minority language with a significant number of speakers (5.4%) was Polish (a figure that rises to over 6% when including the related Kashubian and Masurian languages).


title: German Empire

text: The non-German Germanic languages (0.5%), like Danish, Dutch and Frisian, were located in the north and northwest of the empire, near the borders with Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Low German was spoken throughout northern Germany and, though linguistically as distinct from High German ("Hochdeutsch") as from Dutch and English, was considered "German", hence also its name. Danish and Frisian were spoken predominantly in the north of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein and Dutch in the western border areas of Prussia (Hanover, Westphalia, and the Rhine Province).


title: German Empire

text: A few (0.5%) spoke French, the vast majority of these in the Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen where francophones formed 11.6% of the total population.


title: German Empire

text: Generally, religious demographics of the early modern period hardly changed. Still, there were almost entirely Catholic areas (Lower and Upper Bavaria, northern Westphalia, Upper Silesia, etc.) and almost entirely Protestant areas (Schleswig-Holstein, Pomerania, Saxony, etc.). Confessional prejudices, especially towards mixed marriages, were still common. Bit by bit, through internal migration, religious blending was more and more common. In eastern territories, confession was almost uniquely perceived to be connected to one's ethnicity and the equation "Protestant = German, Catholic = Polish" was held to be valid. In areas affected by immigration in the Ruhr area and Westphalia, as well as in some large cities, religious landscape changed substantially. This was especially true in largely Catholic areas of Westphalia, which changed through Protestant immigration from the eastern provinces.


title: German Empire

text: Politically, the confessional division of Germany had considerable consequences. In Catholic areas, the Centre Party had a big electorate. On the other hand, Social Democrats and Free Trade Unions usually received hardly any votes in the Catholic areas of the Ruhr. This began to change with the secularization arising in the last decades of the German Empire.


title: German Empire

text: In Germany's overseas colonial empire, millions of subjects practiced various indigenous religions in addition to Christianity. Over two million Muslims also lived under German colonial rule, primarily in German East Africa.


title: German Empire

text: The defeat and aftermath of the First World War and the penalties imposed by the Treaty of Versailles shaped the positive memory of the Empire, especially among Germans who distrusted and despised the Weimar Republic. Conservatives, liberals, socialists, nationalists, Catholics and Protestants all had their own interpretations, which led to a fractious political and social climate in Germany in the aftermath of the empire's collapse.


title: German Empire

text: Under Bismarck, a united German state had finally been achieved, but it remained a Prussian-dominated state and did not include German Austria as Pan-German nationalists had desired. The influence of Prussian militarism, the Empire's colonial efforts and its vigorous, competitive industrial prowess all gained it the dislike and envy of other nations. The German Empire enacted a number of progressive reforms, such as Europe's first social welfare system and freedom of press. There was also a modern system for electing the federal parliament, the Reichstag, in which every adult man had one vote. This enabled the Socialists and the Catholic Centre Party to play considerable roles in the empire's political life despite the continued hostility of Prussian aristocrats.


title: German Empire

text: The era of the German Empire is well remembered in Germany as one of great cultural and intellectual vigour. Thomas Mann published his novel "Buddenbrooks" in 1901. Theodor Mommsen received the Nobel prize for literature a year later for his Roman history. Painters like the groups Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke made a significant contribution to modern art. The AEG turbine factory in Berlin by Peter Behrens from 1909 was a milestone in classic modern architecture and an outstanding example of emerging functionalism. The social, economic, and scientific successes of this "Gründerzeit", or founding epoch, have sometimes led the Wilhelmine era to be regarded as a golden age.


title: German Empire

text: In the field of economics, the ""Kaiserzeit"" laid the foundation of Germany's status as one of the world's leading economic powers. The iron and coal industries of the Ruhr, the Saar and Upper Silesia especially contributed to that process. The first motorcar was built by Karl Benz in 1886. The enormous growth of industrial production and industrial potential also led to a rapid urbanisation of Germany, which turned the Germans into a nation of city dwellers. More than 5 million people left Germany for the United States during the 19th century.


title: German Empire

text: Many historians have emphasized the central importance of a German or "special path" (or "exceptionalism") as the root of Nazism and the German catastrophe in the 20th century. According to the historiography by Kocka (1988), the process of nation-building from above had very grievous long-term implications. In terms of parliamentary democracy, Parliament was kept weak, the parties were fragmented, and there was a high level of mutual distrust. The Nazis built on the illiberal, anti-pluralist elements of Weimar's political culture. The Junker elites (the large landowners in the east) and senior civil servants used their great power and influence well into the twentieth century to frustrate any movement toward democracy. They played an especially negative role in the crisis of 1930–1933. Bismarck's emphasis on military force amplified the voice of the officer corps, which combined advanced modernisation of military technology with reactionary politics. The rising upper-middle-class elites, in the business, financial and professional worlds, tended to accept the values of the old traditional elites. The German Empire was for Hans-Ulrich Wehler a strange mixture of highly successful capitalist industrialisation and socio-economic modernisation on the one hand, and of surviving pre-industrial institutions, power relations and traditional cultures on the other. Wehler argues that it produced a high degree of internal tension, which led on the one hand to the suppression of socialists, Catholics and reformers, and on the other hand to a highly aggressive foreign policy. For these reasons Fritz Fischer and his students emphasised Germany's primary guilt for causing the First World War.


title: German Empire

text: Hans-Ulrich Wehler, a leader of the Bielefeld School of social history, places the origins of Germany's path to disaster in the 1860s–1870s, when economic modernisation took place, but political modernisation did not happen and the old Prussian rural elite remained in firm control of the army, diplomacy and the civil service. Traditional, aristocratic, premodern society battled an emerging capitalist, bourgeois, modernising society. Recognising the importance of modernising forces in industry and the economy and in the cultural realm, Wehler argues that reactionary traditionalism dominated the political hierarchy of power in Germany, as well as social mentalities and in class relations (). The catastrophic German politics between 1914 and 1945 are interpreted in terms of a delayed modernisation of its political structures. At the core of Wehler's interpretation is his treatment of "the middle class" and "revolution", each of which was instrumental in shaping the 20th century. Wehler's examination of Nazi rule is shaped by his concept of "charismatic domination", which focuses heavily on Hitler.


title: German Empire

text: The historiographical concept of a German has had a turbulent history. 19th-century scholars who emphasised a separate German path to modernity saw it as a positive factor that differentiated Germany from the "western path" typified by Great Britain. They stressed the strong bureaucratic state, reforms initiated by Bismarck and other strong leaders, the Prussian service ethos, the high culture of philosophy and music, and Germany's pioneering of a social welfare state. In the 1950s, historians in West Germany argued that the led Germany to the disaster of 1933–1945. The special circumstances of German historical structures and experiences, were interpreted as preconditions that, while not directly causing National Socialism, did hamper the development of a liberal democracy and facilitate the rise of fascism. The paradigm has provided the impetus for at least three strands of research in German historiography: the "long 19th century", the history of the bourgeoisie, and comparisons with the West. After 1990, increased attention to cultural dimensions and to comparative and relational history moved German historiography to different topics, with much less attention paid to the . While some historians have abandoned the thesis, they have not provided a generally accepted alternative interpretation.


title: German Empire

text: In addition to present-day Germany, large parts of what comprised the German Empire now belong to several other modern European countries.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as "Rudy" (1993), "PCU" (1994), "Swingers" (1996), "Very Bad Things" (1998), "Deep Impact" (1998), "The Replacements" (2000), "Daredevil" (2003), and "The Break-Up" (2006). He has also appeared in films such as "Four Christmases" (2008), "Couples Retreat" (2009), "I Love You, Man" (2009), "People Like Us" (2012), "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), "Chef" (2014), and several films created by Marvel Studios.


title: Jon Favreau

text: As a filmmaker, Favreau has been significantly involved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He directed, produced, and appeared as Happy Hogan in the films "Iron Man" (2008) and "Iron Man 2" (2010). He also served as an executive producer for or appeared as the character in the films "The Avengers" (2012), "Iron Man 3" (2013), "" (2015), "" (2017), "" (2018), "" (2019), "" (2019), and "" (2021).


title: Jon Favreau

text: He has also directed the films "Elf" (2003), "" (2005), "Cowboys & Aliens" (2011), "Chef" (2014), "The Jungle Book" (2016), and "The Lion King" (2019). Favreau is the creator of the "Star Wars" Disney+ original series "The Mandalorian" (2019–present) as well as one of its executive producers and directors. He also serves as a writer and executive producer for its spin-off series "The Book of Boba Fett". He produces films under his production company banner, Fairview Entertainment, and also presents the television cooking series "The Chef Show".


title: Jon Favreau

text: Jonathan Kolia Favreau was born in Flushing, Queens, New York on October 19, 1966, the only child of Madeleine, an elementary school teacher who died of leukemia in 1979, and Charles Favreau, a special education teacher. His mother was Jewish (of Russian-Jewish descent), and his father is a Catholic of Italian and French-Canadian ancestry. Favreau dropped out of Hebrew school to pursue acting. However, following his mother's death, both sides of his family worked to ensure he had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Favreau graduated from The Bronx High School of Science, a school for gifted students, in 1984 and attended Queens College from 1984 to 1987, before dropping out. His friend from college, Mitchell Pollack, said that Favreau went by the nickname "Johnny Hack" because of his abilities in the game Hacky Sack. He briefly worked for Bear Stearns on Wall Street before returning to Queens College for a semester in early 1988. He dropped out of college for good (a few credits shy of completing his degree), and moved to Chicago in the summer of 1988 to pursue a career in comedy. He performed at several Chicago improvisational theaters, including the ImprovOlympic and the Improv Institute.


title: Jon Favreau

text: While in Chicago, Favreau landed his first film role alongside Sean Astin as tutor D-Bob in the sleeper hit "Rudy" (1993). Favreau met Vince Vaughn – who played a small role in this film – during shooting. The next year, he appeared in the college film "PCU" alongside Jeremy Piven, and the 1994 episode of "Seinfeld" titled "The Fire" as Eric the Clown.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Favreau then moved to Los Angeles, where he made his breakthrough in 1996 as an actor-screenwriter with the film "Swingers", which was also Vaughn's breakthrough role as the character Trent Walker, a foil to Favreau's heartbroken Mike Peters. In 1997, he appeared on the television sitcom "Friends", portraying Pete Becker – Monica Geller's millionaire boyfriend who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – for several episodes. Favreau made appearances in the sketch-comedy series, "Tracey Takes On..." in both 1996 and 1997.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Favreau landed the role of Gus Partenza in "Deep Impact" (1998), and that same year rejoined Piven in "Very Bad Things" (1998). In 1999, he starred in the television film "Rocky Marciano", based on the life of world heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano. He later appeared in "Love & Sex" (2000), co-starring Famke Janssen. Favreau appeared in 2000's "The Replacements" as maniacal linebacker Daniel Bateman, and that same year he played himself in "The Sopranos" episode "D-Girl", as a Hollywood director who feigns interest in developing mob associate Christopher Moltisanti's screenplay in order to collect material for his own screenplay.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In 2001, he made his film directorial debut with another self-penned screenplay, "Made". "Made" once again teamed him up with his "Swingers" co-star Vince Vaughn. Favreau also starred in a TV series called "Dinner for Five", which aired on the cable TV channel IFC from 2001 to 2005.


title: Jon Favreau

text: He was a guest-director for an episode of the college dramedy "Undeclared" in 2001, and Favreau got some screen time as lawyer Foggy Nelson in the 2003 movie "Daredevil" (2003) (considerably more in the director's cut version). He also starred in "The Big Empty" (2003), directed by Steve Anderson. His character was John Person, an out of work actor given a strange mission to deliver a blue suitcase to a man named Cowboy in the desert. Favreau is credited as a screenwriter for the 2002 film "The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest".


title: Jon Favreau

text: In the fall of 2003, he scored his first financial success as a director of the hit comedy "Elf" starring Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, and Peter Dinklage. Also in 2003, Favreau had a small part in "Something's Gotta Give" (a film starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson); Favreau played Leo, Harry Sanborn's (Nicholson) personal assistant, who visited Harry in the hospital. In 2005, Favreau directed the film adaptation of the children's book "Zathura". It received positive reviews, but was not commercially successful. Favreau continued to make regular appearances in film and television. He reunited with friend Vaughn in the romantic comedy "The Break-Up" and appeared in "My Name Is Earl" as a reprehensible fast food manager. Favreau also made a guest appearance in Vaughn's "".


title: Jon Favreau

text: Also in 2005, Favreau appeared as a guest judge and executive representative of Sony Corporation in week five of NBC primetime reality TV business show, "". He was called upon to judge the efforts of the show's two teams of contestants, who were assigned the task of designing and building a float to publicize his 2005 Sony Pictures movie, "".


title: Jon Favreau

text: On April 28, 2006, it was announced that Favreau was signed to direct the long-awaited "Iron Man" movie. Released on May 2, 2008, the film was a huge critical and commercial success, solidifying Favreau's reputation as a director.


title: Jon Favreau

text: "Iron Man" was the first Marvel-produced movie under their alliance with Paramount, and Favreau served as the director and an executive producer. During early scenes in "Iron Man," Favreau appears as Tony Stark's driver, Happy Hogan. He wrote two issues of a planned mini-series for Marvel Knights titled "Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas", that debuted in September 2008 before being canceled in November 2008. Favreau also directed and executive produced the film's sequel, "Iron Man 2". Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct "Iron Man 3" but remain an executive producer.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Favreau was the third director attached to "John Carter", the film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' swashbuckling space hero. While he did not ultimately direct it, he did appear in a cameo in the film, as a bookie.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In 2008, he played Denver, a bully-type bigger brother to Vaughn in "Four Christmases." Favreau co-starred in 2009's "Couples Retreat", a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort, which he wrote. The film saw him co-star with Vaughn again, while Kristin Davis played his wife.


title: Jon Favreau

text: He voices the character Pre Vizsla, the leader of the Mandalorian Death Watch, in the animated series, "".


title: Jon Favreau

text: In September 2009, he signed up to direct "Cowboys & Aliens" based on the graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. The science fiction Western film was released in 2011, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, and is considered to be a financial disappointment, taking $174.8 million in box office receipts on a $163 million budget and received mixed reviews, with critics generally praising its acting while criticizing other aspects.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In 2012, Favreau directed the pilot for the NBC show "Revolution," and served as one of the show's executive producers, alongside J. J. Abrams.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In 2013, he filmed a pilot for a TV series based on the novel "About a Boy", but set in San Francisco. He also directed the "Destiny" trailer "The Law of the Jungle".


title: Jon Favreau

text: In 2014, Favreau wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in "Chef". Favreau played a chef who, after a public altercation with a food critic, quits his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant to operate a food truck with his young son. It co-stars Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale and Dustin Hoffman, along with Robert Downey Jr. in a cameo role. Favreau wrote the script after directing several big-budget films, wanting to go "back to basics" and to create a film about cooking. It was well received by critics, who praised the direction, music, writing, story, and performances grossing $45 million against a production budget of $11 million.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In 2016, Favreau directed and produced the live-action adaptation of "The Jungle Book", for Walt Disney Pictures, which was released on April 15, 2016, to critical and commercial acclaim.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In the same year, it was reported that Favreau would direct a CGI adaptation of Disney's "The Lion King", marking his first time directing a musical. Donald Glover voiced Simba, and James Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa from the original film. The film was released in July 2019. On July 29, "The Lion King" surpassed "The Jungle Book" to become Favreau's highest-grossing film as director, while also surpassing the original film. Simultaneous with his directorial projects, he worked as a consultant on 24 episodes of "The Orville" from 2017 to 2019.


title: Jon Favreau

text: He returned as Happy Hogan in the film "" (2017), and co-executive produced "" (2018). Favreau filmed a scene for "Avengers: Infinity War", but was cut, ending up on the Blu-Ray release. In 2017, Favreau directed the pilot episode of CBS' "Young Sheldon".


title: Jon Favreau

text: On March 8, 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Favreau would executive produce and write a live-action "Star Wars" television series, titled "The Mandalorian", for Disney+. The series premiered on November 12, 2019, alongside the streaming service and was co-produced by Favreau's production company Golem Creations. Jon Favreau also lent his voice to the character of Paz Vizsla, who was portrayed by Tait Fletcher.


title: Jon Favreau

text: During that same year, Favreau appeared in "" voicing Rio Durant, "a very cool and important alien character" and member of Beckett's crew.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In the 2019 film "", Favreau reprised his role as Happy Hogan in a cameo near the end of the film. The film, directed by the Russo brothers, was executive-produced by Favreau. "Avengers: Endgame" was released on April 26, 2019. In 2019, Favreau also appeared in the sequel to "Homecoming", "".


title: Jon Favreau

text: In May of the same year, it was also announced that Favreau would co-host and executive produce a cooking show for Netflix along with co-host Roy Choi, called "The Chef Show". It premiered in June 2019.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In May 2022, Favreau produced the documentary series "Prehistoric Planet" alongside the BBC Studios Natural History Unit for Apple TV+.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In April 2016, it was reported that Favreau would return to direct the sequel to "The Jungle Book", his critically acclaimed live-action adaptation of the animated film of the same name. Early pre-production of the sequel had begun by June 12, 2018, with Justin Marks, who wrote the previous film, having ended an early draft for the film.


title: Jon Favreau

text: A motion-captured animated film titled "Neanderthals" was in development at Sony Pictures Animation in the mid-2000s that Favreau would have written and produced, but the project was cancelled sometime in 2008 after four years in development.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In November 2010, it was reported that Favreau will direct a film titled "Magic Kingdom", based on The Walt Disney Company's theme park of the same name. In July 2012, Favreau reported officially that he was working on the film. In 2014, he stated that he still had interest in the project, and that he could direct it after finishing filming "The Jungle Book".


title: Jon Favreau

text: In November 2012, it was said that Favreau was being considered to direct "", along with David Fincher, Brad Bird, Matthew Vaughn and Ben Affleck, but J. J. Abrams was selected to direct the film. In June 2015, Favreau stated that although he would not be working on the "Star Wars" anthology films, he could work on future "Star Wars" movies at some point. Favreau later worked with the franchise on the live action series "The Mandalorian".


title: Jon Favreau

text: In December 2013, Will Ferrell stated that he did not want to make a sequel to "Elf". Despite this, during an interview in January 2016, Favreau stated that a sequel could possibly be made. The next month however, Ferrell reiterated that it was unlikely that the sequel would happen and that he still did not want to return to the role.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Favreau married Joya Tillem, a physician, on November 24, 2000. The couple have a son, Max Favreau (who appeared as a boy in "Iron Man 2" later retroactively established to be a young Peter Parker), and two daughters. Tillem is the niece of lawyer/talk show host Len Tillem.


title: Jon Favreau

text: Favreau credits the role-playing game "Dungeons & Dragons" with giving him "a really strong background in imagination, storytelling, understanding how to create tone and a sense of balance."


title: Jon Favreau

text: Golem Creations Ltd. LLC is a television production company created by Jon Favreau on August 30, 2018. In an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter", Favreau cited his fascination with the overlap of technology and storytelling and that he gave the company its name because a golem was like technology; it could be used to protect or destroy if control was lost of it. The company most recently produced "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett" television shows in partnership with Lucasfilm.


title: Jon Favreau

text: In May 2019, it was announced that Favreau will be named a Disney Legend at the 2019 D23 Expo for his outstanding contributions to The Walt Disney Company.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne (; born 1 July 1985) is a French actor. She began her acting career in French cinema, appearing in films such as "The Last Mistress" (2007) and "On War" (2008). Seydoux first came to attention after she won the Trophée Chopard and received her first César Award nomination, for her performance in "The Beautiful Person" (2008).


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In the years that followed, Seydoux began appearing in minor roles in high-profile Hollywood films, including Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" (2009), Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" (2010), Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" (2011) and the action film "" (2011). In French cinema during this period, she was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for a second time for her role in "Belle Épine" (2010) and was nominated for the César Award for Best Actress for her role as a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette in the film "Farewell, My Queen" (2012).


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux came to widespread attention in 2013 when she was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her role as a lesbian art student in the critically acclaimed film "Blue Is the Warmest Colour", along with its film director Abdellatif Kechiche and her co-star Adèle Exarchopoulos. That same year, she also received the Lumières Award for Best Actress for the film "Grand Central" and, in 2014, she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and starred in the films "Beauty and the Beast", Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Saint Laurent". She gained further international attention for her appearance as Bond girl Madeleine Swann in "Spectre" (2015), a role which she reprised in "No Time to Die" (2021). Since then, she has continued to appear in major English-speaking roles in "The Lobster" (2015), in Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch" (2021), and in the Hideo Kojima video game "Death Stranding" (2019).


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Born on 1 July 1985, Seydoux is the daughter of businessman Henri Jérôme Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne and Valérie Schlumberger. She was born in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, and grew up in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 6th arrondissement. She had a strict Protestant upbringing, but she is not religious. Seydoux is one of seven children. She has three older half-siblings (Marine Bramly, Noé Saglio and Ondine Saglio) from her mother's first marriage, an older sister, stylist Camille Seydoux from her parents' marriage, and a further two paternal half-brothers, Ismaël Seydoux and Omer Seydoux, from her father's marriage to model Farida Khelfa.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux's parents are both partly of Alsatian descent. Her father is a great-grandson of businessman and inventor Marcel Schlumberger, while her mother is a granddaughter of Marcel's brother, Maurice Schlumberger. The family name came to exist in 1902, when Seydoux's great-great-grandfather Charles-Louis-Auguste-Jacques Seydoux (1870–1929) married Mathilde, daughter of Languedoc aristocrat François Fornier de Clausonne de Lédenon, whose family held the titles of Baron de Lédenon and seigneur de Clausonne, de Laugnac et de la Bastide d'Albe. The Seydoux family is widely known in France and influential in the movie industry. Her grandfather, Jérôme Seydoux, is the chairman of Pathé; her granduncle, Nicolas Seydoux, is the chairman of Gaumont Film Company; her other granduncle, Michel Seydoux, also a cinema producer, is the chairman of the Lille-based football club Lille OSC; and her father is the founder and CEO of the French wireless company Parrot. She has stated that her family initially took no interest in her film career and did not help her, and that she and her influential grandfather were not close. As a child, she had no desire to act. She instead wanted to be an opera singer, studying music at the "Conservatoire de Paris".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux's parents divorced when she was three years old and they were often away, her mother in Africa and her father on business, which, combined with her large family, meant that she "felt lost in the crowd... I was very lonely as a kid. Really I always had the feeling I was an orphan." Through her family involvement in media and entertainment, Seydoux grew up acquainted with prominent artists such as photographer Nan Goldin, musicians Lou Reed and Mick Jagger and footwear designer Christian Louboutin. For six years, Seydoux went to summer camp in the United States, at the behest of her father, who wanted her to learn to speak English.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Her mother Valérie Schlumberger is a former actress-turned-philanthropist and the founder of the boutique "Compagnie d'Afrique du Sénégal et de l'Afrique de l'ouest" (CSAO), which promotes the work of African artists. Seydoux once worked as a model for their jewellery line Jokko. Schlumberger, who lived in Senegal as a teenager, is also the founder of the charitable organisations "Association pour le Sénégal et l'Afrique de l'Ouest" (ASAO) and "Empire des enfants", a centre for homeless children in Dakar, of which Seydoux is the "godmother".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux describes her youthful self as short-haired, slightly dishevelled, and widely viewed as a bit strange: "People liked me, but I always felt like a misfit." Still concerned for her shyness in adulthood, Seydoux has admitted to having had an anxiety crisis during the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux says that as a child she wanted to become an opera singer, studying music at the Conservatoire de Paris, but eventually her shyness compelled her to drop the idea. It was not until the age of eighteen that she decided to become an actress. One of her friends was an actor, and Seydoux has said: "I found his life wonderful, I thought, 'Oh my god, you can travel, you're free, you can do what you want, you're the boss.'" She fell in love with an actor and decided to become an actress to impress him. She took acting classes at French drama school Les Enfants Terribles, and in 2007 she took further training at New York's Actors Studio with Corinne Blue.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2005, Seydoux appeared in the music video for Raphaël's single "Ne partons pas fâchés". The following year, Seydoux played her first major screen role as one of the main characters in Sylvie Ayme's "Girlfriends" ("Mes copines"). She starred in Nicolas Klotz's short film "La Consolation", which was exhibited at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In these years, she also did her first work as a model for American Apparel, posing for their Pantytime campaign, and had a role in the films "13 French Street" and "The Last Mistress".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux came to widespread attention in 2008, when she appeared in Christophe Honoré's "The Beautiful Person", a role that earned her the 2009 Chopard Award at the Cannes Film Festival for "Best Upcoming Actress" and a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2009, she had a major part in Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes", and a small role in her first Hollywood film, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds". In 2010 she starred alongside Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood", playing Isabella of Angoulême. That same year she appeared in Louis Garrel's "Petit Tailleur", Rebecca Zlotowski's "Belle Épine", which earned her a second César nomination of Most Promising Actress, and Raúl Ruiz's "Mysteries of Lisbon". Seydoux auditioned to play Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", but the part ultimately went to actress Rooney Mara. Seydoux recalled in an interview: "I got upset, but I don't think I'd be able to do anything to get that part. It was totally against my nature. I worked hard, but Lisbeth was almost anorexic. I wasn't like that".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2011, she played Gabrielle in the romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris". She later participated in another Hollywood production, "", in which she played the assassin Sabine Moreau alongside stars Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner. She also played Elle in the short film "Time Doesn't Stand Still" by Benjamin Millepied and Asa Mader ."" After "Mission: Impossible", Seydoux returned to French cinema, starring in "My Wife's Romance" ("Le Roman de ma femme") and "Roses à crédit".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2012, she starred in "Farewell, My Queen". The film opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival where it was met with critical acclaim. Critics praised director Benoît Jacquot's decision to cast Seydoux in the key role of Sidonie, stating "her luminous but watchful eyes suggest a soul wise beyond her years." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Seydoux was an excellent choice for the part calling her a remarkably versatile young actress and pointed to the stark difference in her characters from her previous roles in Midnight in Paris and Mission: Impossible. That same year she appeared in the Swiss drama film, "Sister". The film competed in competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Special Award, the Silver Bear, and was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards. Critics again praised Seydoux for bringing a strong array of emotions to a highly unsympathetic part and called her performance intensely moving. That year, Seydoux also filmed "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" by Abdellatif Kechiche, and "Grand Central" by Rebecca Zlotowski, both exhibited at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2013, Seydoux was nominated for Best Actress at the 38th César Awards for her role as Sidonie Laborde in Benoît Jacquot's "Farewell, My Queen". Later that year at Cannes, "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" won the "Palme d'Or" and the jury, headed by Steven Spielberg, took the unusual move of awarding the prize not just to the director Abdellatif Kechiche, but also to the film's two stars, Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2014, Seydoux won the Best Actress award at the 19th Lumières Awards for her role in "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" and "Grand Central". She was also nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and the César Award for Best Actress in the same year. Her role in "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" earned her rave reviews, numerous accolades and international attention.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux co-starred with Vincent Cassel in "Beauty and the Beast", a Franco-German romantic fantasy film directed by Christophe Gans. Her other 2014 films were "The Grand Budapest Hotel", a Wes Anderson film in which she played Clotilde; and Bertrand Bonello's "Saint Laurent", in which she played the role of the titular designer's muse Loulou de la Falaise.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2015, Seydoux starred with Vincent Lindon in "Diary of a Chambermaid", a period piece based on Octave Mirbeau's novel "Le Journal d'une femme de chambre". The film, whose script was written specifically for Seydoux, marked her second collaboration with Benoît Jacquot, following the 2012 film "Farewell, My Queen". Although the film was screened in competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival to mixed reviews, critics were generally receptive to Seydoux's performance. Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" said that it was "a fine central performance from Seydoux", while critic Jordan Mintzer wrote that her performance is "robust and engaging throughout [the film]".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux appeared alongside Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz in Yorgos Lanthimos's English-language debut "The Lobster" (2015), in which she played the ruthless leader of a group of rebels, the loners, who live in the woods. The film had its premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. She also appears as Madeleine Swann, the Bond girl in the 2015 film "Spectre", the 24th "James Bond" film.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2016, Minister of Culture Fleur Pellerin made her a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters ("Ordre des Arts et des Lettres"). Seydoux later appeared in Xavier Dolan's "It's Only the End of the World", based on Jean-Luc Lagarce's play "Juste la fin du monde".


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2018, Seydoux co-starred alongside Ewan McGregor in "Zoe", a sci-fi romance by Drake Doremus. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 21 April. She also appeared in Thomas Vinterberg's "Kursk", a drama film about the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster. In May 2018, she served as a member of the jury at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. She was also invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences within the same year.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux stars in Hideo Kojima's video game "Death Stranding". She provided the voice, performance and her likeness to the character Fragile, the head of Fragile Express. "Death Stranding" released in November 2019 to positive reviews in which critics called her a "marvel", and described her performance as being among some of the "most nuanced performance capture ever seen in the medium". She will also star in the game's sequel. She also appeared in "Oh Mercy!", a French crime drama by director Arnaud Desplechin. The film premiered at Cannes and was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. In 2021, Seydoux reprised her role as Madeleine Swann in the James Bond film "No Time to Die". The film's release was postponed worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She stars in Wes Anderson's ensemble comedy-drama "The French Dispatch" (2021). She plays Lizzy in Ildikó Enyedi's "The Story of My Wife" (2021), and stars in the film "France" (2021) by Bruno Dumont. Seydoux collaborated with Arnaud Desplechin for the second time on "Deception" (2021).


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In June 2020, it was announced that Seydoux would be headlining the French period thriller "Party of Fools" ("Le Bal des Folles"), directed by Arnaud des Pallières. In September 2020, it was announced that Seydoux would be starring in Mia Hansen-Løve's next film "One Fine Morning". In January 2021, it was announced that Seydoux would star opposite Gaspard Ulliel in Bertrand Bonello's sci-fi melodrama "The Beast" ("La Bête"); following the death of Ulliel, it was reported in May 2022 that British actor George MacKay is set to star opposite Seydoux in the Bonello film. In April 2021, "Deadline" reported that Seydoux would star alongside Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen in David Cronenberg's sci-fi thriller "Crimes of the Future". Seydoux said in the film, she plays a surgeon in a dystopian future "where people eat plastic." The film premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. In May 2022, Seydoux was cast in the title role in "Emmanuelle", the English-language directorial debut of Audrey Diwan which was inspired by Emmanuelle Arsan's novels. In June 2022, it was announced that Seydoux was cast as Lady Margot in Denis Villeneuve’s "", which is scheduled for release in October 2023.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux has modelled for numerous magazines and brands, but sees herself "always as an actress", not as a model. She participated in the Levi's television advert "Dangerous Liaison", and has been seen in several photo editorials, including for "Vogue Paris", "American Vogue", "Numéro", "L'Officiel", "CRASH", "Another Magazine" and "W magazine". She fronted the 2013 campaign for French jewellery line Didier Dubot and appeared in Rag & Bone's Fall 2013 campaign with Michael Pitt.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: She also appeared in a nude pictorial for French men's magazine "Lui". In addition, Seydoux and her "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" co-star Adèle Exarchopoulos were featured in Miu Miu's 2014 resort ad campaign. Seydoux advertised for Prada's 2012 "Resort" line; and is the face of its 2013 campaign for the fragrances "Prada Candy" (shot by Jean-Paul Goude) and "Prada Candy L'Eau" (directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola), and the 2014 campaign for "Prada Candy Florale" perfume.


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In September 2016, Seydoux announced that she and her boyfriend André Meyer were expecting their first child. On 18 January 2017, she gave birth to a son, Georges. She has said that the filming of "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" made her question her sexuality: "Of course I did [question it]. Me as a person, as a human being ... It's not nothing, making those scenes. Of course I question myself. But, I did not have any revelations."


title: Léa Seydoux

text: Seydoux has expressed a preference for defining herself by the term "actor" rather than "actress", saying: "I really don't feel like an actress, I feel like an actor."


title: Léa Seydoux

text: In 2016, Seydoux was honoured with the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 2018, Seydoux was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: K.G.F: Chapter 1 is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language period action film written and directed by Prashanth Neel, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. It is the first of two installments in the series, followed by "". The film features Yash as Rocky while debutant Ramachandra Raju features as Garuda. While Anant Nag narrates the film, Srinidhi Shetty, Vasishta N. Simha, Achyuth Kumar, Archana Jois and Malavika Avinash appear in supporting roles. Filmed on a budget of , it was the most expensive Kannada film at the time of its release. The film focuses on Rocky, a high-ranking assassin in Mumbai, who was born in poverty. After being offered the total control of Mumbai by his employer's boss, he disguises himself as a slave-laborer in the Narachi limestone mine (Kolar Gold Fields), aiming to assassinate Garuda, the future heir of Kolar Gold Fields.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film's development began in early 2015, after Neel finished writing the screenplay. Filming began two years later, in January 2017. Most of the film is set in the Kolar Gold Fields and was filmed in locales such as Kolar, Mysore, and parts of North Karnataka. The film's production was completed in August 2018. Bhuvan Gowda handled the cinematography and Srikanth Gowda edited the film. Composer Ravi Basrur scored the film.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The Kannada version of "K.G.F: Chapter 1" was released on 20 December 2018 and the dubbed versions in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi released the next day. The film received mixed reviews from critics; however, it performed well commercially and collected in its entire theatrical run, becoming the highest-grossing Kannada film and turned out to be a cult hit. At the 66th National Film Awards, the film won two awards for Stunt Choreography and Best Special Effects. At the 66th Filmfare Awards South, the film won two awards from five nominations, including the award for Best Film and Best Actor for Yash.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Journalist Anand Ingalagi's book "El Dorado", which detailed the events at the Kolar Gold Fields (K.G.F.) between 1951 and 2018, was banned by the Indian government, but a television news channel procures a copy and interviews him.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In 1951, government officials discovered gold ore in southern Mysore State where on the same day, Raja Rocky Krishnappa Bairya was born to a poor young woman named Shanti. Suryavardhan, a powerful crime boss and politician, who accompanied the official has them killed and leases the land for 99 years under the pretext of running Narachi, a limestone mine, but secretly establishes K.G.F. He had five associates: Rajendra Desai, who oversees the transportation of refined gold bars; Kamal, son of Suryavardhan's partner Bhargav, who is adopted by Rajendra Desai after Bhargav's death; Andrews, who oversees the gold smuggling in the Western Coast of the country; Guru Pandian, president of the in-government DYSS party; and Adheera, Suryavardhan's brother who headed the K.G.F. security. Suryavardhan suffers a strock and appoints his elder son Garuda the future heir of K.G.F. Suryavardhan expected Adheera to serve as his son's aide, but Adheera unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate Garuda. In turn, Garuda bombs Adheera's car and he is presumed dead. Suryavardhan's former associates now eye the riches of K.G.F.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Rocky arrives in Bombay as a ten-year-old on a quest for wealth and power as desired by Shanti, and begins to work for Shetty, a gold smuggler and Andrews's underboss, who competes against a Dubai-based rival Inayat Khalil. Years later, he rises in the ranks and oversees the arrival of "African" gold bars to the Bombay coast. Rocky's influence begins to rival Shetty's own. Andrews, who notices about Rocky offers him Bombay in return for assassinating Garuda. Rocky accepts the offer and heads to Bangalore; he meets Desai's daughter Reena, falls in love with her and pursues her to accept him, much to her step-brother Kamal's chagrin and created rivalry between Rocky and Kamal. Meanwhile, a statue inauguration is organised for luring Garuda out of K.G.F. to assassinate him. Rocky, with the help of Rajendra Desai, Andrew, Kamal and Daya try hard to assassinate Garuda, but the attempt is averted even before it begins when Rocky and the entire team is spotted by Garuda's bodyguards. Rocky witnesses the authority and power that Garuda commands. Seeing no other option to murder Garuda, Rocky journeys to K.G.F., killing a unit of Garuda's henchmen to enter. The workers in K.G.F., who were forcibly kidnapped, are subjected to inhumane conditions and treated as slaves. Rocky becomes one of them and although apathetic at first, he is moved by the cold-blooded murder of a mother and son by a guard. Rocky stealthily accesses the map of the mine in the maintenance room during a roll call and narrowly escapes death after a fellow slave sacrifices himself to save the lives of his wife and unborn child. Andrews, Kamal and Desai are misinformed about the incident and assume Rocky is killed.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Rocky engages in a fight with an entire unit of twenty-three guards, killing each one of them to rescue a blind slave they were about to brutally murder. With this act, Rocky emerges as a messiah in the slaves' eyes. He orders them to burn the guards' corpses to let Andrews's and his men know he is still alive via their informants, Kulkarni and Garuda's younger brother Virat. Garuda prepares to leave his residence to investigate the fire and missing guards. To avert this, Virat smothers Suryavardhan to death, and Garuda rushes back home. Shaken by the recent bad turn of events, Garuda orders Maa Kaali's ritual to be rescheduled from the following week to the next day, planning to kill his father's allies as soon as the ritual is complete. At night, Rocky heads unsuspected through a tunnel to the site where Garuda has decided to behead three slaves as offerings to the goddess, as Vanaram discovers that the third slave is already killed in his prison cell. Upon Garuda's arrival and sacrifice of two slaves, a concealed Rocky, who had taken the third slave's place, emerges and kills him.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Ingalagi concludes that Rocky intentionally chose KGF as the location to assassinate Garuda, so that an army of slaves would help him seize control and also indicates that this is just the beginning. The news of Garuda's murder reaches Ramika Sen, ruthless politician. Adheera, who is actually alive, plans to resurface his position in KGF. This news made the people who dreams KGF happy, including Rajendra Desai, Kamal, Andrews, Guru Pandian, Daya, Shetty and Inaayat Khalil. The film ends with Vanaram ordering his men to attack Rocky and his army.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Following the success of "Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari" (2014), Yash signed for four projects as of March 2015, including one with director Prashanth Neel (of "Ugramm" fame). The project, "KGF", about an ambitious man and his life in the 1970s, was considered to be one of the most expensive films in Sandalwood cinema. Hombale Films, the production house led by Vijay Kiragandur, bankrolled the project, and one of its production executive Karthik Gowda, stated that "KGF, which is set in the 70s, took over one and a half years of pre-production, because they wanted to ensure they got every single detail right, be it the matchboxes, telephone, or the clothes people wore." The film's director, Prashanth Neel, stated that the film would be launched in April 2016, and the shooting would begin in May 2016. Ravi Basrur, who earlier scored music for the director's "Ugramm", was hired for the project, while Bhuvan Gowda handled the cinematography.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In an interview with "The Times of India", Prashanth Neel stated that he planned to split the film in two parts, as the narration of the story is in a non-linear format. The decision to split the film into two parts also had to do with its commercial prospects. He further added “The scale of the project is huge and we had a scope for a beginning, an interval, and an end for both parts, so it made sense for us to release it as two parts”. As for the decision to make it a multilingual release, he says that it was because the film is based on a unique idea and has a universal theme. About the rumours of doing "KGF" as a "Tamil version, with Suriya being roped in, but failing to do so", he stated that it was meant to be a Kannada film.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In December 2020, during the making of its second installment, Prasanth Neel denied rumours of a third installment in the "KGF" franchise, claiming that the story would conclude in its second part.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film features an ensemble cast, most of them completely new faces. The cast members sported rugged looks, given the subject and setting of the film. Yash grew his beard and long hair for his role as Rocky, a slick and a suave person of the 1970s. Bangalore-based model Srinidhi Shetty, a winner of the Miss Supranational 2016, was cast alongside Yash. Srinidhi, a self-confessed fan of Yash, claimed that she had watched his films "Drama" and "Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari", and stated that he is one of the actors to whom she looks forward. In August 2017, Vasishta Simha bagged a pivotal role in the film, while Ramya Krishnan and Nassar were falsely reported to be a part of the film.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In July 2016, the filmmakers kick-started a 15-day schedule in North Karnataka, without Yash, as the actor was shooting for "Santhu Straight Forward" (2016). The first schedule of the film took place on a huge set, which took more than 35–40 days to construct. The film was slated to take off earlier that year, but was pushed back because of problems surrounding the Kalasa Banduri issue, which meant the team had to cancel its initial shoot schedule plans. The schedule was further complicated by Yash's break from shooting films, in order to focus on his wedding to Radhika Pandit, which was held in Bangalore in December 2016.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film's shooting began on 15 January 2017, after completing the final stages of pre-production. On 25 January 2017, the filmmakers erected huge sets at Badami, to replicate Kolar in the period of 1970–80, thereby filming extensively in the location. The art director Shivakumar recreated the Kolar Gold Fields film set of the 1980s and VFX was used as an extension for the film. Aware that a freak accident happened at the sets of "Masti Gudi" (2017), claiming the lives of two actors, producer Kirangadur secured an insurance cover for the crew members working on the film. As of 25 June 2017, the project was 50 percent complete, and production had restarted after sets were rebuilt, following their destruction by heavy rains.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: As a part of the film's shoot, the filmmakers painted a portion of the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, which is located on the campus of University of Mysore. Some sequences of the movie, which has Yash and Srinidhi Shetty in the lead roles, were also shot at the centenary clock tower located next to the campus. Yash entered the final schedule of the film in April 2018. In May 2018, actors Malavika Avinash and Anant Nag filmed the interview sequence, one of the major scenes in the film's storyline. At the end of the month, Yash had announced that he had completed his portions, and started dubbing for the film. As of May 2018, the filmmakers completed major portions of the film, except one song.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In August 2018, Kajal Aggarwal was reported to shoot for a song sequence, thus marking her debut in Kannada. However, on 9 August, Tamannaah was hired for a song number, thus marking her second film appearance in Kannada, after "Jaguar" (2016). On 17 August 2018, the filmmakers announced that shooting of the film had wrapped, although another song shoot for the film's Hindi version, featuring Yash and Mouni Roy, took place at the Goregaon Studio on 7 and 8 December.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In an interview with director Prashanth Neel for "The Times of India" about the theme of the film, he stated "'KGF' has a strong texture of gold in it, which is about greed and gold. KGF, in many ways, is akin to El Dorado. The way kings and soldiers have over the years gone looking for the mythical El Dorado, where anyone who lays claim to the place ruled the world. This is what Anant Nag (narrator) says in the film, too.” Prashant explains about the setting of the film in 1970–80, stating, "In 1978, because of the Cold War between the USA and the erstwhile Soviet Union that had affected places like Iran and Afghanistan, the price of gold went up the highest in the recorded history. Till date, one cannot find another time when the price of gold shot up so much. So, 1978 was the perfect setting for us, because the higher the price of gold, the higher the greed of men.” The film was also inspired by action movies and western movies like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "For a Few Dollars More".


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Ravi Basrur composed the soundtrack album and the film's score, while Tanishk Bagchi remastered the track "Gali Gali" from "Tridev" (1989) for the film's Hindi version. The audio rights of the film were purchased by Lahari Music in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam for , a record sum for any South Indian film; the Hindi version's audio rights were bought by T-Series.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The track "Salaam Rocky Bhai" served as the lead single from the soundtrack album. It was released in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam on 7 December 2018, along with the full soundtrack album; the album for the Hindi version was released on 9 December 2018. The karaoke versions of the songs were released on 27 December 2018.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film's score was released in two volumes; the first volume of the original soundtrack was released on 10 September 2019, and the second volume was released on 12 October 2019.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The first look of the film was released on 3 May 2017. On 8 January 2018, coinciding with Yash's birthday, a one-minute long introductory teaser, with Ananth Nag narrating, was unveiled by the production team. After responding to a fan's request, Yash announced that the film's trailer would be released in October 2018. Farhan Akhtar shared the first look on 6 November 2018 and a second one on 8 November on the occasion of Diwali. The official trailer of the film was released on 9 November 2018. The trailer crossed more than one million views within an hour of its release.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Special promotions were planned on 4 December in Chennai, and 6 December in Hyderabad. On 9 December 2018, the makers hosted a pre-release event at the JRC Convention Centre in Hyderabad to promote the film's Telugu version. S. S. Rajamouli graced the event as the chief guest. As a part of the film's promotion, an online game, "KGF", specially designed for Android mobile phones, was released by Mobi2Fun Private Limited for the Google Play Store, which saw more than 5,000 downloads upon its initial release.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: On 28 August 2017, the filmmakers announced that "KGF" will be made as a multilingual film, released in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages, marking the first foray of its crew members (including Yash) into different industries. The filmmakers planned to release the film in the second half of 2018. On 19 September 2018, it was announced that the first part of the film will be released on 16 November 2018; however, the release was postponed to 21 December.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The distribution rights for the Kannada version were bought by KRG Studios, a sister company of Hombale Films. The film's Hindi version was distributed by Rithesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, and Anil Thadani, who bought the rights under their banners Excel Entertainment and AA Films. The rights for the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions were sold to Vishal Film Factory and Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram. The Malayalam-dubbed rights of the film were sold to Global United Media.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: "K.G.F: Chapter 1" received a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification in early December 2018. It was reported that the film would be released to 1,800–2,200 screens worldwide, the widest ever release for a Kannada film. However, it was later reported that the film was released to 2,460 screens, including 1,500 for the Hindi version, 400 each for Kannada and Telugu, 100 for Tamil and 60 for Malayalam.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The advance booking for the shows were started on 16 December 2018, and saw a tremendous response upon its initial bookings. Following its response, the filmmakers allotted early morning shows at 4:00 a.m. for the preview. The film was released in the U.S. and Canada on 20 December 2018 and in India the following day. The day also saw releases in parts of Africa, Hong Kong, New Zealand and parts of Eastern Europe, including Cyprus, the first in these regions for a Kannada film. The film released in Malaysia on 28 December and in United Kingdom on 4 January 2019.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The Hindi-dubbed version of the film was released to 71 screens in Pakistan on 11 January and became the first Kannada film to be released there, although "Lucia" (2013) was screened at film festivals and had no theatrical release in the country.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: "KGF" was screened at the 11th Bangalore International Film Festival on 28 February 2019, where it received an award for the Best Picture in the Entertainment category, and was adjudged the most popular Kannada film by the jury members.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: On 20 December 2018, the 10th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in Bengaluru had passed an interim stay before the film's release, following two petitions, filed by Venkatesh G, Yogesh and Ratan, citing plagiarism allegations, and also accusing the filmmakers of portraying Kolar's history in a poor light. However, the producer Kiragandur stated that the film will be released on the said date, and asked fans to avoid rumours. On 27 December 2018, the filmmakers issued a statement that the shows in Australia were cancelled due to an unauthorized screening, as the distributors of the film did not consult the producers of the original.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: On 18 December 2018, a few scenes from the film were leaked onto social networking sites, although Karthik Gowda, the executive producer, labeled it a rumour and clarified that the filmmakers have created a team to fight against online piracy. Despite preventative measures, pirated versions of the film were made available before its release. In May 2020, the producers sued a local television channel for premiering the film's Telugu version illegally.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film's digital rights were sold to Amazon Prime Video for , and premiered on 5 February 2019, along with its dubbed versions. Colors Kannada bought the satellite rights for an undisclosed record price, and hosted its premiere on 30 March 2019. The Tamil version of the film was telecast through Colors Tamil on 7 April. Sony Pictures Networks acquired the satellite rights of the Hindi version.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film's Telugu version was premiered on Star Maa on 5 July 2020, and registered an average TRP rating of 11.9, with many citing the delay of the premiere for more than 18 months after the theatrical release date. The Malayalam version of the movie was jointly purchased by Asianet and Kairali TV. The movie premiered on Asianet and Kairali TV on 14 December 2020.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film was re-released in the United States to 35 locations on 31 January 2019, becoming the first Kannada film to be re-released in the country. On 1 November 2019, coinciding with the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava, the filmmakers re-released the film at 25–30 centres across Karnataka, with a week run during its release. The film's Hindi version was re-released in PVR, Inox, and Cinepolis theatres, on 23–29 October 2020.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: On the first day of its release, "KGF: Chapter 1" collected worldwide, which was the highest opening in the Kannada film industry. In Karnataka's capital Bengaluru alone, the film earned about on the first day. The film registered a gross of at the worldwide box office on its first three days, becoming the fastest Kannada film to gross . The film grossed around worldwide in the first week of its release, becoming the first Kannada film to gross . On 9 January 2019, trade analysts announced that the film entered the mark, thus becoming the first Kannada film to do so. It went on to gross around and completed a theatrical run of over 100 days in a couple of centres in Karnataka.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: On the first day of release, "KGF: Chapter 1" collected net at the domestic box office. The Hindi version raked in more than at the box office on the first day. On the second day, the film outdid its first day totals, with a worldwide total of . First weekend totals stood at around worldwide from all versions, whereas the Hindi-dubbed version collected over . On the fourth day, the film collected approximately while the Hindi version saw a jump of 45% on Monday. On 25 December 2018, the film saw a steep incline on the box office due to the Christmas holidays, collecting more than upon release. The fifth day totals stood at up to .


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film collected more than at the domestic box office in the first week of release. After ten days, the film had collected from Karnataka, from Kerala, from Tamil Nadu, and from Telugu-speaking states. The film entered the mark in Karnataka on the fifteenth day of box office, thus becoming the first film in Karnataka to do so.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: It collected over in Karnataka, becoming the highest-grossing film in that state, and beating the previous record set by "". The film collected in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in Kerala, and in Tamil Nadu; the film earned more than across theatres across South India. Its Hindi version earned more than ; it became the fourth-highest grossing Hindi-dubbed film after the "Baahubali" franchise and "2.0" of the that time. The film earned more than at the domestic box office.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Premiering at more than 100 theatres in 50 locations, "K.G.F" became the fastest Kannada film to cross $200k and $300k in the United States box office. As of 25 December, the film earned $413,214, becoming the first Kannada film to earn $400k at the box office. Within the end of the first week, "K.G.F" collected more than $522,848 at the box office, becoming the first Sandalwood film to cross a half million ($500k) dollars in United States.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: During the second weekend, the film grossed $146,207, to take its total tally to $669,055, and it crossed the $700k mark within the second week. Thereafter, the tally saw a normal dip and the film ended its lifetime total at $805,637 in the country.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Apart from the US, the film collected £22,656 in United Kingdom, $9,539 in New Zealand, and RM 11,406 in Malaysia, to collect a cumulative $1.5 million in overseas profits.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: "K.G.F: Chapter 1" received mixed reviews from critics. While its cinematography, art direction, narration, stunt sequences, score, and acting performances received acclaim, critics had mixed comments about the screenplay, dialogue, and editing.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Reviewing for "Deccan Herald", Vivek M. V. felt that the "grandeur" lay in the film's "fantastically gripping story". He praised the film's narration, its "brilliant" editing, and "riveting sequences". Sunayana Suresh of "The Times of India" gave the film rating of stars out of five, writing that it had a "fast-paced first half ... but the second half and the climax sets up the right premise for the second part of the film." She called the screenplay's "non-linear" fashion the "most interesting part of the film". She commended Yash's performance, in that he "lives his character to the fullest". Troy Ribeiro of "News18" echoed her sentiment, writing, "Yash's endurance, strife and sincerity ... get projected as perfunctory" in the context of "tight close-ups and mid-shots the camera stops us from getting emotionally connected to" every actor in the film. He further wrote, "With intense atmospheric lighting, every frame in the film looks aesthetic and natural. Brilliant cinematography and equally challenging action sequences are put together with razor-sharp edits. They give the film a racy pace." Priyanka Sundar of "Hindustan Times" called the film a "story of greed and redemption" that "burns bright". While praising the "promising" background score, "sharp" editing, and "stunning" visuals, she felt that the screenplay could have been "tighter".


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Janani K. of "India Today" felt the film was "dragged and over-stretched", and gave it a three out of five-star rating. While she commended Yash's "extraordinary performance" and the "brilliantly choreographed stunt sequences", she wrote that despite having "universal theme, [the film] gets lost in translation, thanks to sloppy editing and atrocious dialogues." Subha J. Rao of "Firstpost" gave the film a similar rating, and praised the film's music, cinematography, and art direction, particularly the latter in "bringing alive the grime and heat of the gold mines". However, she felt "[t]ighter editing ... would have smoothened out the kinks" in the film. Shashiprasad S. M. of "Deccan Chronicle" scored the film stars out of five, describing the film as "a visual spectacle". Barring that, he felt it fell short of "instilling the much-needed life into it." Karthik Keramalu of "Film Companion" felt that the film fell short of "becoming a great movie by a long mile". He dismissed the dialogue delivered by Yash's character as a "lengthy sermon about his own valour", while also criticizing the film's editing.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Excluding what he described the film's climax as "spectacular with the support of a brilliant cast" and "spot-on" sets and location, Muralidhara Khajane of "The Hindu" felt there was "nothing in the film that we have not seen before". While writing that "[t]here is a certain finesse to the edgy, moody cinematography", he concluded that the film lacked a "soul, a believable story, and a rounded protagonist." Manoj Kumar R. of "The Indian Express" scored the film stars out of five, deeming it "[a]n overstretched exercise in hero worship". While drawing comparisons of certain scenes to those from "Baahubali", he felt the film had a "flimsy storyline", which he added was made up for by its "terrific background orchestra". Also writing for the same news publication, Shubhra Gupta drew comparisons of the film in plot to those of "Nayakan", "Deewaar", and "Parinda" in its first half. She felt that the film had "nothing more" than "striking cinematography, and the brown and sepia colours which suffuse the screen."


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The character of Rocky was well received by critics. Janani K. of "India Today" said that "You take a look at [Rocky] and instantly you know that this guy will do the impossible and pull people out of their misery." Sunaina Suresh of "Times of India" said that "The growth of Rocky is shown steadily and the makers kept a clever story telling pattern right through that keeps pace with the narrative." Suresh further added: "The first chapter shows Rocky as the maverick mastermind who will stop at nothing in order to achieve his mission." Troy Ribeiro of "News18" said that "Rocky is the new Superhero in the town."


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Before the release of the first "K.G.F" film in December 2018, the filmmakers shot 20% of its second installment, with the crew doing double shifts till January 2019. The film has Yash and Srinidhi Shetty reprising their roles from the first film, while Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon were cast in pivotal new roles. The shooting of the film kick-started on 13 March 2019.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: "K.G.F: Chapter 2" was originally scheduled to hit theatres on 23 October 2020, but its release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. In January 2021, the filmmakers announced a new release date of 16 July 2021 but again got postponed due to the same reason. On 22 August 2021, the filmmakers announced that the film will release on 14 April 2022. Finally Chapter 2 was released on 14 April 2022 in Kannada, and in dubbed versions for the Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam languages.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: The film was praised by many celebrities across the South Indian film industry. Director Pa. Ranjith praised the team after watching the trailer of the film, while Puneeth Rajkumar and Shah Rukh Khan also appreciated Yash and the filmmakers. Raveena Tandon, Rashmika Mandanna, Ram Gopal Varma, and Sumalatha Ambareesh (wife of late actor Ambareesh) also praised Yash's performance. Tamil actor Vijay, who watched a special screening of the film on 20 January 2019 in Chennai, praised the team for its brilliant filmmaking, and Yash for his performance.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: Following the box office performance of the film, on 3 January 2019, the Income Tax Department raided the homes of several film stars and producers from the Kannada industry, including Yash and the film's producer, Vijay Kiragandur, and its actors have also been asked to provide details of Yash's remuneration for the film, shedding light on the fact that the movie's performance was considered to be the reason behind the IT raid.


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: In a March 2018 interview with "IANS", Yash stated that "The success of "K.G.F: Chapter 1" boosted the morale of the Kannada film industry. This success means a lot to all the untapped talent of our industry". "K.G.F" also established Kannada cinema in the multilingual film market, with the 2019 releases Pailwaan, Kurukshetra, and Avane Srimannarayana being released in multiple languages. Shjilpa Sebastian wrote an article for "The Hindu", "2019: The Year when Kannada Cinema Went National", in which she stated that the film "changed the game plan for the Kannada film industry".


title: K.G.F: Chapter 1

text: "K.G.F" became the most streamed film on Amazon Prime Video on 2019. Director Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar, chairman of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, praised the film, stating: "We can expect more 'KGF's in the future. Not everyone can make a 'KGF', but its success can inspire more quality filmmaking using both local and international technicians."


title: Atlanta

text: Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 living within the city limits, it is the eighth most populous city in the Southeast and 38th most populous city in the United States according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the core of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to more than 6.1 million people, making it the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of just over above sea level, it features unique topography that includes rolling hills, lush greenery, and the most dense urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States.