People around the globe love listening to Beethoven, driving BMWs and taking in Black Forest cake. These German items are definitely in need. However what about movies?
Berlin, June 24th, 2020. Update: December 5th, 2022 (The Berlin Viewer)– Individuals who say they do not like German films probably have not watched the most impressive ones. The following ten films represent the (lots of) finest ones made in the land of cuckoo clocks and liverwurst.
MOGADISCHU (‘Mogadischu’), 2008
In ‘Mogadischu’, Nadja Uhl (picture) plays flight attendant Gabriele Dillmann. Picture: ARD Degeto
This television production informs the real story of the 1977 hijacking of a Lufthansa aircraft loaded with travelers by Palestinian terrorists, and the liberation of the victims by the ‘GSG 9’ elite authorities system at Mogadishu Airport. The script and execution are outstanding. Director Roland Suso Richter did a fantastic task. So did all starlets and actors involved. Particularly Christian Berkel, who plays Chancellor Schmidt, and Herbert Knaup as law enforcement officers Ulrich Wegener provided memorable performances. This movie got several well-deserved awards, including the German Tv Prize.
TWO TIMES LOTTE (‘Das doppelte Lottchen’), 1950
‘Two Times Lotte’ was a big success in 1950, thanks to the actresses Isa and Jutta Günther. Photo: Bavaria Movie
Josef von Bakys converted Erich Kästner’s book into a movie the minute it was launched 70 years back. The plot: 2 ladies who look the exact same satisfy at a holiday camp. They find out they are twins and teach their separated moms and dads a lesson. Kästner himself wrote the script for the movie, which got the ‘Bundesfilmpreis’ (‘Federal Film Reward’). In this ranking list, this movie represents numerous German movie classics produced throughout the 1950s.
DAS BOOT (‘Das Boot’), 1981
Jürgen Prochnow (center) provided a stunning efficiency. Picture: Bavaria Movie
Director Wolfgang Petersen was accountable for this film adaption of Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s novel. It is a compressed account of the author’s time as a war press reporter throughout WWII. The movie was chosen for six Oscars and the Golden World when it was launched. Director Petersen became a Hollywood star with this anti-war drama. A number of actors, consisting of Herbert Grönemeyer, became stars in Germany, while the man who delivered the most outstanding performance, Jürgen Prochnow, who is 81 years of ages by now, currently was and still is. There are several variations of ‘Das Boot’, including a ‘Director’s Cut’ released in 1997.
THE LIVES OF OTHERS (‘Das Leben der Anderen’), 2006
Ulrich Mühe represents state security captain Wiesler. Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment
This obvious candidate is the very first major motion picture by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who likewise wrote the script. It dealt with an essential chapter of recent German history. Embed In East Berlin, this film informs the story of a state security agent who observes an author the communist GDR does not trust. To Captain Wiesler, the case ends up being a fascination. ‘The Lives of Others’ was drowned in awards. For the ‘German Film Prize’ it got as many as eleven nominations and wound up with seven real prizes.
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (‘Der Baader Meinhof Komplex’), 2008
‘The Baader Meinhof Complex’ handle left-wing terrorism. Picture: Constantin Movie
This truly impressive piece of work by Bernd Eichinger has to do with the extremist left-wing group RAF which terrorized West Germany in the 1970s. The script was based upon a book about the RAF by Stefan Aust. This film’s plot consists of the starts of the horror group, the murders and other activities of its most prominent members, their arrests and suicides. The acting job delivered by people like Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek, Moritz Bleibtreu and lots of others is nothing less than sensational. So is the entire motion picture.
CHRISTIANE F. (‘Christiane F.– Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo’), 1981
Natja Brunckhorst’s efficiency was dazzling. Picture: Constantin Film
This stunning drama informs the real story of young drug abuser in West Berlin. It is based on the book of the exact same title which estimates Christiane Felscherinow whose pals introduce her to drugs. Once her dependency is out of control, she ends up being a woman of the street at age 14, much like her boyfriend. In the course of her time around West Berlin’s train station ‘Bahnhof Zoo’, a number of acquaintances and her best friend die from drug abuse. Christiane’s mother notices her child’s dependency really late. This movie was taken over by director by Uli Edel prior to the shooting started. The very first director stopped after a big argument with the production company. David Bowie becomes part of the film. So is his hit ‘Heroes’ which became some kind of a hymn to his fans.
THE TIN DRUM (‘Die Blechtrommel’), 1979
Oscar does not like sex affairs or Nazis. Photo: Artemis
Released in 1979, ‘The Tin Drum’ by Volker Schlöndorff is the film adaption of Günter Turf’ book. In Gdansk, Mrs. Matzerath gives birth to a kid they call Oscar. He seems to be a skeptic from the start. At age 3, he decides to stop growing. With his new tin drum, he objects against the “adult world” that includes sex affairs in his family. He dislikes the Nazis too. After the war, Oscar chooses he wishes to grow after all. ‘The Tin Drum’ was the first German motion picture to get the Oscar as ‘Finest Foreign Language Film’.
THE LEGEND OF PAUL AND PAULA (‘Pass away Legende von Paul und Paula’), 1973
‘Die Legende von Paul und Paula’ was authorized by totalitarian Erich Honecker. Picture: DEFA
This GDR production is a remarkable romance. Paul, who is being cheated on by his wife, and Paula, a single girl with kids, fulfill at a bar. In the beginning, they have an affair. Later on, they discover they are in love, but it is too late. The GDR regime nearly prohibited this movie which was recorded in Potsdam. But dictator Erich Honecker decided the nation’s youth needed to view it.
SOPHIE SCHOLL– THE LAST DAYS (‘Sophie Scholl– Pass away letzten Tage’), 2005
Julia Jentsch was extremely persuading. Photo by Zeitgeist Movies
This remarkable motion picture tells the real story of a big heroine, namely Sophie Scholl who became part of the resistance group White Rose in Nazi Germany. At Munich University, she disperses leaflets on which the organization slams the Nazi routine, its cruelty and the organized killing of Jews. Sophie, her sibling and another young man get caught, they are being apprehended, sentenced to death by a notorious Nazi judge and performed instantly. Later on, the British Royal Flying force dropped brochures with the heroes’ texts over German cities. Julia Jentsch, who plays Sophie School, did a remarkable task. ‘Sophie Scholl– The Last Days’ was chosen for an Oscar.
FEAR EATS THE SOUL (‘Angst essen Seele auf’), 1974
Emmi and Ali are a non-traditional couple. Image: Tango Film
This is a truly wonderful one. Released in 1974, it tells the story of the senior girl Emmi Kurowski who falls for the Moroccan Ali. The non-traditional couple is required to deal with anger, racism and other kinds of hatred. Both the late Brigitte Mira and El Hedi Ben Salem, who play the primary characters, did an outstanding task. So did the male behind this motion picture, specifically the late Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Salem dedicated suicide in a French prison cell in 1977. Fassbinder passed away of an overdose in 1982, at age 38, and Mira died in 2005. She was 95.
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